The relationship of alexithymia characteristics to dreaming

Abstract

Objective: In two studies, we tested two hypotheses about the relationship of alexithymia to dreaming; that dreams of alexithymic people are barren and rarely recalled, and that the dreams are unregulated and nightmarish. Methods: Study 1 was a retrospective survey of dreaming among several hundred young adults, and Study 2 was a 1-week, prospective diary study of 153 young adults in which recall, content, and length of dreams were assessed. Results: Across both studies, the externally oriented thinking (EOT) facet of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)-20 correlated with different dream characteristics than the difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) facets, even after statistically controlling for the other facets. Greater EOT was related to an increased frequency of nights without dream recall, having shorter dreams, having dreams rated as boring and lacking vividness, and not believing in the importance of dreams. In contrast, greater DIF or DDF was related to an increased frequency of nights with disturbing dreams, and having dreams rated as bizarre and aggressive. Conclusion: We find support for both hypotheses, but different facets of the multidimensional alexithymia construct account for the two types of dream reports.