Interoception; The 6th Sense that can help you tame anxiety, overcome anger and lose a few pounds
With just a bit of effort each day, you can use interoception help regulate your mental, emotional and physical well being.
Have you ever tried to notice your heartbeat without checking your pulse or putting a stethoscope to your ears?
Why would you? Some people do it all the time. They are tuning into their sense of interoception.
What is Interoception?
The American Psychological Association defines interoception as “the ability to be aware of internal sensations in the the body, including heart rate, respiration, hunger, fullness, temperature, and pain, as well as emotion sensations.”
To take the definition just a bit further The Guardian reported that interoception “includes all the signals from your internal organs, including your cardiovascular system, your lungs, your gut, your bladder and your kidneys.”
Why does it matter? Why should you care?
…..because modern neuroscience says so.
According to a report at the National Library of Medicine “interoceptive mechanisms ensure physiological health through the cerebral coordination of homeostatic reflexes and allostatic responses that include motivational behaviors and associated affective and emotional feelings.”
Let’s run that bit of word salad again, translated into normal language. The body’s internal sensing processes help maintain overall health by coordinating with the brain to control reflexes that keep things stable, respond to stress, motivate behaviors, and influence emotions and feelings.
Look, I don’t buy into absolutely everything doctors and researchers tell me. Nonetheless, I don’t want to toss out the baby with the bathwater and neuroscience is onto something here.
In his book The Body Keeps the Score Bessel Van Der Kolk says that our sense of self is anchored in connection to our bodies. “We do not truly know ourselves unless we can feel and interpret our physical sensations; we need to register and act on these sensations to navigate safely through life.”
In other words, if you’re numb to what’s going on inside of you, you’re missing out on vital information.
Dr. Van Der Kolk argues that interoception is the first step to knowing what we feel and why we feel that way. He says that it’s the catalyst for the overall feeling of being truly in charge of our lives.
Are you hungry? Don’t be so sure.
Think about the last time that you hopped up off of the couch to grab a snack. Were you really feeling hungry at that moment? Was you stomach growling? Did you actually experience the sensation of hunger?
There’s nothing wrong with grabbing a snack whenever you want. You have free will. Only thing is, wouldn’t it be better to be certain that you knew why you were grabbing that snack…especially if you’re trying to lose some weight?
That’s where interoception comes in. It will help you stop habitually eating when your body doesn’t actually need noursihment.
What about when you really are hungry? Do you know when to stop?
So many of us have conditioned ourselves to ignore the sensation of hunger once we start eating. It goes like this:
You feel hungry. It’s dinner time. It’s date night! 😍
You and your partner hop in the car. 🚙
You head toward your favorite Chinese restaurant. 🥢🥠
You’re feeling hungrier by the moment. 🤤
You stop by the local liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine.🍷
You’re excited about a great night! 🤩
You’re feeling even hungrier. 🤤
You get to the restaurant and sit at your preferred table. 🍴
You know the server so well that he gives you a hug and doesn’t even need to hand you a menu. He’s knows what you want. 🍜
You feel even hungrier. 🤤
You and your partner eat a bowl of crunchy noodles, delightfully dipping each one in duck sauce. It was just a little bowl. 🍜
You feel really hungry now.🤤
Your WonTon soup is delivered and you inhale it. It was glorious. 🍲
You and your partner are having a great conversation. 🗣️
You don’t notice that you don’t feel hungry anymore.🤤
You polish off an order of steamed dumplings.🥟
You don’t notice that you now feel full, nearly stuffed.🫃
You and your partner share orders of chicken with broccoli, Mooshu Pork, General Tso’s chicken and spare ribs.🍗
You sit back in your chair.🪑
You finally notice that your stomach has expanded three times its normal size.🫃
You still pick at the General Tso’s chicken. 🍗
You finish up, leave the restaurant and enjoy an evening of thoughtless indigestion. TUMs anyone? 🥴
Just remember, a moment of interoception can help you avoid an evening of indgestion. There are better ways to end a date night…😉
Are you angry before you feel angry? Are you anxious before you feel anxious?
When we have an angry or negative response to something, there is a process that takes place inside of our bodies. The process, called the HPA Axis, is more commonly known as the fight or flight response.
Within milliseconds of an angry or anxious thought the adrenal glands release cortisol into the bloodstream. Blood pressure rises, heart beat increases and blood flow is redirected away from the brain and toward the arms and legs. Before we know it, we’re sweating, panicking or raging.
This is all very helpful if you’re dealing with a life threatening situation. It’s not quite as useful if you’re late for an important meeting, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
There are a gazillion things that happen inside of your body before you feel the affects of anger, or anxiety. Yet, most of us don’t take notice of these internal processes and we simply operate on auto pilot. We have a stressful thought. Our bodies go into hyperdrive and then our minds go into hyperdrive. That process repeats itself over and over again until we finally notice and intervene.
That’s where interoception comes in. What if you had the ability to recognize unnecessary stress well before you travel down the fight or flight rabbit hole? What if you’re sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and you notice your heart beating very quickly?
Being interoceptive, you’ll know how to interpret the message. Instead of continuing to spiral, you might take a deep breath and ask yourself if you’re really in a life threatening situation. Is this experience worth elevating my blood pressure? Is it worth flooding my system with cortisol?
Being aware, taking that breath and asking those questions will instantly halt the fight or flight process. Your entire experience in that moment, maybe even your entire day, will be exponentially different, measurably better.
Ritu’s 10 step interoception practice - From the outside In
First, I close my eyes. I take three deep breaths in through my nose and out through mouth. That centers me.
I tune into my external sense of hearing. What it’s the most prevalent outside noise I’m hearing. I become aware of it and allow it in.
Then I notice any subtle noises coming in from the outside.
Then I listen for any subtle, internal sounds (heart beat, stomach growling, the sound of my breath.)
Next, I focus on my eyes. They remain closed. Can I see any light entering through my eyelids? Or, do I just see darkness. Do I see any images in my mind.
I take a deep breath. What do I smell outside of my body? (My coffee brewing in the kitchen or maybe the eggs sizzling on a griddle?)
Do I notice any scents coming from inside my body, any subtle smells inside my nose?
What do I taste? Are there any sensations inside of my mouth? Does my mouth taste acidic, sour or sweet?
Now it’s time to focus on my sense of touch. As I’m sitting down on the couch I notice my body sinking into the cushion. Can I feel my back against the chair?
Do I feel myself clenching my jaw? Am I holding onto any tension inside my body. Can I feel my heart beating or my breath going in and out of my lungs?
Our Thoughts:
Practicing interoception is very easy and stunningly effective. Our bodies always give us clues about what’s going on in our minds. Interoception simply requires paying attention to what’s happening inside of ourselves and then acting upon those messages. This internal warning system is always operative and there is never a situation where we can’t tap into it. Interoception is just as accessible if you’re standing on stage in front of 10,000 people, as it is if you’re sitting quietly in your meditation room.
At Envisage Wellness, Ritu Chib-Eiven and Mitch Eiven approach psychotherapy and coaching a little differently. In both areas our objective is to give you the tools to empower you to discover your own healing or your own path toward achievement. This newsletter is designed to be an extension of that effort. We’ll keep it short, helpful and deliver it to your inbox at least twice a month.