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3 - Alexithymia and Somatizations

from Part II - Brain without Body, Body without Brain, and Contemporary Body Image Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

Fabio Gabrielli
Affiliation:
School of Management, LUM University
Floriana Irtelli
Affiliation:
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
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Summary

In the hypermodern era, the ideal to be achieved sometimes seems to be the perfect performance of the “brain without a body" (or better the brain without the limitations of the body). Individuals distance themselves not only from their own mortal body, but also from their emotions, which are experienced within the body: emotions in general are discouraged in our society. Being emotional has become synonymous with being unstable and unbalanced and perhaps it is not by chance that alexithymia is also widespread today. In this regard one must take into account that alexithymia has been indicated as a risk factor for the development of chronic physical problems and somatizations. Theories about alexithymia and its origins are presented, and clinical cases and contemporary scientific studies are analyzed in depth. The question of how these topics are correlated is raised.

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Chapter
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Body Image and Eating Disorders
An Anthropological and Psychological Overview
, pp. 42 - 50
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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