Alexithymia describes the difficulty of people in
identifying, differentiating, and articulating emotions of others and
themselves and in discriminating those from bodily sensations, with a limited
fantasy and a concrete, externally oriented cognitive style.
Sifneos described alexithymia construct in 1973 in relation
to classic psychosomatic diseases and failure to respond to dynamic
psychotherapy. Actually alexithymia is defined by cognitive and affective characteristics comprising difficulty identifying feelings and
distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal;
difficulty describing feelings to others; a restricted imagination, as evidenced
by a paucity of fantasies.
A cognitive style that is literal, utilitarian, and
externally oriented. Numerous studies revealed positive associations between
alexithymia and pain intensity and sensitivity.
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