Sense of alexithymia in a patient with vitiligo and paranoid schizophrenia

*Ewa Ogłodek¹, Danuta Mo?², Aleksander Araszkiewicz¹, Waldemar Placek³

Summary
Aim.The behaviour contemporarily known as alexithymia was first described in detail by psychiatrists Peter E. Sifneos and John C. Nemiah. Over the past few decades the concept of alexithymia has been refined theoretically, and it is presently defined by the following features: (1) difficulty in identifying feelings and distinguishing between feelings and bodily sensations of emotional arousal; (2) difficulty in describing feelings to other people; (3) constricted imaginal processes, as evidenced by a paucity of fantasies; and (4) a stimulus-bound, externally oriented cognitive style.
The aim of the research was to evaluate the sense of alexithymia in a female patient with vitiligo and paranoid schizophrenia.
Material and Method. DSM-IV classification was used in the psychiatric examination of the patient in question and paranoid schizophrenia was diagnosed. This was followed by examining the patient by means of the shortened version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The scale is characterized by high discrimination power, internal coherence and reliability.
Results. An analysis of the TAS-20 scale results revealed the highest value of the "difficulties identifying feelings” factor.
Conclusions. Sense of alexithymia may be a result of long-term stress which, in turn, leads to the development of vitiligo and paranoid schizophrenia.

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