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snailey
Butterfly
Butterfly

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Joined: 10 Dec 2012
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 13

26 Dec 2012, 7:48 pm

While it is difficult to express emotions as an Aspie, do any of you have any trouble figuring out what those emotions are exactly as well?

An example such as someone is talking to you and saying things, you are becoming upset, but you are not exactly sure what about it is upsetting you?

Maybe after a long day of being alone and thinking of many things, your mood is either great or not but you cannot see why it is this way?



Si_82
Veteran
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Joined: 17 Sep 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 525
Location: Newcastle, UK

26 Dec 2012, 8:15 pm

Yes, I often have trouble recognising my own emotions. My wife will often see I am becoming frustrated 20 minutes or so before I realise myself. I believe this is what is known as alexithymia. If and when I do regognise my own emotions I have trouble differenciating beyond simply feeling good or bad. I am still trying to understand this myself but I think most people feel clearly identifiable different feelings for stressed/angry/sad/depressed/guilty/remorsefull etc but it usually all feels pretty much the same for me and I have always had to logically work out "I must feel angry because I feel 'bad' and dislike what that person is saying". Another problem is, because I often do not realise I am being affected by my emotions, I can act in a very innapropriate way while thinking I am being perfectly calm and reasonable - wheras others sense that they are becoming angry and modulate the feelings before they get out of hand.

I am 30 but I never realised how different this might be to most people's experience.


_________________
AQ46, EQ9, FQ20, SQ50
RAADS-R: 181 (Language: 9, Social: 97, Sensory/Motor: 37, Interests: 36)
Aspie Quiz: AS129, NT80
Alexithymia: 137