“…Individuals with alexithymia have deficits in identifying and communicating their feelings and show little insight into feelings, symptoms and motivation (Lumley, Neely, & Burger, 2007). DIDF as measured by alexithymia subscales leads to better psychological and psychosocial functioning in medical patients (Picardi et al, 2007) and the general population (Berrocal et al, 2009). Quality of life in the general population is higher when alexithymia scores are lower (Modestin et al, 2004;Saharinen et al, 2008); conversely, a 5-year prospective study in Finland found that alexithymia was associated with increased mortality rates in men (Kauhanen, Kaplan, Cohen, Julkunen, & Salonen, 1996).…”