Alexithymia
Etymology
Coined in 1973 by the psychotherapist Peter Sifneos from Greek "a-" (without), "lexis" (word), and "thymos" (emotion or spirit). It literally means "no words for feelings." The term arose in psychosomatic medicine to describe patients who reported physical complaints but little emotional narrative.
noun · /uh-lek-suh-THY-mee-uh/
Difficulty identifying and putting words to one’s own emotions.
What it names
A precise handle for the person who feels bodily agitation but cannot say whether it is anger, fear, or hunger — useful for describing a real trait that ranges from mild to clinically significant.
Example
Therapy helped her name what alexithymia had kept mute: the tightness in her chest was grief, not indigestion.
Related idea
Not the same as apathy or repression — the emotions are present and active, but the labelling machinery that converts them into nameable feelings is what falters.