Interoception – ‘A Sense Few Understand’

At TCT, we’re always learning and sharing new ways to better understand ourselves and support those we work with. One of the lesser-known but incredibly important senses is interoception — often called the “hidden” or eighth sense. It’s all about how we feel what’s happening inside our bodies, from hunger and thirst to emotions and pain. Understanding interoception can open up new ways to support children, young people, and adults, especially those who are neurodiverse.

We’ve found a fantastic podcast episode featuring occupational therapist Kelly Mahler that dives deeper into this fascinating topic and its impact on everyday life. Check it out below to learn more about how interoception shapes our wellbeing and why it deserves more attention

Recently, there is an expanding body of research evidence to support the extensive impact of interoception on our bodies, our emotional regulation, and  our understanding of ourselves.

Interoception is the ability to be able to register, interpret and respond appropriately to signs and signals from inside the body. For some people, their signals may be heightened (hyper sensitive) or for others, they may be under responsive; these signals may be ‘quieter’ and less easy to register (hypo sensitive). This is particularly the case with young people and adults who are neurodiverse and can be very impactful on a day-to-day basis. Challenges with interoception can impact toileting, eating and drinking, registering when you’re too hot or too cold, understanding when your body feels pain, and your emotions and feelings. It can also be linked with executive functions such as decision making, self-agency, planning and ideas etc.

This informative episode of this podcast series talks in more detail about this relatively new area and the extensive impact challenges with interception can have on many different aspects of life. This episode is presented in collaboration with Kelly Mahler an Occupational Therapist who specialises in this area.

Written by Jo Scott, Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist