What is it called when your face shows no emotion?

Overview. Flat affect is a condition that causes people to not express emotions in the same way other people might. For example, when a person without flat affect is happy, they may smile brightly or in some other way show that they’re pleased. A person with flat affect shows no facial expressions.

Is it possible to have no feelings or emotions?

When you lose the ability to feel or express any emotions, this is called flat affect. If you feel numb only to positive emotions but are still able to feel negative emotions, this is called anhedonia. Anhedonia is a common symptom of depression and shows up in a lot of mental health conditions.

What causes lack of facial expression?

Lack of facial expressions is one sign of catatonia, which can occur in association with a psychiatric disorder, like schizophrenia. Diseases that cause damage to the brain and its function can also lead to a lack of responsiveness, including a lack of facial expressions. Examples include brain trauma and encephalitis.

Why do my emotions feel muted?

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common causes. Severe levels of acute elevated stress or nervousness can also trigger feelings of emotional numbness. Post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be tied to depression and anxiety, can cause you to feel numb, too. Some medications can also cause numbness.

Can alexithymia be developed?

Several subsequent studies suggested that alexithymia might develop in response to overwhelming stress to avoid experiencing agonizing and unbearable emotions[97,98].

Can you develop alexithymia?

Alexithymia isn’t well understood. There’s a possibility it may be genetic. The condition may also be a result of brain damage to the insula. This part of the brain is known for its role in social skills, empathy, and emotions, with some studies linking insula lesions to apathy and anxiety.

Why do people with Parkinson have a lack of ability to control their facial expressions?

Parkinson’s disease affects the brain cells that make dopamine. Dopamine helps control muscle movements, and without enough dopamine, the regulation of movement is impaired. This affects the face as well as other movements throughout the body.

Do people with alexithymia have no emotions?

Despite the name, the real problem for people with alexithymia isn’t so much that they have no words for their emotions, but that they lack the emotions themselves. Still, not everyone with the condition has the same experiences. Some have gaps and distortions in the typical emotional repertoire.

What is alexithymia and why is it interesting?

But when Bird read about alexithymia, he found the descriptions intriguing. “Actually, it’s really quite amazing.” For most people, “at a low level of emotion, you might be a bit unsure about exactly what you’re feeling, but if you have a strong emotion, you know what it is.”

Is it possible to feel an emotion but not know it?

Some realize they’re feeling an emotion but don’t know which, whereas others confuse signs of certain emotions for something else — perhaps interpreting butterflies in the stomach as hunger pangs. Surprisingly, given how generally unrecognized it is, studies show that about 1 in 10 people falls on the alexithymia spectrum.

What is alexithymia According to bird?

Bird started his academic career studying autism, empathy and emotional awareness, which led to his interest in alexithymia. In one of his first studies in this field, he linked alexithymia, as measured with a 20-item checklist developed at the University of Toronto, with a lack of empathy.