Alexithymia is classified as a personality trait or construct that has been linked with a range of psychological and physical disorders.
Key features associated with alexithymia:
(1) marked difficulty to use appropriate language to express and to describe feelings
(2) difficulty in differentiating feelings from other bodily sensations
(3) difficulty in describing feelings to other people
(4) striking paucity of fantasies (constricted image processes)
(5) utilitarian way of thinking (stimulus-bound, externally-oriented cognitive style)
A patient with alexithymia:
(1) is unable to identify and to describe his or her own emotions
(2) has difficulty to identify and describe the emotions of others
(3) unable to respond emotionally with others
