Alexithymia
Inability to identify or describe one's own emotions. Affects 50-60% of autistic people vs. 5-10% of general population.
AutismEmotional RegulationCognitive Processing
Layer 1: Documented
Clinical Recognition
Coined by Sifneos (1972), extensively researched, measured via Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Not a diagnosis but a recognised personality trait.
Community Validation
Increasingly recognised in autistic communities as explanation for 'emotional confusion' previously pathologised as lack of empathy.
Published
17 December 2025 by Team Heumans
Alexithymia is the inability to identify, distinguish, or describe your own emotions. You know something feels bad, but you can't tell if it's anger, sadness, anxiety, or hunger. Your body is screaming at you in a language you don't speak.
It's not that you don't have emotions—you're flooded with them. You just can't label them or communicate them. Someone asks "How do you feel?" and your mind goes blank, not because you're avoiding, but because you genuinely don't know.