However, it can be seen on the autism spectrum which now encompasses aspergers. Taking the alexithymia questionnaire musings of an aspie. In the third part of the book, the aftereffects of trauma are studied with particular emphasis on the often baffling problem of alexithymia. Disorders of affect regulation alexithymia in medical and. Frontiers alexithymia and autism spectrum disorder. In may 2007 the online alexithymia questionnaire underwent a revision of nine questions 2, 7, 11, 12, 16, 23, 28, 33 having similarities to, or reproductions of, wordings in the toronto alexithymia scale tas20, with duplications being replaced by more original phrasing.
Sifneos pe 1972, shortterm psychotherapy and emotional crisis. It is estimated that one in seven people in the world suffers alexithymia to some extent. Alexithymia is prevalent in approximately 10% of the general population and is known to be comorbid with a number of psychiatric conditions. Alexithymia refers to a specific disturbance in psychic functioning characterized by difficulties in the capacity to verbalize affect and to elaborate fantasies. Alexithymia is an inability to identify and describe both ones own, and other peoples emotions. Although initially described in the context of psychosomatic illness, alexithymic characteristics may be observed in patients with a wide range of medical and psychiatric disorders. Difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations.
Relations between alexithymia and depressive and anxiety. Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in dsm5. Alexithymia is a personal trait characterized by the subclinical inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by ones self or others. The 2008 study looked at brain activity in autistic and nonautistic people with and without alexithymia. Alexithymia is a personal trait characterized by the subclinical inability to identify and describe. Alexithymia, a term originally derived from latin, is the inability to describe emotions with words. Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in. Is alexithymia associated with specific mental disorders abstract. Jun 18, 20 alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying feelings and differentiating between feelings and bodily sensations, difficulties communicating feelings, and a concrete cognitive style focused on the external environment.
Sadly, this disease makes people very limited when it comes to leading a normal social and emotional life. This book is good for reading about alexithymia and what it is about. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The authors administered the structured clinical interview for dsm iv scid and the toronto alexithymia scale tas20 to a sample of 234 subjects. The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating. With the oaqg2, 3 subjects 34% obtained a score indicating a clear presence of alexithymia, 4 patients 44% obtained a score that suggests possible alexithymia, and in 2 subjects 22% the score indicates absence of alexithymia. However, the contribution of alexithymia in interaction with common personality traits to.
This explanation may be in line with alexithymia related somatosensory amplification, which attributes increased interoceptive arousal and somatic misattribution to alexithymic patients. Single study prevalence findings for other disorders include 63% in anorexia nervosa, 56% in bulimia, 45% to 50% in. Alexithymia and personality in relation to dimensions of. What i found fascinating as i read along is the link between alexithymia and psychosomatic illness. Motivation and emotionbook2015alexithymia wikiversity.
It has been estimated that over 50% of asd sufferers also have alexithymia and alexithymia occurs more regularly in asd populations bird, silani, brindley, white, frith and singer, 2010. Carefully updated, it helps both students and clinicians visualize dsm iv tr disorders through the use of clinical vignettes. Toronto alexithymia scale20 tas20 alexithymia was assessed with the selfreport dutch version of the toronto alexithymia scale20 tas20. The book provides details of the diagnostic tests available and includes an informal questionnaire, developed by the author, for people who believe they may have alexithymia. Relationships among alexithymia, personality disorders, and higherorder psychopathological and interpersonal dimensions were examined in 199 college students and a close relative of each. An overview of alexithymia kindle edition by thompson, jason. Nov 06, 2018 the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsmv is a resource that mental health professionals and doctors use to diagnose mental illness. An unawareness of what is happening in their own mind and a very concrete way of thinking. Alexithymia is a subclinical phenomenon involving a lack of emotional awareness or, more specifically, difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and in distinguishing feelings from the bodily sensations of emotional arousal nemiah et al. Alexithymia is a multifaceted personality construct that is characterized by difficulty identifying and describing feelings taylor, 2000. Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults.
Teenagers in grade 8 n796 completed selfreport measures of alexithymia, selfesteem, trait hope, social support, and emotional wellbeing. The prevalence of alexithymia tas20 score 60 was 9. The purpose of this study was a direct comparative evaluation of alexithymia in patients with. These studies have controlled for the presence of depression and anxiety, which. Written in accessible language, this book is ideal both for professionals and for anyone with an interest in. Alexithymia is not classified as a disease in dsmiv, the psychiatric book of diagnostic definitions. While grandiosity is the diagnostic hallmark of pathological narcissism, there is research evidence that pathological narcissism occurs in two forms, a a grandiose state of mind in young adults that can be corrected by life experiences, and b the stable disorder described in dsm iv, which is defined less by grandiosity than by severely disturbed. Comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and depression author links open overlay panel bettina bankier m. This mental disorder affects more people than you think.
Although alexithymia was first studied in a variety of medical and psychosomatic disorders 1, 2, more recent studies have associated alexithymia with dissociation, depression 1, 4, 5, anxiety disorders, hypochondria, and eating disorders. The instrument that is most frequently used to measure alexithymia is the 20item toronto alexithymia scale tas20, a selfreport questionnaire. Are alexithymia and schizoid personality disorder synonymous. Alexithymia and dsmiv personality disorder traits in alcoholic. Alexithymia and psychopathy student doctor network. Taylor gj, bagby rm, parker jd 1991, the alexithymia construct. Reviewed in the united states on september 6, 2015. Although individuals with alexithymia display the typical physical responses associated with emotions such as tears, butterflies in the stomach or an increased heart rate they are unable to recognize these responses in terms of the emotions they might be signifying. Alexithymia, somatisation disorder, emotional regulation. Given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder adhd.
Alexithymia is not a diagnosis, but a construct useful for characterizing patients who seem not to understand the feelings they obviously experience, patients who seem to lack the words to describe these feelings to others. Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying feelings and differentiating between feelings and bodily sensations, difficulties communicating feelings, and a concrete cognitive style focused on the external environment. Comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and depression. Alexithymia is considered to be a personality trait that places individuals at risk for other medical and psychiatric disorders while reducing the likelihood that these individuals will respond to conventional treatments for the other conditions. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 4th edition by american psychiatric association author. Sifneos, who formerly defined the clinical features of alexithymia, positioned this concept in a theoretical framework with nemiah in 1970. Although it was not listed as new, there were zero notations not even a name. It found a correlation between a persons level of alexithymia, brain activity in one of the regions believed to be responsible for identifying ones own emotions, and scores on an empathy questionnaire. Constructing a self in the twilight of western culture, is available from praeger publishers. Vicario5,6 1 faculty of human and social sciences, kore university of enna, italy. That said, it is a very detailed and relevant exploration of alexithymia. Impaired emotion recognition is linked to alexithymia in. The tas20 is the most frequently used assessment instrument for alexithymia.
A persons alexithymia score can be measured with questionnaires such as the toronto alexithymia scale tas20, the bermondvorst alexithymia questionnaire bvaq 4 or the observer alexithymia scale oas. We used the toronto alexithymia scale tas20 to assess alexithymia, the social phobia scale sps and. It also occurs in large percentages of individuals diagnosed with depression, ptsd, panic disorder, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Apr 16, 2011 alexithymia is not classified as a disease in dsmiv, the psychiatric book of diagnostic definitions. Fearful attachment linked to childhood abuse, alexithymia. Alexithymia, the difficulty to express and identify emotions, was measured by the observer alexithymia scale oas. No, it is not listed in the dsm5 and therefore is not a mental disorder by itself. Alexithymia personality dimension oxford handbooks. The relationship between alexithymia and general symptoms of. It is a personality trait that varies in severity from person to person. However, in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsm, the redefinition of gad in successive editions appear to shift in focus away from somatic to psychic concern in the diagnosis of gad. Affective deprivation disorder and alexithymia in marriage. However, the nature of its role in asd symptomatology remains elusive.
Alexithymia is a dimensional personality trait characterized by difficulties in identifying and. Since the dsm iv was published in 1994, weve seen many advances in our. In studies of the general population the degree of alexithymia was found to be influenced by age, but not by gender. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in dsm 5. One would have hoped to see newer books on this subject, but this book is solid and informative and i would highly recommend it. However, it does tend to cooccur with psychiatric disorders. Alexithymia was associated with poor education and low income level and it was more common among unmarried subjects. Alexithymia is not classified as a mental disorder in the dsm iv.
Cross sectional hospital based study, study is based on a sample of 200 individuals. Alexithymia as a core trait in psychosomatic and other. Sep 19, 2014 alexithymia is considered to be a personality trait that places individuals at risk for other medical and psychiatric disorders while reducing the likelihood that these individuals will respond to conventional treatments for the other conditions. Individuals with eating disorders have elevated levels of alexithymia, particularly difficulties identifying and describing their feelings. Here, we distill research at the intersection of alexithymia and asd. It is published by the american psychiatric association apa and is used by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies. Most of the recent research literature in psychology describes alexithymia as a personality trait. Alexithymia and somatization in depressed patients. Therefore, we designed the present study for the direct comparative assessment of alexithymia in several psychiatric disorders, including somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and depression, with regard to, besides the tas20 total score, the cognitive and affective characteristics integrated into the alexithymia. Jan 01, 2008 alexithymia is an inability to identify and describe both ones own, and other peoples emotions.
Such symptoms cannot be fully explained by a general medical condition or substance use or, when there is an associated medical condition, the impairments due to the somatic symptoms are more severe than generally. Personality, defined psychologically, is the set of enduring behavioral and mental traits that distinguish individual humans. Alexithymia in dsmiv disorder comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and depression bettina bankier, m. Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by altered emotional awareness which has been gaining diagnostic prevalence in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, with notably high rates of overlap with autism spectrum disorder asd. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsm latest edition.
Traditional conceptualizations of psychopathy highlight the importance of affective features of the syndrome in perpetuating social deviance. Furthermore, people with alexithymia have difficulty in distinguishing and appreciating the emotions of others. With this instrument and adding the first two groups of people, threequarters of the subjects had or may have. There is a clear overlap in alexithymia and autism symptoms, for example aspergers is characterised by a disinterest in interpersonal relationships and. Jul 23, 20 the contribution of alexithymia to the emotional symptoms of autism is not only observed in behavior, but also in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of empathic processes. Hence, personality disorders are defined by experiences and behaviors that differ from social norms and expectations. The loneliness of alexithymia personality disorders. The purpose of this study was a direct comparative evaluation of alexithymia. Regarding tas20 subfactors, factor 1 was significantly associated with somatoform disorder. It shows a lot of overlap with autism spectrum disorders like aspergers disorder. A history of somatic complaints over several years, starting prior to the age of 30. Panic disorder, but no other diagnosis, was significantly related to lower tas20 total scores p0. Muller works for the crisis intervention service at union memorial hospital in baltimore. Alexithymia in dsm iv disorder comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and depression bettina bankier, m.
It is controversial to describe the underlying dysfunction as a disorder, because it has not been offically defined as such by the psychiatric profession and is not listed in the dsm iv or the icd10. The author discusses the possible causes and associated conditions, including asperger syndrome and. The role of alexithymia in the development of functional. Alexithymia and emotional intelligence among people with.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading emotionally dumb. Alexithymia is an inability to identify and describe both ones own, and other peoples feelings. A total of 90 patients with major depressive disorder who met the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders fourth edition dsm iv diagnostic criteria were administered the toronto alexithymia scale tas, beck depression inventory, symptom checklist90 scl90, somatosensory amplification scale, and symptom. Fiftythree female inpatients representing three dsm iv eating disorder diagnostic groups and 14 control subjects completed the toronto alexithymia scale tas, the eating disorder inventory2. Emotionally dumb describes the nature of alexithymia and includes therapeutic and selfhelp suggestions for overcoming some of the difficulties that alexithymia presents. Determining whether alexithymia is a distinct or an overlapping construct with the concept of personality disorders, particularly schizoid personality disorder, remains an important issue. Sep 24, 2010 given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder adhd. Diary of alexithymia by monroe, logan and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.