Is not liking people a mental illness

Not liking people may be a sign of psychological illness, or it may be related to personal personality or growth experiences. There are mainly factors such as emotionally detached personality disorder, avoidant attachment, depression, childhood emotional neglect, and autism spectrum disorder.

1. Emotional apathy personality disorder

Patients with emotional apathy personality disorder lack interest in intimate relationships, manifested as emotional alienation and social avoidance. This group of people often act alone and have a slow response to the emotional needs of others, but their daily life functions are basically normal. The reasons for its formation may be related to early emotional trauma or long-term loneliness, and it is necessary to gradually establish emotional connection through psychological counseling.

2. Avoidant Attachment

Avoidant attachment sufferers suppress their emotional needs due to fear of getting hurt, appearing to not like others on the surface, but actually having unfulfilled desires for intimacy. This group of people may have experienced emotional rejection or unstable care in childhood, and develop defensive alienation patterns in adulthood. This state can be improved through attachment relationship reconstruction therapy.

3. Depression

Depressive patients may experience emotional numbness symptoms and lose interest in people and things. This state is often accompanied by typical depressive symptoms such as sustained low mood and decreased energy, which are symptoms of the disease rather than personality traits. Antidepressants such as sertraline and fluoxetine combined with psychotherapy can effectively improve emotional responses.

4. Childhood emotional neglect

Long term lack of emotional interaction in the growth environment may lead to delayed development of emotional expression ability. This group of people is not devoid of emotions, but rather not good at recognizing and expressing feelings of love. Emotional education and training can reactivate suppressed emotional needs, but it requires a longer repair process.

5. Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder patients may have social and emotional disorders, making it difficult to understand complex emotional relationships. This situation is usually accompanied by stereotyped behavior, special interests, and other characteristics, requiring early behavioral intervention to help establish basic social skills. The degree of improvement in adulthood varies from person to person.

For situations where there is a long-term lack of ability to like others, it is recommended to first rule out factors such as depression. In daily life, emotional expression can be practiced through low stress methods such as keeping pets and participating in group activities, gradually cultivating intimate relationship skills. If accompanied by obvious social dysfunction or painful feelings, seek timely evaluation from a psychologist. The cultivation of emotional abilities requires patience, and there is no need to force oneself to change immediately, but it is important to maintain an open and trying attitude.