Sense of alexithymia in patients with anxiety disorders comorbid with recurrent urticaria

Abstract

AimAlexithymia is associated with limited cognitive processing of emotions by an individual suffering from recurrent urticaria and alexithymia and makes them focus on somatic manifestations of emotional arousal and on poorly controlled compulsive reactions to negative stimulation. Alexithymia is considered to be a personality trait, which, along with other factors, predisposes individuals toward developing somatic diseases. The aim of the study was to assess the measurement of alexithymic features in patients with recurrent urticaria and to assess the types of concurrent anxiety disorders and overall anxiety level.MethodsIn order to diagnose clinical anxiety symptoms in patients, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale were applied. Alexithymic features were measured by means of a shortened version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, characterized by high discrimination power, internal coherence, and reliability.ResultsAccording to the Toronto Alexithymia Scale results, the greatest contributing factor was “inability to differentiate between feelings and bodily sensations”. This was observed in both males and females. Most frequently, the patients were found to suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia.ConclusionAlexithymia may result from the difficulty associated with expressing emotions caused by anxiety disorders. Undergoing treatment for anxiety disorders may contribute to reduced exacerbation of urticaria.

Alexithymia among Jordanian university students: Its prevalence and correlates with depression, anxiety, stress, and demographics

“…Depression was strongly associated with alexithymia in several studies . Anxiety was also associated with alexithymia in several studies . In relation to stress, it was associated with alexithymia as well .…”

“…5,10,[35][36][37][38] Anxiety was also associated with alexithymia in several studies. 5,36,37,39 In relation to stress, it was associated with alexithymia as well. 40 Regarding satisfaction with life, Mattila et al, 38 as well as Honkalampi et al, 35 found negative association between alexithymia and satisfaction with life.…”

Alexithymia, aggressive behavior and depression among Lebanese adolescents: A cross-sectional study

“…Alexithymia prevalence in the general population varies between 10.0% in the German population [17] and 20.8% in the Lebanese one [18]. When taking students into account, the prevalence of alexithymia was 18% in British undergraduate students [19], and 21.8% among Iranian college students [20]. The prevalence of alexithymia in Lebanese students assessed in our study (31.7%) was higher than that found in the general Lebanese population of all ages combined [37], and also higher of that found in other non-Lebanese students [42].…”

“…Low maternal care, physical and mental abuse were showed to play a role in the development of alexithymia as well [3,17]. Furthermore, previous findings revealed that higher depression rates are associated with higher risks of developing alexithymia in the general population [18] and in adolescents [19], where alexithymia was found by itself as a predictor for maladaptive emotion regulation [19] and more severe depression and anxiety [14,20,21]. Subjects unable to control and manage their emotions express more anger, one of the symptoms of aggression [22,23].…”

Changes in Anxiety Level of Females With Facial Lesions Before and After Plastic Surgery

“…Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A) was applied for pre and post operative anxiety scoring of the patients. This scoring system is widely used in clinical and research settings (Ogłodek, Szota, Just, Araszkiewicz, & Szromek, 2016) and is easier to administer to all populations like adults, adolescents and children (Maier, Buller, Philipp, & Heuser, 1988…”