...wait, what

[ysobel]

Network page linkhopping led me to http://musingsofanaspie.com/2013/01/31/emotional-dysfunction-alexithymia-and-asd/ and, uh.

Because, I recently realized, I don’t discriminate between anger that is aimed at me and anger in general. When someone is angry, I invariably feel like I’m the cause or the target, even when I rationally know that I’m not.

If The Scientist calls me after a bad day, I hear how upset he is and immediately feel distressed. Not distressed as in “I should console my husband because he’s had a bad day.” I feel distressed in a “this is incredibly stressful and I want it to stop” kind of way. My brain immediately goes into “fix it” mode, searching for a way to make the other person feel better so I can also relieve my own distress.

...

...and I am sitting here going "wait, what, you mean everyone's not like that"

and, like, except for the 'impoverished imagination and fantasy life' bit I would totally be labeling myself alexithymic

because *there is a word for that*

Comments

[cadenzamuse]

In their follow-up with quiz, they mention that a lot of their followers objected to the "impoverished imagination and fantasy life" and felt that they actually had stronger imaginations and fantasy lives than non-alexithymics. Link: http://musingsofanaspie.com/2013/02/05/taking-the-alexithymia-questionnaire/

[vass]

Yep, not everyone is like that, and it's more prevalent in autistic people, people with childhood trauma, and people with depression.

[rainbow]

i do that, too. i can tell myself they're not mad at *me*, but i still feel like i'm at fault.