How Trauma Disconnects Interoception: Our Felt Sense

Interoception is a sense that connects us with our internal bodily sensations. It is the process by which the nervous system senses, interprets, and integrates signals originating from within the body, providing a moment-by-moment mapping of the body’s internal state. We come into the world with this sense. As human beings, we are the only mammals born utterly unable to care for ourselves, completely reliant upon others for safety and survival. Through interoception, we monitor and respond to our internal states to preserve life. As infants, we sense when we are hungry or thirsty, respond by crying, and hopefully our caregiver responds. As we grow older and are able to take care of ourselves, the capacity to notice these internal sensations guides us in taking care of our needs as well as making choices and building our lives based on what we notice, how we feel, who we are. 

Interoception occurs when sensory receptor cells pick up information and detect change, then transfer that information through the nervous system. These signals travel along the nerves in the spinal cord and brain. This function of the autonomic nervous system plays an essential role in regulating balance, by constantly adjusting to provide the stability and constancy needed for the body to maintain a healthy state (homeostasis).

In response to trauma, interoception may be endangered or disrupted resulting in a lack of connection with our bodies. Losing awareness of our body’s internal signals and our primary sense of self significantly impacts our overall health and well-being. Studies suggest that the absence of interoception may cause symptoms such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and addiction. Disrupted interoception can also lead to chronic medical conditions as survivors of trauma, racism and other forms of oppression may disconnect from their bodies and not be in tune with the body’s cues for self-care or medical intervention.

In trauma sensitive yoga, TCTSY, we create an environment where interoception can “turn back on” by offering physical shapes and movements as an opportunity to practice noticing sensations. TCTSY creates space for trauma survivors by preventing re-traumatization. TCTSY is about having a body and being able to make choices based on having a body. To share power, we sit alongside the participant, co-creating conditions where there is enough safety in the room for interoception to turn back on.