Kaila
asked
Francesca Zappia:
First of all I love your book and am especially interested in the mental illness aspect of it, so I have two questions for you. What made you incorporate Alexithymia into Miles' character in addition to Alex's mental illness? Also, due to the nature of Alexithymia and the sufferers inability to 'recognise' emotions, do you personally believe it's possible that a person suffering from this disease can fall in love?
Francesca Zappia
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it.
Personally, I don't believe books have to have that "only one" mentality. While from a mental illness standpoint this book's focus is on Alex's schizophrenia, that doesn't mean no one else in her world has any other neuroatypicalities. But I wouldn't say it was so much a conscious decision to include alexithymia as it was my discovering the word years after Miles was formed. Miles always was the way he is, but during editing and rewrites I found the word alexithymia and realized it described what he personally felt he was dealing with. (You'll notice in the book that Miles is self-diagnosed. This doesn't mean he's wrong, but I think it's important to note.)
As for your second question...that's a tough one. Alexithymia has many different shades. (Also, I believe it's not actually in the DSM-IV as a mental disorder—it’s classified as a personality trait. However, I’m not sure for the DSM-V.) While some alexithymics say they do not feel love at all, others may simply not be able to distinguish it from other emotions, or have a hard time doing so. And because love can be such an intense emotion, that makes it more difficult to deal with, as well.
I do think people with alexithymia can fall in love. I think Miles does, by the end of Made You Up, and his proclamation during his graduation speech is not only for Alex's sake, but a reaffirmation for him that he's sure of what he feels. (hide spoiler)]
Personally, I don't believe books have to have that "only one" mentality. While from a mental illness standpoint this book's focus is on Alex's schizophrenia, that doesn't mean no one else in her world has any other neuroatypicalities. But I wouldn't say it was so much a conscious decision to include alexithymia as it was my discovering the word years after Miles was formed. Miles always was the way he is, but during editing and rewrites I found the word alexithymia and realized it described what he personally felt he was dealing with. (You'll notice in the book that Miles is self-diagnosed. This doesn't mean he's wrong, but I think it's important to note.)
As for your second question...that's a tough one. Alexithymia has many different shades. (Also, I believe it's not actually in the DSM-IV as a mental disorder—it’s classified as a personality trait. However, I’m not sure for the DSM-V.) While some alexithymics say they do not feel love at all, others may simply not be able to distinguish it from other emotions, or have a hard time doing so. And because love can be such an intense emotion, that makes it more difficult to deal with, as well.
I do think people with alexithymia can fall in love. I think Miles does, by the end of Made You Up, and his proclamation during his graduation speech is not only for Alex's sake, but a reaffirmation for him that he's sure of what he feels. (hide spoiler)]
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