Alexithymia - I can't feel emotions

This video is about the traits of Alexithymia, it's a disorder or a personal trait.

[devScion]

omg you described everything I feel like. I thought schizoid personality disorder was the deepest i could dig in the beginning apparently there's more to how I feel than that. easily unintentionally insulting people, knowing when and what emotion to show but not being able to, neither having stress, anger or sadness apart from the good emotions. and the hyperactive feeling like running a marathon! I get this a lot of the time, and I just feel like I really want to do something super physically engaging like wrestling or mountain climbing.

[johnpaulvail]

I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am you posted this.  Tears are flowing as I write this because it's as if you told my story.

[burlymantears]

So this popped up in my recommended and it's something I have always felt described me, but it wasn't until about a year ago that I really felt this. And this is FYI for everyone here who may have this condition... try medical marijuana. I've been on medical marijuana for about a year and what really convinced me that I have this is that, when I'm high, I can actually feel the emotions and understand all the actions related to them that I was clueless about before. So, for those who can, try medical marijuana. It changed my life.

[jjsiegal]

Alexithymia is NOT that you can't feel, you just can't identify WHAT you are feeling.

[Ahtnagarp]

i can't feel anything too, but that's good, one step forward to achieve my perfect soul

[strawberrymeat]

I am so relieved i found this. I knew i was emotionally numb, but i never knew what it *was called. I couldnt blame it on Depression or Autism. I am just feeling nothing. No, i cannot identify my Feelings. Iam just really.. empty. I dont have another word for it. i just feel so useless.

[qwandary]

Most of thesse things sound like they're nothing to do with Alexithymia.
I have extremely high traits of it. It's probably linked in with my autism (undiagnosed). I have messy feelings but can't categorise the emotions. The best I can do normally is put them into 'good' or 'bad' titles. I often don't notice I'm feeling ANYTHING until I have bodily responses; such as loads of mouth ulcers and acid reflux means I'm stressed.
I've always been like it, it doesn't just happen because of a relationship break up.
Will admit I haven't watched the whole thing its just the first part put me off and the title was already iffy.

We definitely feel emotions, we just don't recognise them. It's like being blind but still seeing light/dark. You can't really figure things out but there is still information going in.

[TheLordKanti]

I understand this completely. I'm glad you made this.

[aryana]

I understand what people feel, but can't express. I was bullied for this, I was.... Strange, to the other children. I would often times find myself, alone. My only escape is art. As in, singing, drawing, painting. After a year, the bullying got worse. It inconvenient. I realized that if I wanted to be treated normal, I had to.... act, normal. I pretended to care, have fun, happy. I pretended to have friends, and have hobbies. I'm not sure why, or what makes me feel this way... I do know that I do not want it. I began to try things.... To make me feel.... regret. But, no matter how extreme, or how far I went, I couldn't feel emotion.

[bollin]

Seeing this video was uploaded in 2014 I have a question.. did you find a solution? I just found out about it and related to anything written/said about it. It had slowed my life down so much and I finally know why!

[steam_vortex]

That's slightly terrifying how relatable your experiences are to my own...I hope I don't have it. >_<;  Would an inability to confront or express emotions put someone under the category of Alexithymia? I feel really strong core emotions, I just fail to express them well & I don't enjoy talking about emotional content compared to intellectual abstract stuff.

[radenrorojihanfebria]

i change emotion without reason and sometime doesnt even feel emotion.

[eastwesttrash]

It's really hard living with alexithymia... because it ain't a "popular thing" like depression or anxiety. People can't even understand you, and even if you are in a terrible down and have a lot of problems, you don't want to see anyone to help you. It's like if anyway, it didn't really mattered and all. Plus, you only want to be good to everyone but end up hurting them without realizing or understanding why... :(

[Zeniitha]

I have had the same. People call me grumpy and gloomy. But, being only 11 when I had fist got it, it was probably the worst thing that had happened to me.
I had just left primary school and had made some friends. I didn't have too many signs of alexithymia at the time, but it still affected my social life (I have bipolarism too, so I was already kinda lonely and used to the bullying). I started year 7 and had made a best friend. We were really close. We had nicknames and we tended to have the same interests in thing and levels in subjects. We were good at art, we both liked football, and we bother were not very good with makeup. We also had the same innitials. But in year 8, I came to school after the summer holiday. I didn't have much contact with my BFF during those 6 weeks off. We didn't see each other, and stoped replying to my texts. When I went to school on that first day of year 8, my bff wasn't in. I was a little concerned, so I sat with some other girls in my class. When the teacher called out the register, she didn't tell my BFFs name. I knew, because she was on the very top of the register, just before mine. At first I thought the teacher just missed her name out so I asked them if she was on the register. She said no. This scared me.

Turns out she had moved to a private school without telling me. This made me have several mental issues.
Depression.
Anxiety.
Trust issues.
Alexithymia.

Im afraid of telling people, because I think they are going to judge me. So I am hiding behind a screen and saying it to the world instead. Just an anonymous sufferer.

At only 12 years old.

Not even my twin knows.

[Ray-frfu]

Well, at least it's good to know other people have alexithymia as well...

[joshuajamesweiss]

I know one thing I've learned about adults, they think kids are stupid and can't give good advice because they're spoiled. But I'm the one 11 year old to give advice to an adult. Don't try to feel emotions, it comes in handy in the future. It also feels great if everybody hates you. I get bullied a lot in school so having no emotions let's me not give a shit about these guys not giving shits about me. DON'T TRY TO GET RID OF IT. I don't know if I made this crystal clear already but I don't have emotions either and don't care about anything... really at all.

[jessymae]

I'm pretty sure i have this but i'm not diagnosed or anything. I feel emotions but i have a hard time expressing emotions and just end up trying to fake a facial expression so people think i'm okay. Even if i fake an expression that matches the emotion i feel the expression doesn't feel authentic.. If I don't fake an expression then i just have a constant blank expression even though i feel the emotions.I have hard time figuring out what emotions are what sometimes too. Anyways i just started learning about this and i think it might fit what is going on with me. I used to feel normal and now i feel strange and alienated.

[SF-yhot]

I'm not sure if I have alexithymia or it's just in my head. But do you or any of you happen to fake your empathy sometimes or copy others' reactions just because you didn't want to come off as rude or cold?

[AutumnSage]

I always saw myself, outside looking in kind of gist. I always had troubles expressing or identifying my emotions. Until I was dating my ex, it was if she was my emotional stimulation for "love". brought out the compassionate side of who I was. But even so, I still always felt numb, never really had any spontaneous feelings. Always just kinda drifted my life, although i so focus on scientific, intellectual and philisophical concepts. Always treating right and wrong like a principle more than just "it feels wrong or right". After breaking up with my ex, I still feel numb. And when we broke up, I just about released every ammount of emotion i had for her. This only lasted for 4-10 seconds. I always had trouble making a lot of friends. And if i feel any sort of friendship being built, i get this sense of being rejected and avoided. My inbox of messages is almost always blank, and Im usually at home. I dont really have any female friends because, I just dont have a lot of charisma. My patience is amazing, it takes a lot to get me angry, like, more than the average person. But when i do, i burst out for a good few seconds. Never been in a fight in my life.

I write to feel better, much like this guy, and im definitely going to read your stuff.

Ive been told that I show signs of depression, narcissism, and that i have a big ego (weird becuase i dont really care for my own self worth), and that i have a lot of pride. I have a God complex, who wouldnt want to be omnipotent and omniscient?

but yea, I guess I have this personality trait. Don't wanna feel feelinglless, but I'll admit this makes me smarter if I wasn't alexithymic.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[vladislava]

i think i might have this- but idk
i dont like the idea of self diagnosing myself
but i cant help but feel like my situation is similar
a person i really loved has left me and cut me off forever- and i cant let go of them
i dont even know how to let go
but i was numb before knowing them.. but it wasn't until i meet then did i learn what love is.. or what i think it is at least
they also made me more emotional.. but only if i watch shows and movies (now i want to cry at almost everything and that was never the case before) but as for real life- im still as numb, , and in some aspects more numb
my advice to people is very blunt (so have i been told) and another friend says i have a poker face a lot lol
when mom introduces me to people she tells me i need to be more.. "warm" and "nice" and smile- but when i ask her if im rude or something she says no i am nice but i just dont smile and look happy.. eh.. why smile when you have no reason to- right? at least thats how i feel