The dimensional, subclinical T entity known as alexithymia is characterized by challenges in recognizing and expressing one’s emotional emotions. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), which comprises three subscales:
- Difficulty in Identifying Feelings (DIF);
- Difficulty in Describing Feelings, to Other People (DDF); and
- Externally-Oriented Thinking (EOT), is the most widely used tool for assessing alexithymia.
Read More: ALEXITHYMIA: When You are Not Sure What You Feel
The prevalent theory in the literature states that emotion dysregulation, which is linked to alexithymia, is what propels the emergence of psychopathology. Results demonstrating that alexithymia impairs overall affective processing abilities provide credence to the emotion dysregulation theory.
A variety of disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can arise from experiencing a traumatic incident, such as being threatened with death, being hurt, or being sexually assaulted (American Psychiatric Association, Citation 2013). Four symptom clusters are connected with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
(1) Intrusive symptoms or reliving the traumatic event;
(2) Avoiding reminders of the traumatic event;
(3) Hyperarousal; and
(4) Negative thoughts about oneself, the outside world, and other people.
Despite the fact that there are a number of first-line, gold-standard treatments for PTSD, approximately 40% of people will acquire the disorder chronically. Anxiety, despair, and stress are just a few of the unpleasant emotional states that go under the umbrella term of psychological distress. Research has demonstrated a strong correlation between general psychological distress and both alexithymia and PTSD (Kerswell et al., Citation 2020; McIntosh, Citation2017).
Additionally, PTSD symptomology has been found to be correlated with the degree of pre-trauma general psychological distress. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Alexithymia, and psychological distress are closely connected concepts. An excessive focus on cross-sectional research contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the nature and connections between these dimensions. The study looked at the interaction between PTSD, psychological distress, and alexithymia throughout time. The hypothesis was that the three constructs had an interaction relationship.
Read More: Psychological Interventions for PTSD in Adolescents
The Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Kessler 10, and the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C) were completed by military personnel (N=1871) before, during, and three to four years after the post-deployment assessment. Initially, the study looked at the role that psychological distress played at each time point in moderating or mediating the association between PTSD and alexithymia. At all three time points, hyperarousal symptomology and overall PTSD severity were somewhat mediated by general psychological distress.
At all three time intervals, avoidance and re-experiencing symptomology were fully mediated by psychological distress. According to the findings, people who have alexithymia are more likely over time to experience hyperarousal and more severe PTSD symptoms, regardless of how soon they were exposed to a stressful event. Moreover, increasing anxiety heightens the susceptibility of individuals with alexithymia to the formation of re-experiencing and avoidance symptomology. According to recent study findings, alexithymia is a consistent risk factor for the symptomology of PTSD.
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