Interoception Flashcards
Sensory regulation
ability to maintain an appropriate level of attention in response to sensory input from the environment
Emotional regulation
ability to manage and respond to emotions in a balanced way
Co-regulation
one person helps another regulate their emotions and behaviors
Self-regulation
ability to independently regulate emotions and behaviors
- not all individuals will be able to self-regulate, for some, the goal will be co-regulation
Sensory diets
- helps to assist with regulation considering all 7 sensory systems
- oral
- tactile
- vestibular
- proprioception = heavy work and deep pressure
- auditory
- visual
- smell
Zones of regulation
- most self-regulation programs (zones of regulation, how does your engine run) are dependent on individuals having a basic awareness of their body or can understand individual emotions
- programs are focused what to do if feel anxious, angry, hungry, overwhelmed, in the “yellow zone”, in the “blue zone”
- what if you cannot feel or understand that you are anxious, hungry, overwhelmed or sad?
Interoception
- a sensory system
- enable us to feel internal sensations
- signals from mouth, heart, muscles, stomach assist us in understanding our feelings
- for most people, it happens intrinsically/immediately, other people have to work to notice body signals and decipher
Interoceptive awareness
- the degree to which we are able to notice and connect with body signals
- allows us to ask, “how do I feel?”
- ability to NOTICE = what body signals do I feel inside of my body?
- ability to CONNECT = the body signals to an emotion (what do these body signals mean? what emotion am I experiencing?)
- ex: stomach growling means I am hungry
Within OT scope of practice, OTPF-4 includes interception as a client factor
- toileting/continence
- feeding/eating
- pain/healthcare management
- sleep
- body temp
- sensory regulation
- emotional regulation
- social connection
Interoception
- the critical foundation of independent self-regulation
- noticing the way the body feels and connecting it to an emotion is what motivates purposeful and self-regulation behaviors
Identifying emotions
- affective emotions
- homeostatic emotions
Homeostatic emotions
- drive us to fill our basic needs
- eating, drinking, seeking help when sick, bathroom use, and sleeping
Affective emotions
- involve our mood
- reaction to the world around us
Differences in interoceptive awareness
- difficulty identifying exactly how they feel
- ability to recognize a general feeling of comfort/discomfort but cannot express explicit emotion
- ability to detect a basic emotion (like anxiety) but an inability to determine intensity
- ability to recognize a general feeling of excitement, but unable to detect other emotions intermingled such as nervousness
Unclear interoceptive awareness
- body signals may be too big
- body signals may be too small (muted, weakness go unnoticed)
- body signals are distorted (notice body signals by not clear to give specific detail)
Diagnoses/conditions that may experience difficulties with interoceptive awareness
- ASD
- ADHD
- OCD
- eating disorders
- SPD
- trauma and PTSD
- anxiety
- dementia
- depression
- obesity
- drug/alcohol addition
- chronic pain syndrome
Possible signs of atypical interoception awareness
- learned does not realize being overwhelmed until being REALLY overwhelmed
- when upset, needs help from others to calm down
- learner has been taught coping strategies but has difficulty utilizing
- gets upset but does not know why
- notices emotion, but is unsure which one it is
- intense emotions sneak up on the learner
- forgets to eat or eat until sick
- uses the restroom on a set schedule
- high/low pain threshold
- difficulties identifying if tired
- decreased awareness of being hot/cold
Interoceptive awareness facilitates self-regulation
- co-regulation
- interoceptive awareness
- self-regulation
Promoting interoception
- notice = (BODY) what body signals do I notice right now?
connect = (EMOTION) what do these signals mean? what emotions am I experiencing?
regulate = (ACTION) = what action do I need to take to maintain comfort or restore comfort?
Mindfulness and interoceptive awareness
- mindfulness is one of the most effective ways to enhance interoceptive awareness
- research suggests mindfulness can improve interoceptive awareness in as little as 8 weeks
- focus upon attention to the body such as breathing, tensions in the body, yoga with noticing how the pose makes you feel
- the insula (the interoceptive center of the brain) is strongly activated during medication
- traditional meditation is often abstract = many leaners need more specific strategies
Interoception cirriculum
1.) increasing ability to notice body signals
2.) emotions
3.) action
Step 1: increasing ability to notice body signals
- hands and fingers
- feet and toes
- mouth
- eyes
- ears
- noise
- voice
- cheeks
- skin
- muscles
- lungs
- heart
- brain/head
- stomach
- bladder
- whole body
Step 2: emotions
- increase learner’s ability to give meaning to the body signals noticed
- my body signals are clues to my emotions
- each emotion has different body signals
- what is the cause of my body signals?
- creating a body-emotion chart
Step 3: action
- increase ability to use good actions that can be used to promote positive body-emotion experiences
- my body can feel comfortable, my body can feel uncomfortable
- I can change the way my body feels
- I can change the way my body feels when it is uncomfortable
- discovering new feel-good actions
- making my own feel-good menu
