Animals.
28.05.2016 by RecNew to the forum, and therefore unsure of whether I truly do have alexithymia. In order to discern whether I do or not, I'm interested in how people with alexi react and view pets and/or animals. Personally, I've never minded animals or pets, and would go as far as to say that I gain something positive out of the interactions I've had with them, most notably with the current family pet who I genuinely enjoy being with (when I bother to be with it). I'm not too sure why this is, but the most I could come up with is that I enjoy the simplicity of the relationship. I don't have to maintain it; others do that, and therefore the dog doesn't 'ask' anything of me that I don't wish to put forward.
I prefer animals to people, too.
29.05.2016 by Dave
Pets are nice; most people aren't.
Thanks.
29.05.2016 by Rec
Appreciate the straightforward answers. After some reading throughout the rest of the forum I'm sure that I have alexithymia. It doesn't bother me all that much; it's almost reassuring.
I like animals, too. Animals are blameless. I also appreciate the uncomplicated direct honesty of their behaviour, no cloak and dagger. People have often attempted to use my liking animals - and disinclination to harm them - as arguments for why I cannot possibly be alexithymic. I have tried to explain that anyone who tortures, kills, or harms animals in a deliberate and systematic fashion (aka, they're not just hunting it to eat it) is obviously doing so out of a more intense emotional basis than I am even capable of.
I get some positive effects out of interactions with animals and enjoy having a pet. However, I have had pets in the past and regarded them well, but when they eventually died it was not a problem for me. Simply a natural outcome of our general differences in life expectancy, and the lifestyle the animal naturally had. The example I'm thinking of was a cat who was taken by a snake. I lived in a rural area - this was a perfectly acceptable outcome of the cat's free ranging lifestyle and the nature of both cat and snake.
People thought my acceptance of this very odd, since I liked the cat. What can I say.
I cried at animal issues...
26.06.2016 by DXS
I once accidentally hit a bunny when it darted on the road. I tried to take it to a vet, but it died before I could get it there. I cried and cried......
I saw some machismo guy bash a bird with a shovel. I cried and cried for the bird.
I cried when my cat died.
I love animals....
Tbh the closest thing I felt to real love is with my dog, Idk how to explain it, when he left I felt Empty and I don't miss him but when I do think of him I do feel sad. Idk if yall can also relate it's just difficult to explain. (Obviously cause we're all alexis lol)
