[moonkid]

I'd like to ask if other members here also have or had the problem of not being able to experience deep emotion.
I am struggling with this and it makes my life rather dull and I often find it exhausting having to analyse every situation because my feelings don't tell me anything. I can use logic to determine what I should most likely be feeling in certain situations but the actual emotion is not there.
I occasionally seem to show emotions though, which is confusing to me, because I don't feel anything.
It perplexed me when I start to cry during therapy and then my therapist asks me what is making me sad. Nothing is making me sad. I am not sad. I am just crying. My brain seems to think crying is the logical response to certain things, so my body reacts with leaking fluids through my eyes.
I have tried a few times to discuss this with people but they didn't understand. They all said "of course you have emotions! You laugh, you cry, you have opinions. That wouldn't be the case if you didn't have emotions".
But I don't feel any emotions. I recognise them in other people but I can't experience them and it's perplexing.

[ray68]

I have struggled to recognize and identify what I may be feeling at any given moment. I do little drills just about everyday and I ask myself what/if am I feeling or the cliche' shrink question how does this/that make me feel? I used to not be able to feel anything but anger/ frustration, I was angry all the time but I did not even know the name of what I was feeling and thought that it was normal. I started to feel after I went through a pretty rigorous CBT and psychotherapy regimen. I went for several hours every day for almost a year. I did a lot of "thought challenging" and the therapists worked extensively prying into my emotions. It was a pretty bizarre experience, discovering myself. I once was asked by a partner of mine if I loved him. I had to honestly say no. I felt . . . odd saying that (now I feel really bad about it) because I knew I probably should but I didn't think it was fair to lie to him. We stayed together for quite a while and even now I'm not sure why. I feel a certain affection for him now that I never did whilst we were together. I actually had another person ask me if I was in love with him and I had to say no, but I explained that I loved him I was just not In Love. I've gotten a lot better at identifying my emotions. I am confused a lot because my heart will race or I will cry and not know why still, but I'm much better than I used to be.

[Cyllya]

Originally Posted by moonkid

I occasionally seem to show emotions though, which is confusing to me, because I don't feel anything.

...

I have tried a few times to discuss this with people but they didn't understand. They all said "of course you have emotions! You laugh, you cry, you have opinions. That wouldn't be the case if you didn't have emotions".
But I don't feel any emotions. I recognise them in other people but I can't experience them and it's perplexing.

Sounds like alexithymia, maybe a milder version? (Having emotions, but difficulty identifying them.) If that's the case, you're not alone. Here's the Wikipedia page and a questionnaire.