| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| alexis |
Posted - 11/24/2007 : 10:00:44
I just stumbled on an article on Alexithymia and somatization -- and when I searched on the term I found discussion on PD, OCD, CFS and lots of other "equivalents" (a quick Google will bring up all this suff). The relationship to TMS theory is stunning to me, but with a bit longer history and a good deal of international research.
I searched for this term on this site and was surprised not to find it here at all. Seems odd that this very parallel field hasn't been represented in the discussions here -- or have I missed some stuff under an alternate term or spelling?
I don't remember the term in any of Sarno's books, though it's been a bit since I read them too diligently. If it is mentioned could someone point me to which books, because I would be interested to see Sarno's discussion?
Thanks
--Alexis |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| alexis |
Posted - 05/14/2008 : 16:27:28
I came across an interesting comparision today, relating alexithymia to blindsight. Both are topics I've found interesting, and I've never before considered them related.
Blindsight occurs when someone considers themselves blind and reports no sight, yet is able to accurately "guess" the shape or location of an object in front of them. I'm not going to try to give a scientific explanation as you can get better info with a quick google, but the basic idea is that part of the brain still sees while the subject does not experience "sight".
So I thought this was pretty cool when I first read about it. But today I was reading a book by Daniel Gilbert (Harvard Psychologist) called Stumbling on Happiness (sort of a popular presentation of the field of positive psychology rather than a self-help book). Gilbert has a section about people not knowing what they feel (his terms...I slightly dispute the choice of language).He gives blindsight as a reference point, and then presents alexithymia as a possible instance of the same phenomena -- emotions taking place at one level in the brain while the other level isn't aware of them.
I'm not totally convinced that this meshes with other descriptions I've read, but it is interesting. This would probably be more in the "trait" than the "state" category and so is maybe not that relevant to TMS. But if you find the subject and/or blindsight interesting he gives a nice summary.
Gilbert's book"
http://www.powells.com/biblio/1400042666
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/books/review/07stossell.html?ex=1304654400&en=9f736b0ee7b820df&ei=5088...
Blindsight links/articles:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1101_051101_blindsight.html
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Blindsight
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| alexis |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 16:30:31
Just adding another few links to interesting articles:
Alexithymia: State or Trait?
http://www.ucm.es/info/Psi/docs/journal/v6_n1_2003/art51.pdf
Disorders of Affect Regulation: Alexithymia in Medical and Psychiatric Illness
http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/39/6/554
The Trait or State distinction is really key here, and most literature I've seen implies it can be either. As ACL's comment points out, if this is what "TMS" is for many people, it's really only treatable if it's a "State" disorder (you'll see the same distinction in anxiety and other research).
That first article argues for trait ... not entirely convincingly to me, but some good overview info for what's available online.
And if you're interested in a discussion of some of the measures:
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/full/67/3/483
The TAS 20 actually gets the most mention in the literature though it's rejected pretty much here. Other studies give it more support (http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/48/2/154).
Here is a short collection of definitions:
http://www.alexithymia-faq.com/definitions.html |
| alexis |
Posted - 12/09/2007 : 19:49:36
quote:
Originally posted by armchairlinguist
p. 154 of TDM - "Such patients are often labeled 'alexithymic', implying that they are not capable of generating feelings, a concept with which we strongly disagree."
Sounds like Sarno is pretty skeptical of alexithymia as a stable trait too. :)
Thanks for digging that up! I was really quite interested to hear what he had to say.
The definition he provides, though, doesn't quite mesh with what I've seen looking around. I'm just randomly grabbing a few here, but they're all more on these lines:
"Difficulty in recognizing and describing one's emotions, defining them in terms of somatic sensations or behavioural reactions. "
http://www.medicineword.com/alexithymia.shtml
"The original definition of alexithymia is the inability to identify and use verbal language to describe feelings."
http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/5/1/13
Most articles are in fact quite careful to point out that it's a difficulting in recognizing emotions, and not that those with this characteristic are "not capable of generating feelings".
And interestingly there seems to be a recent split between definition of "trait" and "state" alexithymia, with a focus on whether the particular alexithymia is, in fact, a stable imaleable trait or simply a state, subject to change.
Which all brings us back to the similarity and the large quantity of research already done in this field. It's not that I don't think Sarno and all have some really unique contributions, but I do worry that there's a bit of reinventing the wheel going on. |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 12/09/2007 : 18:56:57
p. 154 of TDM - "Such patients are often labeled 'alexithymic', implying that they are not capable of generating feelings, a concept with which we strongly disagree."
Sounds like Sarno is pretty skeptical of alexithymia as a stable trait too. :)
--
It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| alexis |
Posted - 11/25/2007 : 07:37:40
quote:
Originally posted by JohnD
have you heard of JohnDithymia?
Yeah, coincidence... But I did realize it was going to look funny by the time I typed the subject line. [Edit: OK, changed the subject line in attempt to avoid confusion.]
AC,
There does seem to be some controversy about the mutability of this trait. I think I saw an article describing insight therapy as less effective and cognitive behavioral therapy as moreso?
Can't find it now after a quick search -- I actually ended up finding this Alexithymia stuff yesterday while doing a House episode fact verification (good show, but I never trust their facts). It only took a few seconds, though, for the description to jump out the page at me as very, very similar to TMS theory. And the large quantity of research relative to that done by the Sarno camp (physicians rather than psychologists) really stuck out. |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 11/25/2007 : 05:40:52
quote:
Originally posted by JohnD
have you heard of JohnDithymia?
I thought this was going to be a thread about alexis poking fun at herself for some TMS symptom, but it turned out to just be a coincidence.  |
| JohnD |
Posted - 11/24/2007 : 19:23:46
have you heard of JohnDithymia? |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 11/24/2007 : 15:49:12
Huh, never seen that before. It does seem connected.
I do wonder though -- they say it's a stable personality trait, but I've found that practice in identifying feelings has really changed the way I process and understand my own feelings. I suspect that it may not be a stable trait in many cases, but more of an effect of an emotionally repressed childhood/life, that can be reversed with effort.
--
It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 11/24/2007 : 14:15:57
Hi Alexis,
I don't recall seeing the term or anything similar before. I've only read Divided Mind, Freedom from Fibro and Pain Free for Life, though.
Thanks for posting about it; this is interesting to know.
Hope things are well with you,
Corey |
| mk6283 |
Posted - 11/24/2007 : 11:05:36
As far as this forum is concerned, there are 2 truths: (1) TMS exists and is widespread, and (2) it is ignored/repudiated by the vast majority of the current medical community. Therefore, does it come as any suprise that TMS would be described under so many different titles due its significant and prevalent yet neglected role in medicine? Tension myositis syndrome, tension myoneural syndrome, the mindbody syndrome, autonomic overload syndrome, stress illness, psychosomatic illness, alexithymia, etc. -- Does it really make any difference what you choose to call it? It exists. You (think you) have it. Now cure it. Happy holiday to all!
Best,
MK
p.s. My understanding is that alexithymia is as contraversial a topic in the realm of psychology as TMS is in modern medicine. They may not be exact equivalents of one another, but I'm sure they overlap at the essence of mindbody medicine, i.e. that the mind alone has the capacity to generate symptoms. That is the key point. |
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