Alexithymia

Difficulty identifying and describing emotions—about half of autistic people experience this.

"'How do you feel?' is my least favorite question. I feel... something? In my chest area? It's either excitement or anxiety or possibly heartburn. I genuinely cannot tell." — Autistic adult with alexithymia

What It Is

Alexithymia literally means "no words for emotions." You have emotions—you just struggle with the awareness and labeling of them. The animation above shows how physical sensations get felt, but connecting them to specific emotions requires extra processing.

Connection to Interoception

Alexithymia relates to sensing internal body states. Emotions are felt in the body—if body signals are unclear, so are emotions. See Interoception for more on body signal awareness.

Impact

Without knowing what you're feeling:

• Hard to address emotional needs
• Emotions may build until overwhelming
• Difficult to match strategies to emotions
• Relationships can be challenging

Building Awareness

Body awareness: Regular body scans, notice physical sensations, learn your body's emotional signals.

Tools: Emotion wheels, body maps, intensity scales (1-10) instead of labels, journals for pattern recognition.

Therapy adaptations: Somatic approaches, art therapy, DBT skills, adapted CBT that's more concrete and less emotion-label focused.

Living With It

• Accept you experience emotions differently
• Use physical cues as early warning
• Take time to process before responding
• Explain to close people that you need time

You DO have emotions. Difficulty labeling isn't deficiency. Your experience is valid, and many people share this experience.