<![CDATA[This study aimed to explore the emotional experiences of early adult women with alexithymia who grew up in dysfunctional families. This study employed a qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design involving five participants selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that emotional communication barriers were shaped by experiences of emotional invalidation, leading to restricted emotional expression and a tendency to suppress emotions. Participants predominantly relied on emotional suppression as their primary emotion regulation strategy and developed emotional self-reliance as a coping strategy due to limited trust in interpersonal support. In addition, past relational experiences played an important role in shaping participants’ emotional understanding, leading them to perceive themselves as the primary safe space for processing emotions. These findings highlight the importance of understanding relational experiences in supporting the emotional development of early adult women with alexithymia.]]>
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