Topic: Unable to read others emotions?

I'm no way near an expert in this as I too have questions I want answered but from what you have said I believe it would be Alexithymia because the severity of it differs from person to person. You're unable to tell your own emotions or read others which sounds about right for it. I think the fact you can't feel your own emotions well would make it harder to tell what others are feeling and their emotions. I'm the other way around, I feel a lot of things but I can't explain or come to an explanation on how I feel I only feel it and when I try explain it even to myself I get frustrated and feel like crying and I can't understand why I'm unable to explain or know how I feel when I'm able to feel a lot. I can explain the simple things like if I'm hot,cold,tired,hungry,happy,angry and what body part feels in pain or something or if one of the emotions is a lot more obvious than the others but over all most of the time I can't but Im able to understand and tell what other people are feeling a fair bit.
You may have gotten the way you are from the rough time you had in the 8th grade and Im not expert like I said but from the sound of it whatever happened could have been really bad and the result being this could have been a way of protecting you but against emotional pain. It's only my guess from what you said.
When my granddad died I felt the same. But he is the only one close to me that has died so I don't know if it'll be the same with others. I scored high on all apart from 1
From what you have said I personally believe it is Alexithymia though its my personal opinion so its true to me but factually speaking Im not sure but Alexithymia is the lack of emotions and unable to explain or understand them along with other stuff which is what you explained.

Thanks for the feedback

From what I've read on these forums, most people with alexi do have trouble 'reading' other peoples emotions. But, for some reason, even though I've scored highly on the test for everything else, I am fine reading other peoples emotions. I can usually see the logic in what they're going through, and, unless they're really upset or something, I'm generally pretty good at responding 'correctly'. It's only when people bring something on themselves or are very emotional (like losing a family member, after a breakup etc) that I don't care at all or have no idea how to respond and, hence, get confused or scared.

I can "read" people's emotions just fine... because I read. Books contain graphic, explicit details about emotions. It's just that I have a hard time relating to them (most common being "anxiety") and responding to those I don't know enough about.

Finding out about alexithymia was an eye opener because it explained why I can't "read" people. Going through the forums I'm finding descriptions of other's alexithymia that doesn't sound like my alexithymia; they can "read" other people. I can't read people because I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be reading.

That should have been a don't, not a doesn't (second sentence).