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What is alexithymia?
Alexithymia (from Greek: a = without, lexis = words, thymos = emotion) refers to difficulty identifying, distinguishing, and verbalising one's own emotional states. It is not an absence of emotions, but a difficulty consciously accessing and naming them. Alexithymia affects approximately 10% of the general population, but is much more prevalent in autistic people (approximately 50%), people with ADHD, and trauma survivors. It can lead to relationship difficulties, a tendency to somatise emotions (physical symptoms without identified cause), and emotional regulation difficulties.
Manifestations of alexithymia
Alexithymic people often report: not knowing what they feel, confusing different emotions (sadness and anger, for example), describing emotional states only through physical sensations (tight throat, knotted stomach), difficulty understanding others' emotions, and highly concrete, factual reasoning. Alexithymia is not a choice or lack of empathy — it is a difference in emotional processing.
About the TAS-20
This test uses the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), developed by Bagby, Parker, and Taylor (1994). The TAS-20 is the world's reference instrument for measuring alexithymia, used in hundreds of clinical studies. It assesses 3 dimensions: difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally-oriented thinking. A score ≥ 61 indicates clinically significant alexithymia.