Don’t Be Fooled by Her Smile: 5 Signs She’s Actually Crying…

The results of a few studies on deception do suggest that crocodile tears may be recognized and show that verbal and body language cues can reveal falsified sadness expressions, also in the case of false remorse (Porter and Yuille, 1995; Porter and Ten Brinke, 2008; Ten Brinke et al., 2012).

The third cue that an emotion is faked has to do with eye movements and directions. Looking downward and away indicates shame, guilt or disgust, looking down indicates sadness. The final way to detect false emotions is by catching those that seem to be held for too long, or seem over-exaggerated.

1. They overcompensate.
2. They zone out in social situations.
3. They are less talkative than usual.
4. They’re pessimistic.
5. They isolate themselves.

Even though you may pretend to be happy out of care for others, pretending to be happy is likely to only sap even more of your energy. This can make you feel even more upset. By pretending to be happy, you could be negatively affecting your own mental health as well as your relationships.

Alexithymia is a broad term to describe problems with feeling emotions. In fact, this Greek term used in Freudian psychodynamic theories loosely translates to “no words for emotion.” While the condition is not well-known, it’s estimated that 1 in 10 people has it.

Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the subclinical inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by one’s self. The core characteristic of alexithymia is marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relation.

While psychopaths show a specific lack in emotions, such as anxiety, fear and sadness, they can feel other emotions, such as happiness, joy, surprise and disgust, in a similar way as most of us would.

Concept description. In his New York Times column of 11 October 2016, David Brooks wrote that “Trump continues to display the symptoms of narcissistic alexithymia, the inability to understand or describe the emotions in the self. Unable to know themselves, sufferers are unable to understand, relate or attach to others. …

They admit to feeling bad about themselves, which makes some people question why they are considered narcissistic. Despite feeling badly about themselves, vulnerable narcissists—like grandiose narcissists—are self-centered, feel entitled to special treatment, and lack empathy for others.

Alexithymia is a characteristic style of thinking and feeling involving deficits in the recognition of emotions. It is associated with depression onset and severity in younger adults, but researchers have not yet examined the association between alexithymia and depression severity in clinically depressed older adults.

Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by grandiosity, self-admiration needs, and empathy deficits (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). An emerging body of work suggests that narcissism is particularly associated with an alexithymia subtype (i.e., difficulties identifying feelings).

Notably, alexithymia, not autism, was found to be the only significant predictor of child attachment to parents. Thus, alexithymia seems to play a key role on the way children with ASD perceive their relationship with their mothers and fathers.

Alexithymia is when a person has difficulty identifying and expressing emotions. It is not a mental health disorder. People with alexithymia may have problems maintaining relationships and taking part in social situations.

As many psychiatric conditions are associated with deficits or even lack of empathy, we discuss a limited number of these disorders including psychopathy/antisocial personality disorders, borderline and narcissistic personality disorders, autistic spectrum disorders, and alexithymia.

Abstract. Trauma survivors with PTSD show social interaction and relationship impairments. It is hypothesized that traumatic experiences lead to known PTSD symptoms, empathic ability impairment, and difficulties in sharing affective, emotional, or cognitive states.

Empathy is an enormous concept. Renowned psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman have identified three components of empathy: Cognitive, Emotional and Compassionate.

Previous research has demonstrated that patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are more sensitive to negative emotions and often show poor cognitive empathy, yet preserved or even superior emotional empathy.

Those with borderline personality disorder, or BPD, a mental illness marked by unstable moods, often experience trouble maintaining interpersonal relationships. New research indicates that this may have to do with lowered brain activity in regions important for empathy in individuals with borderline personality traits.

Signs and symptoms

• Fear of abandonment. People with BPD are often terrified of being abandoned or left alone.
• Unstable relationships.
• Unclear or shifting self-image.
• Impulsive, self-destructive behaviors.
• Self-harm.
• Extreme emotional swings.
• Chronic feelings of emptiness.
• Explosive anger.

The most common trigger for someone suffering from borderline personality disorder is any perception of abandonment or rejection.