Interoception and Meditation (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 2/2/20
• Interoception is a sense that provides information about the internal condition of our body—how our body is feeling on the inside. Interoception allows us to experience many body sensations such as a growling stomach, dry mouth, tense muscles or racing heart.
• Interoception is contemporarily defined as the sense of the internal state of the body.[1] This can be both conscious and non-conscious. It encompasses the brain's process of integrating signals relayed from the body into specific subregions—like the brainstem, thalamus, insula, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex—allowing for a nuanced representation of the physiological state of the body.[2][3] This is important for maintaining homeostatic conditions[4] in the body and, potentially, aiding in self-awareness.[5]
Feel In/Feel Out/Feel Rest
• When you locate a feeling or emotion internally and it's correlating manifestation in the body label it as "feel in".
• When you notice a feeling generated by physical sensations like pain, discomfort, hot, cold, external sounds or smells label it as "feel out".
• When you are completely neutral and aren't being affected by any internal or external sensations and are at ease label it as "feel rest".
• Noting and labeling our emotions it decreases our stress response and is a form of emotion regulation visible in the brain.
• Instead of saying "I am ______" saying " I feel _____" helps to disassociate oneself or not identify as the emotion itself. Then follow this statement with identifying if and where it manifests in the body.
