The situation of not being able to express how you feel Day 1 of The one-week program
đź“… Day 1: Understanding the Wall (What is Alexithymia?)
​Welcome to Day 1 of our journey together. If you are here, you know the frustration of having a heart full of feelings but a mouth that feels completely glued shut. You might feel like you are "broken" or that you lack emotional depth. But today, we want to introduce you to a word that might change how you see yourself: Alexithymia.
​Alexithymia is a psychological term that literally translates to "no words for emotions." It is not a disease or a mental illness; it is a trait where a person struggles to identify, name, and describe their own emotions.
​When you have alexithymia, you might feel a heavy sensation in your chest or a knot in your stomach. Your body knows it is feeling something, but your brain cannot translate that physical feeling into a word like "sadness," "anger," or "betrayal." Instead, you just feel "blank," "bad," or completely overwhelmed.
​Please know this: You are not empty. You are just experiencing a translation disconnect. Your emotions are there; we just need to help your brain learn the language to interpret them.
​🔍 Deep Dive Explanation
​Why does this happen? For some, it is biological. For many others, it is a trauma response or a learned behavior. If you grew up in an environment where expressing emotions was met with anger, rejection, or neglect, your brain learned a survival trick: If I don't recognize my feelings, they can't hurt me, and I won't get into trouble. Over time, that protective wall became so thick that now, even you can't see over it.
​❓ Reflection Questions for the Comments
• ​Did the word Alexithymia resonate with you? How does it feel to know there is a scientific name for what you experience?
• ​When you are upset, do you feel it more in your mind (thoughts) or in your body (stomach aches, tight chest, headaches)?
@cheerfulKiwi1776
My normal tag-list:
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The program tag-list:
@IzzyGamer @sammylou5 @iluvbirds @justpari9 @YourCaringConfidant @unassumingEyes @bobaa13 @SimplyCompassionate @Fatimaishere @trueconfidant123 @humorousCar8048 @unassumingTree3011 @aquaGrapes718 @redStrawberries6067 @indigoTortoise2987 @intuitiveEast6300 @7Bear7 @AddressingBeliefs @mytwistedsoul @LifelD239 @HopeWithinDarkness @abby768 @versatilePerson9751 @bestGlobe2657 @Skeitu @sincereApricot9083 @sarakind
It feels reassuring and validating to know that what we went through wasn't made up, all in my head. I'm not sure if I have alexithymia or not. Maybe yes, maybe no... Regardlessly, I'm willing to support and learn more.
When I'm upset , I feel it more in my mind, followed by my body. Too many thoughts to be able to decipher while feelings are all over the place. Which ends with sharp headaches and feeling overstimulated by everything. Clothes, skin, sounds, no sounds, everything. At times i absolutely loose my appetite when I was hungry 5 seconds back.
I can't wait for the next post ✨✨
Thank you so much đź’•
Hope everyone is doing better 🫶🏻
@versatilePerson9751
It seems as if you sre struggling with some stuff. I really hope that this one week program will help a little. It's okay to not know if you have alexithymia. Thanks for writing this here. Take care. See you at next post tomorrow 🩵
@cheerfulKiwi1776
- Alexithymia is something I relate to rarely, but this makes it that when it happens I feel all the more out of depth. It is– frightening, for me, not to have a word for an emotion I feel, and as a result i wrongfully label these emotions as "anger" and lash out as such, when in hindsight it wasnt anger at all. It is nice to now be able to remind myself that the bad feeling is not anger, that my inability to identify it is common enough for it to have a name
- I feel in my chest, mostly, but lately Ive noticed an intensity of (bad) emotions triggering my headaches as well. Which is not fun, fyi xD and when Im feeling actual, true anger, its in my arms. I dont think I feel emotions anywhere else 🤔
@unassumingEyes
Thank you for letting us know. Ofcourse Alexithymia is not something we all have. About the thing you said on where you feel your emotions its totally understandable to feel them where you pointed out. I hope you are doing okay. Stay safe and we ll talk again tomorrow: to the next post🩵
I'm please to know I'm not broken or a default piece i used to think it's not normal to be like this and there's something wrong with me but knowing Alexithymia is trait somewhat make me feel relieved
When I'm feeling upset and any negative feeling in general my body feel it first mostly I feel it in upper parts of my like chest and stomach i get headaches rarely but tight chest and anxiety in stomach is something that i have to face almost daily in my life
I'm happy to learn a new word. Looking forward to learn from things from this journey.❤️✨
@justpari9
I m really happy you learned about Alexithymia. I hope it helped you a bit. It's totally understandable to feel those emotions at the parts you pointed out. I feel them too, so I absolutely get you. I hope this post helped. We ll talk again at the next post tomorrow. Till then take care🩵
I feel it in my mind and gut, usually... Maybe coursing through my entire body.
Yeah, it does resonate to a degree. I don't like explaining my feelings to people when I'm truly upset. One word answers won't suffice, I'll have entire sentences, painting a vivid picture, often laced with profanity. I like to keep those in my head generally, though. More accurate descriptors might be in the back of my mind, or not.
@Torean
I get that but sometimes opening up might help more than repeating the cycle of overthrowing. It's totally up to you though. Take care. Thanks for reading and posting🩵
@cheerfulKiwi1776
*cycle of overthinking
@cheerfulKiwi1776
Alexithymia does resonate with me, it helps to know that there is a name for this. In a way it makes me feel less broken knowing that this is an actual thing and not something made up.Â
When I'm upset I feel it more in my body, my chest usually feels tight or I'll have a bit of a headache. I also feel it in my mind too..but its not like really thoughts, it more like everything is just foggy.Â
@IzzyGamer
Torally understandable. I get how it feels to finally have a word for how you feel. I m happy you trusted us enough to open up here. Thank you. Take care. We ll talk again tomorrowÂ
Kinda i think I could explain better it if there were actually words that could probably describe but when I start to think about the bad idk it's like a book that when I open I can't easily close I just get swallowed in all these things that stack on top of one another and is just too much to name so idk if it's alexithymia or not but knowing that reaction is common or normal is comforting I suppose
I'm not sure iv never coralated my chronic migraines to my stresses I thought it was more in my mind but idk maybe it's affecting my physical more than I realize
Wow both wernt really proper answers I'm sorry...
@abby768 hey your answers are alright! Theres no right or wrong here just your thoughts 🤍
I can relate to your first answer (alot). As for the chronic migraines, emotions absolutely affect them. Usually acting as triggers. Maybe knowing this can help you deal with such emotions before it gets so bad?
@unassumingEyes
Sending courage to you
@abby768
First of all as the other person said it's absolutely okay. There are no wrong or right answers. Thank you a lot for writing this here. It seems hard for you and I m glad it gave you a little "joy" realizing you are not alone or going crazy. Thanks for the answer though.Â
It does resonate. I have heard it before. I do have trouble processing emotions. It's hard to know what I feel when I mostly feel nothing.Â
I guess they start in my stomach and moves up to my chest and to my mind. Then the emotions get shut down.
@mytwistedsoul
I totally understand what you mean. I hope this helped a bit. Thanks for writing this. Take care🩵
Oh there’s a name for this???
@jesusredeemedme2425
Hehe yeah🩵✨️
Wow, this resonates with me so much! 🩵
To answer the questions:
Yes, absolutely! So many times I've felt like my heart was completely full of things to say, but it's like there's a disconnect and I just can't translate those emotions into words. It's comforting to know there's actually a name for it.
I definitely feel it in both, but honestly, it hits my body the most. Whenever I'm overwhelmed or upset, I feel that tight chest and knot in my stomach before my mind can even process what's happening.
Thank you so much for this Day 1 post, it makes me feel so understood! Can't wait for Day 2. :)Â
@sarakind
I m so glad it helped you. I know how you feel and I resonate with you a lot. Take care. Day 2 is gonna be post now🩵✨️