Treating alexithymia (and AS as a consequence) trough art?

Page 1 of 1 [ 8 posts ] 

computerlove
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Age: 123
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,791

04 Aug 2009, 1:49 am

Alexithymia:

Quote:
Typical deficiencies may include problems identifying, describing, and working with one's own feelings, often marked by a lack of understanding of the feelings of others; difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal; confusion of physical sensations often associated with emotions; few dreams or fantasies due to restricted imagination; and concrete, realistic, logical thinking, often to the exclusion of emotional responses to problems. Those who have alexithymia also report very logical and realistic dreams, such as going to the store or eating a meal. Clinical experience suggests it is the structural features of dreams more than the ability to recall them that best characterizes alexithymia.
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage. However, questioning usually reveals that they are quite incapable of describing their feelings or appear confused by questions inquiring about specifics of feelings.
According to Henry Krystal, individuals suffering from alexithymia think in an operative way and may appear to be superadjusted to reality. In psychotherapy, however, a cognitive disturbance becomes apparent as the patients tends to recount trivial, chronologically ordered actions, reactions, and events of daily life with monotonous detail. In general, these individuals lack imagination, intuition, empathy, and drive-fulfillment fantasy, especially in relation to objects. Instead, they seem oriented toward things and even treat themselves as robots. These problems seriously limit their responsiveness to psychoanalytic psychotherapy; psychosomatic illness or substance abuse is frequently exacerbated should these individuals enter psychotherapy.


I read that alexithymia is common among aspies, and I read somewhere that doing art is specially good for getting the brain expel all the words and emotions that haven't been freely flowing out of us for our whole lives. That is, a treatment for that AND asperger.

Thoughts?


_________________
One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.


outlier
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Oct 2008
Age: 46
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,429

04 Aug 2009, 4:06 am

I have recently determined that doing things like drawing and painting does not really help me with emotional expression, but writing does. I have not done any drawing/painting for a while now, partly because it actually gave rise to more feelings I could make no sense of. Writing feels truly liberating in terms of expression. I wonder if they include that under "doing art". I experienced a very conspicuous bout of alexithymia when I last saw my doctor:

Doc: "How does all this make you feel?"
Me: (silence, opens mouth and nothing comes out, jogs and scratches leg, again opens mouth and nothing comes out, then ...): "I just can't find the words."
Doc: (chuckles) "That's alright."

I'd gone prepared with what I'd wanted to say typed up, but hadn't anticipated that question.



photosapian
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 21 Jul 2009
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 26
Location: Tampa

04 Aug 2009, 8:44 am

computerlove wrote:
Alexithymia:
Quote:
Typical deficiencies may include problems identifying, describing, and working with one's own feelings, often marked by a lack of understanding of the feelings of others; difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal; confusion of physical sensations often associated with emotions; few dreams or fantasies due to restricted imagination; and concrete, realistic, logical thinking, often to the exclusion of emotional responses to problems. Those who have alexithymia also report very logical and realistic dreams, such as going to the store or eating a meal. Clinical experience suggests it is the structural features of dreams more than the ability to recall them that best characterizes alexithymia.
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage. However, questioning usually reveals that they are quite incapable of describing their feelings or appear confused by questions inquiring about specifics of feelings.
According to Henry Krystal, individuals suffering from alexithymia think in an operative way and may appear to be superadjusted to reality. In psychotherapy, however, a cognitive disturbance becomes apparent as the patients tends to recount trivial, chronologically ordered actions, reactions, and events of daily life with monotonous detail. In general, these individuals lack imagination, intuition, empathy, and drive-fulfillment fantasy, especially in relation to objects. Instead, they seem oriented toward things and even treat themselves as robots. These problems seriously limit their responsiveness to psychoanalytic psychotherapy; psychosomatic illness or substance abuse is frequently exacerbated should these individuals enter psychotherapy.


I read that alexithymia is common among aspies, and I read somewhere that doing art is specially good for getting the brain expel all the words and emotions that haven't been freely flowing out of us for our whole lives. That is, a treatment for that AND asperger.

Thoughts?



*Jumps around like a sugar-hyped little kid*
FINALLY! I've been trying to get people to understand why I prefer art, photography and writing to speaking for years! Though, seeing as my diagnosis is new, only now are people putting two and two together. Previously, I enjoyed them so much-and used them so often as forms of communicating-because I was "seeking attention". Which is odd, because my-very loudly-stated reason behind using them as such was because someone else could read it or view it, infer what they wished, and more often than not get what I was trying to say.
I find it difficult to believe that people are just now beginning to realize this.
:?


_________________
And music pours on mortals
Her magnificent disdain. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

http://www.myspace.com/flutesbestdamnthing

http://kidsmpowered.squarespace.com/ellannas-journey/


vessel
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 191

04 Aug 2009, 11:56 pm

Jesus, I was not aware of this. I seem to have a high prediliction towards that diagnosis, but for so many years of spending time within my own imagination, something strange and new came from it. I might have just subsituted one reality for a more creative and friendly one, which has me thinking back on how certain things played out when I was young.



computerlove
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Age: 123
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,791

05 Aug 2009, 1:33 am

vessel and photosapian, good to hear that! :D
@Vessel, there's not a lot of info about art and alexithymia, I've searched and found some journals that talk about it, but unfortunately they are behind paywalls...

photosapian wrote:
I prefer art, photography and writing to speaking!
BTW I just remembered the many times I did a drawing or wrote something just to have a clearer idea! :lol:

outlier wrote:
writing [...] I wonder if they include that under "doing art".
Hi Outlier! :) Art is the expression of a feeling, so indeed, writing is art (:
I still think you have a huge talent and should keep drawing. Accept those "new" feelings, they make us better at explaining ourselves to others,
like when talking to your doctor! :lol:


_________________
One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.


anna-banana
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,682
Location: Europe

05 Aug 2009, 5:24 am

outlier wrote:

Doc: "How does all this make you feel?"
Me: (silence, opens mouth and nothing comes out, jogs and scratches leg, again opens mouth and nothing comes out, then ...): "I just can't find the words."
Doc: (chuckles) "That's alright."


lol every single talk I had with shrinks looked like that.


_________________
not a bug - a feature.


zen_mistress
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Age: 46
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,033

06 Aug 2009, 8:55 pm

Personally, I dont have alexithymia but I still think it helps me with emotional expression. Particularly painting. It is sort of cathartic, to impose paint on a page. I find it really... I dont know... but it is somehow good at dealing with the excesses of emotion that I have.

Writing to me is more like play.


_________________
"Caravan is the name of my history, and my life an extraordinary adventure."
~ Amin Maalouf

Taking a break.


computerlove
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Age: 123
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,791

09 Aug 2009, 10:42 pm

anna-banana wrote:
outlier wrote:

Doc: "How does all this make you feel?"
Me: (silence, opens mouth and nothing comes out, jogs and scratches leg, again opens mouth and nothing comes out, then ...): "I just can't find the words."
Doc: (chuckles) "That's alright."


lol every single talk I had with shrinks looked like that.

I'd write down stuff I think it's important and just show it, in case I forget about it (or, more commonly, not knowing how to express it in the moment)


_________________
One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.