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Affective Flatness

Meaning

Affective Flatness, a clinical term, describes a diminished or restricted range of emotional expression, manifesting as a lack of typical facial responsiveness, vocal inflection, and expressive gestures. Individuals experiencing this state often report a profound sense of emotional blunting or detachment, making it difficult to convey or feel the full spectrum of human emotions. This presentation is a key diagnostic feature in certain psychiatric and neurological conditions, representing a disruption in the brain’s emotional processing centers. It significantly impacts interpersonal communication and the subjective experience of life.