When it comes to emotions, women are often seen as “sensitive” while men are “emotional” or more likely to express their feelings.
In addition to forgetting important moments in their relationship with their partner, many men find it difficult to express how they feel.
The inability to express emotion can lead to stress in relationships and can also be interpreted as pride, says psychologist Lauren Soero.
He noted that many men seem to be “rational thinkers,” separating their emotions from decisions.
Instead of being a personality trait of a man, Dr. explains. Soero, it may be due to a common psychological trait called alexithymia, or asymmetry.
The term alexithymia comes from Greek and means “no words for emotion”.
Dr. explained. Soiro that the term describes the disconnect between thought and feeling, meaning, while you are feeling something, you will have a hard time recognizing it clearly.
“It’s not a mental disorder per se, but a trait that can present a variety of psychological challenges,” he told Psychology Today.
He explained that other common indications for the condition include:
– Fear of intimacy.
emotional detachment
Extreme concern for freedom.
Uncomfortable in social spaces
Inability to express emotion.
Chronic negative mood
He added that these signs are often confused with autism spectrum disorder. In addition to emphasizing relationships, he said, not being able to express how you feel can also have serious physical effects, including rapid heartbeat, chronic pain and shortness of breath.
Experts say the condition is more common in men because of gender stereotypes imposed on men from an early age. This may include the idea that men should not cry, that they should be loud, and so on.
Dr. said. Soiro that it’s not healthy for anyone and that people have evolved to have feelings for many good reasons, “including interpersonal communication, bonding between groups, and risk detection in general. It’s not hard to see that Emotions are always important. for our salvation. ”
“Cultural or intra-family attitudes that degrade a man’s experience or expression of feelings place a harmful and unnecessary burden on many men,” he added.
How can men manage the condition?
If you think you have alexithymia, says Dr. Sweru, you can learn to live with it and you can also reverse it.
He explained that psychotherapy is a good place to start, because it gives you a place where you can be yourself and express your feelings.
But if you don’t get there, there are a few things you can do at home like journal, listen to music, or even try to empathize with characters in movies and novels.
This will help to have more emotional awareness, the psychologist said. However, this will not be a quick fix, explaining that many years of avoiding emotions are not easy to change.
Source: The Sun.
Source: Arabic RT
