Depression is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population

Alexithymia in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Its Relationship to Internalising Difficulties, Sensory Modulation and Social Cognition

“…While some studies report higher rates of depression in individuals with high alexithymia (Honkalampi et al 2000), others suggest that this association is mediated by anxiety (Karukivi et al 2010;Marchesi et al 2000).…”

“…Bird and Cook (2013) have suggested that emotion recognition and empathy atypicalities seen in individuals with ASD may result from (co-occurring) alexithymia rather than ASD itself. Furthermore, given that alexithymia is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression (Bankier et al 2001;Berthoz et al 1999;Honkalampi et al 2000) and atypical responses to sensory input (Herbert et al 2011;Kano et al 2007;Katz et al 2009;Lyvers et al 2014;Nyklicek and Vingerhoets 2000) in non-ASD populations, individual differences in alexithymia may also be associated with the increased rates of internalising disorders and sensory sensitivities in ASD. Taylor et al (1999) propose that alexithymia is primarily a disorder of affect regulation, leading to difficulties in modulating the autonomic nervous system, thus resulting in hyper-arousal in response to stress.…”

Alexithymia, Temperament and Character Characteristics in Women with bromyalgia Syndrome

“…Aleksitimi ve depresyon aras›ndaki iliflki ise uzun zamandan beri incelenmifl olup çal›flmalar›n ço¤unda ortaya ç›kan sonuç aleksitimi varl›¤›n›n depresyonda depresif belirti örüntüsünü ve fliddetini etkiledi¤i yönündedir (28). Aleksitimi ölçe¤i olarak kullan›lan TAÖ; duygular› tan›mada güçlük, duygular› söze dökmede güçlük ve d›fla dönük düflünmede güçlük olmak üzere 3 alt boyuta, BDÖ ise umutsuzluk, kendine yönelik olumsuz duygular›, bedensel kayg›lar ve suçluluk duygular› olmak üzere 4 alt boyutu içermektedir.…”

Do I feel sadness, fear or both? Comparing self-reported alexithymia and emotional task-performance in children with many or few somatic complaints

“…Numerous studies show positive relationships between alexithymia and symptoms of internalising problems, such as anxiety and depression in adults and children (Berthoz, Consoli, Perez-Diaz, & Jouvent, 1999;Grabe, Spitzer, Freyberger, 2004;Honkalampi, Hintikka, Tanskanen, Lehtonen, & Viinamaki, 2000;Rieffe et al, 2006). However, feeling 'bad' about an argument with a classmate is less reflective of the emotional experience than feeling angry because he took your pencil away, scared because you think he might break it, and perhaps feeling sad because the pencil was a birthday present you very much liked and now cannot use.…”