Interoception/in-teh-ro-SEP-shun/
Your internal body sense—the ability to feel hunger, thirst, heartbeat, temperature, pain, and other signals from inside your body. Many neurodivergent people experience this "eighth sense" differently, making basic needs harder to recognize.
Andy says:
Imagine your body has a dashboard like a car—fuel gauge, temperature, warning lights. Now imagine half those instruments don't work, or they're in a language you can't read, or they only flash for a split second. That's interoceptive difference. You're driving down the highway not knowing you're out of gas until the engine stops. Not realizing you need the bathroom until it's an emergency. Missing hunger until you're shaking. Your check engine light has been on for three days but you can't feel what's wrong. It's not that you don't care about your body—you literally can't hear what it's saying. Some days the signals are screaming; other days, radio silence.
Detailed Explanation
Interoception is our internal monitoring system—tracking hunger, thirst, temperature, heart rate, breathing, pain, and emotional body signals. For many neurodivergent people, this system works differently.
What interoception includes:
- Physical needs (hunger, thirst, bathroom, fatigue)
- Body states (temperature, heart rate, breathing, pain)
- Emotional signals (anxiety butterflies, anger heat, joy warmth)
- Health warnings (illness, injury, exhaustion approaching)
How it differs in neurodivergent brains:
Under-responsive (signals too quiet): Don't feel hungry until shaking/faint, miss bathroom needs until emergency, work through illness without noticing, can't identify emotions from body cues, don't register temperature extremes, miss thirst until dehydrated.
Over-responsive (signals too loud): Heartbeat so loud you can't focus, every tiny sensation feels urgent, normal digestion causes anxiety, can't filter important from noise, clothing feels unbearable all day, temperature changes are overwhelming.
Inconsistent (signals unreliable): Sometimes crystal clear, sometimes silent, delayed processing—hunger hits hours late, stress makes all signals disappear, can't prioritize which sensation matters.
This isn't broken—it's different wiring needing different strategies.
Everyday Life Examples
The forgotten body: Emma hyperfocuses on coding. Eight hours later, she stands up and nearly faints. She hasn't eaten, drunk water, or used the bathroom. She wasn't ignoring her body—the signals never reached consciousness. Her body was screaming; her brain heard nothing.
The overwhelming awareness: Every heartbeat thuds in Tom's ears during meetings. He feels every digestive gurgle, every breath. Normal body functions feel like emergencies. He can't focus on work because his internal noise is deafening.
The emotion mystery: Sarah's therapist asks "Where do you feel that in your body?" Sarah has no idea. Anger, anxiety, excitement—they all feel like nothing, or maybe everything, or possibly that weird feeling from Tuesday. Her emotions are disconnected from body sensations.
Practical Strategies
External cues for internal needs: Water bottle with time markers, scheduled meal alarms (not "eat when hungry"), bathroom timers every 2-3 hours, temperature check reminders, "How's my body?" sticky notes.
Making signals louder: Exaggerate needs initially (very cold water, very warm food), physical movement to amplify sensations, body scans with guided audio, partner check-ins about obvious needs, visual hunger/thirst scales.
Managing overwhelming signals: Noise-canceling headphones for internal sounds, grounding techniques for body anxiety, comfortable non-restrictive clothing, consistent temperature environments, meditation for sensation tolerance.
Community Context
The neurodivergent community recognized interoceptive differences long before research caught up. Common experiences: "I thought everyone forgot to eat when focused," "Learning about interoception explained why self-care was so hard," "My meltdowns make sense now—I couldn't feel overwhelm building," "Bathroom accidents at 30 weren't laziness—I literally couldn't feel."
Research shows many neurodivergent people have atypical interoceptive processing. Brain imaging reveals differences in insula activation (brain region processing internal body states). This explains why basic self-care can be neurologically difficult, not willpower failure. Understanding interoception transforms shame into self-compassion. It's not broken—it's different wiring needing different strategies.
Quick Tips
- Today: Set three alarms for water, food, bathroom
- This Week: Track one body signal daily (just notice, don't judge)
- This Month: Find your personal interoception pattern
Do / Don't
Do's
- Use external cues (timers, apps) for internal needs
- Validate that missing signals is neurological
- Create predictable body-care routines
- Celebrate small awareness improvements
- Build support systems that check in
Don'ts
- Don't shame missing body signals
- Don't use hunger/thirst as punishment
- Don't compare interoceptive abilities
- Don't push through important signals
- Don't dismiss physical complaints
For Families and Caregivers
Your loved one isn't ignoring their body on purpose:
- They literally can't feel hunger/thirst/bathroom needs
- Or they feel everything too intensely to function
- Meltdowns often happen because they couldn't feel overwhelm building
- "Just listen to your body" is like saying "just see ultraviolet"
Support by:
- Gentle reminders without judgment
- Scheduled meals/drinks regardless of hunger
- Checking in about basic needs
- Recognizing good days and bad days
- Never shaming accidents or missed needs
For Schools and Workplaces
Educators: Students with interoceptive differences need:
- Scheduled bathroom breaks (not "go when you need")
- Required snack/water times
- Movement breaks to amplify body signals
- Understanding that accidents aren't defiance
- Help recognizing emotional escalation
Employers: Support interoceptive needs:
- Flexible break schedules
- Reminder systems normalized
- Understanding of variable productivity
- Sensory-friendly workspace options
- No punishment for body-need accommodations
Intersectionality & Variation
- Autism: Often extremely under or over-responsive
- ADHD: Hyperfocus completely disconnects from body
- Trauma: Can severely disrupt interoceptive processing
- Age: Young children naturally have less interoceptive awareness
- Culture: Different attitudes toward body awareness and expression
Related Terms
- Alexithymia - Difficulty identifying and describing emotions
- Sensory processing - How we process all sensory information
- Proprioception - Sense of body position in space
- Executive dysfunction - Affects managing body needs
- Autistic burnout - Often preceded by ignored interoceptive signals
Related Terms
Alexithymia
The inability to identify and describe your own emotions. You feel things intensely but can't name them—like having a complex emotional storm inside but only being able to say "I feel bad." Affects 50-85% of autistic people.
Autistic Burnout
Complete physical, mental, and sensory collapse from the cumulative cost of existing in a neurotypical world. Skills disappear, speech vanishes, and previously automatic tasks become impossible—not tiredness but neurological system failure.
Co-regulation
When one nervous system helps stabilize another through presence and connection. Not talking someone through their emotions—literally sharing your calm until their system remembers how to regulate. Like emotional jumper cables: you can't charge a dead battery by yelling at it, but you can share power from a working one.
Sensory Processing Disorder
A condition where the nervous system has trouble receiving and responding to sensory information. People may be over-sensitive, under-sensitive, or both to different sensory inputs.
Emotional Dysregulation
Neurological differences in how emotions are experienced, processed, and expressed. Characterized by intense feelings that may seem disproportionate to triggers and difficulty returning to emotional baseline—not a character flaw, but brain-based variation.
Stimming
Self-stimulatory behaviors—repetitive movements, sounds, or activities that regulate the nervous system. Natural, necessary, and beneficial actions that help process sensory input, manage emotions, and maintain focus.
Community Contributions
Your contributions help make definitions more accurate and accessible.