I dont know how I feel isnt just stress, experts explain the neurological reason behind it

Have you ever felt a sudden heaviness in your chest, a racing heart, or a knot in your stomach, but found yourself completely unable to put a name to what you were experiencing? For many people, understanding their internal emotional landscape is far from second nature. Trying to decipher whether that sudden physical surge is anger, anxiety, or grief can feel like attempting to read a map written in an unfamiliar language, leaving them feeling disconnected from their own inner world.

Experts reveal what causes this breakdown in processing feelings and how neurological differences shape our daily emotional awareness.

Dr Nitin K Sethi, Chairman of Neurosciences and Senior Consultant at PSRI Hospital, says, “When something emotional happens, the brain doesn’t immediately generate a precise verbal label like “I am angry” or “I am anxious.” Instead, it first interprets changes in the body and brain, such as an increased heart rate, muscle tightness, changes in breathing or stomach discomfort, along with information about the circumstance. It is thot that in people with alexithymia the problem is primarily in recognising, interpreting and translating these internal experiences into language. They may well feel that something is different but find it difficult to determine whether the feeling is anxiety, sadness, anger or some other emotion. That doesn’t mean they are emotionless – but the conscious recognition and articulation of those feelings can be difficult.”

Dr Arun Shah, Director – Neurosciences, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, says, “It is difficult to determine emotions because of the neurological differences, the surroundings in childhood, the psychological ways of survival, and absence of emotional training. Alexithymia or “emotional blindness” is the neuropsychological trait associated with severe problems with identification, recognition, and description of the person’s emotions. Alexithymia is not a psychiatric disease but a personality trait. It is characterised by the inability to identify and distinguish emotions and body sensations, difficulty of finding the words to express feelings, inability to understand facial expressions and body language of another person and emotional detachment during stressful situations. It is diagnosed in people with autism spectrum disorder, depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and after traumatic brain injuries. It can be inherited or acquired as a result of childhood trauma, abuse or neurological damage.”

Dr Sethi says, “These terms refer to different experiences. Emotional suppression is generally defined as when a person becomes aware of an emotion, but actively tries to conceal or inhibit that emotion. For example a person who is holding back anger may know that he is angry but chooses not to express it. Emotional numbness is the term used to describe feeling emotionally disconnected, blunted or unable to experience emotions normally. Emotional numbness can occur in several psychological or medical circumstances. But alexithymia is more about difficulty identifying and describing feelings. It’s also not just the same as low emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a broader skill, which is the ability to recognise, understand and manage your own emotions and interpret emotions in others. More precisely, alexithymia is associated with a difficulty in recognising and verbalising one’s own emotions.”

Dr Shah says, “Emotional numbness is the transient psychological state caused by acute trauma, deep grief or burnout. The lack of emotional intelligence is the lack of social and emotional competence, when the person feels his emotions correctly, but he cannot control his temper, lacks empathy, makes inappropriate social decisions or does not know what kind of effect his behaviour causes in the room. But alexithymia is different since it is a long-term personality trait and the person is unaware of the particular emotion.”

Dr Sethi says, “The insula is critical for what is called interoception, which is the brain’s ability to sense and interpret signals coming from inside the body. It aids the brain in understanding sensations like heartbeat, breathing, pain and changes in the stomach. These bodily signals can constitute an important component of the subjective experience of emotion. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in a variety of emotion-related processes including attention, monitoring of internal states, motivation and responses to emotionally significant events. It talks to the insula and other parts of the brain to help integrate bodily and emotional information. Research with people who have alexithymia has found differences in activity or connectivity in these and other emotion-processing networks. Alexithymia, however, is not to be understood as a problem of a single isolated brain region. Emotional awareness is mediated by a distributed network including the insula, ACC, prefrontal regions, amygdala and other areas.”

Dr Shah says, “In terms of neurodevelopment, the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are the structural core of the brain’s salience network. They work as a translator, transforming chaotic physical sensations into recognisable emotional experience. The cause of alexithymia is the brain wiring and neurological differences. Therefore, there is impaired interception, which is the inability of the brain to recognise its own physical sensations. Also, an unusual structure of the brain regions like the amygdala and insula, which regulate emotions, makes it difficult to decode emotional signals. Early childhood environment and emotional competence must be developed in childhood, because without that, there can be emotional neglect and emotional vocabulary deficiency. Due to the inability to interpret emotional data, the person misses the compass that directs decisions and self-calming. This leads to emotional outbursts, panic, hyperarousal, and social and psychological consequences.”

Dr Sethi says, “Yes. Often the first step in regulating an emotion is to identify it. If a person can’t tell whether they’re overwhelmed, frustrated, anxious or sad, it may be more difficult to choose an appropriate coping strategy. For example, knowing that anxiety is associated with feelings of physical tension and racing thoughts might help motivate someone to slow down, manage their breathing or reach out for help. If the same sensations are experienced only as unexplained discomfort, the person may have more difficulty responding effectively. Thus, alexithymia is not necessarily identified with the inability to regulate emotions, but the difficulty in identifying and describing emotional states can complicate regulation. This relationship is also affected by other factors such as coping, stress and mental health .”

Dr Sethi says, “Higher levels of alexithymia have been consistently associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Those who have difficulty identifying and expressing emotions may also have difficulty processing distress and seeking appropriate emotional support. But alexithymia shouldn’t be considered a default cause of depression or anxiety. The relationship is complex and can run in various directions. People with ongoing anxiety or depression may also feel emotionally disconnected or have more trouble identifying what they are feeling. Importantly, alexithymia is not a dichotomy, but exists on a spectrum. Some people have mild difficulties recognising emotions, while others have much greater problems. Identifying the problem can be useful because psychological interventions can focus on improving emotional awareness, identifying bodily cues, developing an emotional vocabulary and building healthier emotion-regulation strategies.”

Dr Shah says, “Although there isn’t any cure for alexithymia, one can improve one’s emotional awareness through certain measures. Interoceptive training, where individuals are taught how to associate physical body sensations (such as tightness in the chest) with particular emotions (such as stress). The use of an emotion wheel or list of emotional words to bridge the link between vague physical sensations and precise description. Mindfulness, which involves observing oneself without judgment or without trying to suppress those internal feelings right away. And it is always good to seek professional help from a psychologist or a counsellor.”

(This article is meant for informational purposes only and must not be considered a substitute for advice provided by qualified medical professionals. Always seek the advice of your doctor for any questions about medical conditions.)