Not being able to express a feeling may indicate it is a mix of feelings that hasn't been identified yet. A traumatic event can trigger someone into "freeze" mode where they shut down and avoid feeling. Some people internally "disallow" certain emotions as a result of childhood experiences.
The mental health conditions most often associated with emotional numbness are depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotional numbness can also come up in some dissociative disorders, which are connected with a personal history of trauma.
This can happen when you feel overtired, have difficulty sleeping at night, or have other medical conditions. Obviously, these are scary things to experience and should be taken very seriously! Conditions like dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are linked to feelings of confusion.
When you lose the ability to feel or express any emotions, this is called flat affect. If you feel numb only to positive emotions but are still able to feel negative emotions, this is called anhedonia. Anhedonia is a common symptom of depression and shows up in a lot of mental health conditions.
When you start thinking about someone else's desires and needs as much as your own, it's a pretty good sign that you are in love, Shaffer says. "You may not necessarily want the same things but when you are in love, you start thinking of the other person's perspective just as much as your own."
People with alexithymia can feel love when it's strong enough. They just can't describe or express it in a way that provides others with emotional validation. Instead, they may express their love through action, rather than words or affection.
apathetic. / (ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk) / adjective. having or showing little or no emotion; indifferent.
Mindfulness of breathing will help you trust your feelings as a source of understanding, rather than fixating on being out of control or irrational. It will allow you to create the space to get out of your head and into your body. It allows you to discharge your stress in healthy ways and look after your well being.
Alexithymia literally means “without words for emotions.” People with alexithymia typically have trouble processing their emotions. For instance, they may not recognize when they are having an emotional response, or if they do, they may not be able to label or describe their emotions.
Feeling as if you don't care about anything anymore may be related to anhedonia or apathy. Anhedonia is a mental state in which people have an inability to feel pleasure. It is often a symptom of mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use.
When you can't feel your emotions, you're likely to be in a dissociative state. This frequently occurs when people are overwhelmed, and the body switches to survival mode, resulting in numbness or blankness. “Not feeling” is also a protective psychic defense during a time of crisis.
Feeling confused about your emotions is common.
If you don't know what you're feeling in certain circumstances, it's not because you have a problem or something is wrong. This is much more common than people think and you shouldn't feel bad about it.
Crying is a normal response to deep emotion. When we are hurt, frustrated, or angry, it's common to get teary-eyed and experience that familiar lump in the throat, making it difficult to talk. Crying can convey to others how deeply we feel or that we need extra care, which can be helpful.
There is nothing wrong with you if you feel like you don't know yourself anymore. Or, if you find yourself thinking, “I've never felt like I've known myself” this is understandable too. Many people lose themselves, or never felt like they knew their authentic self to begin with.
Alexithymia incidence was 41.5% in the ADHD group. The increase in the levels of impulsiveness, depression and anxiety correlated with the severity of ADHD symptoms; and impulsiveness predicted alexithymia in the ADHD group.
Emotional detachment is a psychological condition in which a person is not able to fully engage with their feelings or the feelings of others. It can be ongoing, as it is in people with attachment disorders, or it can be a temporary response to an extreme situation.
Low emotional intelligence, burnout, and stress
Being under prolonged stress may also lead someone to be less tolerant of other people's behavior and have lower cognitive empathy. In some cases, emotional avoidance may also be a reason why someone may not develop or practice empathy.
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above-mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.
In the behavioral results of MET, highly alexithymic individuals showed impairment in emotional empathy, both in the explicit measure of emotional concern for others and in the implicit measure of being aroused by the emotional states of others.
Alexithymia may be related to the repeated experience of trauma and the nervous system's susceptibility to stress [13, 14]. Also, it may refer to a preexisting condition that increases the probability of developing PTSD. Multiple traumatization is another factor considered to increase the risk of alexithymia.
Passionate love feels like instant attraction with a bit of nervousness. It's the "feeling of butterflies in your stomach,"Lewandowski says. "It's an intense feeling of joy, that can also feel a bit unsure because it feels so strong."
At this point, reviving your relationship with your partner may seem futile. But it's absolutely possible, according to Michelle Herzog, LMFT, a Chicago-based couples therapist and AASECT-certified sex therapist. She believes that, yes, you can fall back in love with your partner—but it won't be easy.