Alcoholics Have Trouble Identifying Emotions
Dissociation and alexithymia among men with alcoholism
Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between alexithymia (The Inability to label or identify emotions) and dissociation among men with alcoholism. (Dissociation is a state of acute mental state in which certain thoughts, emotions, sensations, and/or memories are separated because they are too overwhelming for the conscious mind to integrate.)
Methods: Participants were 176 patients consecutively admitted to the inpatient unit of a addiction treatment center. Seven questionnaires were administered to all participants.
Results: Fifty-three patients were considered as having alexithymia. (About one third of alcoholics)
The alexithymic group had a significantly higher rate of dissociative relationships (patients with pathological dissociation; 62.3%).
Trait anxiety, overall psychiatric symptom severity, and pathological dissociation predicted alexithymia.
These predictors were related only to difficulty of identifying feelings, whereas trait anxiety was a significant for difficulty of expressing feelings as well.
Conclusion: Alexithymic phenomena are interrelated with dissociation and chronic anxiety among men with alcoholism.
Evren C, Sar V, Evren B, Semiz U, Dalbudak E, Cakmak D. Dissociation and alexithymia among men with alcoholism Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008 Feb;62(1):40-7.
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