Interoception Flashcards
(24 cards)
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
- learner 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 meditation
- traditional meditation is often abstract = many learners 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
