Understanding Interoception
Why Awareness of Your Body’s Signals Matters for Mental Health
Interoception is a lesser-known but essential part of mental and emotional well-being. It refers to your ability to sense, interpret, and respond to signals from inside your body. These signals include hunger, thirst, heartbeat, breathing, temperature, pain, tension, and emotional sensations like anxiety or calm.
When interoception is working well, it helps you understand what your body needs and respond appropriately. When it’s disrupted, it can contribute to anxiety, emotional dysregulation, burnout, and difficulty recognizing physical or emotional needs.
What Is Interoception?
Interoception is your internal sensory system. It allows your brain to receive information from your body and make sense of what’s happening internally.
Examples of interoceptive signals include:
• Noticing your heart racing when you’re anxious
• Recognizing hunger before becoming irritable or lightheaded
• Sensing tension in your chest or stomach during stress
• Feeling calm, grounded, or settled in your body
Interoception plays a key role in emotional awareness, self-regulation, and decision-making.
Why Interoception Is Important for Mental Health
Interoception helps connect physical sensations with emotions. Many emotions have bodily components, such as tightness with anxiety or heaviness with sadness. When interoceptive awareness is strong, people are better able to:
• Identify emotions early
• Regulate stress responses
• Meet basic physical needs
• Respond instead of react
When interoception is impaired, emotional and physical signals can feel confusing, overwhelming, or disconnected.
Signs of Interoceptive Difficulties
Interoceptive challenges can look different from person to person. Common signs include:
• Difficulty identifying emotions or bodily sensations
• Not noticing hunger, thirst, or fatigue until extreme
• Feeling overwhelmed by physical sensations
• Anxiety related to bodily cues like heart rate or breathing
• Trouble recognizing when you need rest or breaks
• Feeling disconnected from your body
Some people experience low interoceptive awareness, while others experience heightened sensitivity that feels distressing.
Interoception and Anxiety
Interoception plays a major role in anxiety. People with anxiety may become hyper-aware of internal sensations such as heart rate, breathing, or dizziness and interpret them as dangerous.
This can create a feedback loop:
• Bodily sensation occurs
• Sensation is perceived as threatening
• Anxiety increases
• Sensations intensify
Improving interoceptive awareness can help individuals learn to notice sensations without panic and respond with grounding rather than fear.
Interoception and Trauma
Trauma can significantly affect interoception. Some individuals become disconnected from their bodies as a protective response, while others remain in a heightened state of alert.
Trauma-related interoceptive patterns may include:
• Numbness or dissociation
• Difficulty feeling physical needs
• Sudden emotional or physical reactions without clear cause
• Chronic tension or pain
Trauma-informed care often includes gentle reconnection with bodily awareness in a safe and controlled way.
Interoception and ADHD
Interoceptive differences are common in individuals with ADHD. Many adults and children with ADHD report:
• Forgetting to eat or drink
• Difficulty noticing fatigue until burnout
• Emotional overwhelm that seems to appear suddenly
• Trouble recognizing stress building over time
Supporting interoceptive awareness can improve emotional regulation, self-care, and daily functioning.
Interoception and Burnout
Burnout often involves ignoring or overriding internal signals for extended periods. Poor interoceptive awareness can make burnout worse by delaying recognition of stress, exhaustion, or emotional overload.
People experiencing burnout may:
• Push through fatigue without noticing warning signs
• Feel disconnected from bodily needs
• Struggle to rest effectively
• Experience physical symptoms without clear explanation
Rebuilding interoceptive awareness is an important part of burnout recovery.
How Interoception Can Be Improved
Interoception is a skill that can be strengthened over time. Supportive strategies may include:
• Mindful body scanning
• Noticing breath, heart rate, and muscle tension
• Naming physical sensations without judgment
• Pausing regularly to check in with your body
• Therapy focused on mind-body awareness
Progress is often gradual and should feel safe, not overwhelming.
Interoception in Therapy
Many therapeutic approaches incorporate interoception, including:
• Trauma-informed therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Somatic and body-based therapies
• Mindfulness-based interventions
Therapy can help individuals build awareness of internal signals, understand emotional responses, and develop healthier regulation strategies.
When to Seek Support
You may benefit from professional support if:
• You feel disconnected from your body
• Physical sensations trigger anxiety or panic
• You struggle to identify emotions
• Stress or burnout feels chronic and unmanageable
• Trauma symptoms affect body awareness
Improving interoception can support emotional clarity, self-compassion, and long-term mental health.
Interoception and Mental Health Care at Nebraska Peace of Mind Behavioral Health
At Nebraska Peace of Mind Behavioral Health, we recognize the connection between mind and body. Our approach to mental health care is thoughtful, trauma-informed, and focused on helping individuals better understand their internal experiences.
If you’re struggling to recognize what your body is telling you—or feeling overwhelmed by those signals—support is available. Building interoceptive awareness can be a powerful step toward feeling more grounded, regulated, and connected to yourself.