The Body-Emotion Connection: Why Interoception Is Essential for Self-Regulation
Emotional regulation is a cornerstone of mental health, and it's a term that gets used frequently in therapy spaces. But what often gets overlooked is the foundation that makes emotional regulation possible in the first place: the ability to sense and interpret what’s happening inside our bodies.
This is where interoception comes in.
Interoception, sometimes called the “eighth sense,” is our brain’s ability to notice and interpret internal body signals—like a racing heart, tense shoulders, a flutter in the stomach, or even hunger and thirst cues. It’s what allows someone to say, “I’m feeling anxious,” because they can sense the physical shifts that accompany that emotion. As described in the work of Kelly Mahler, interoception is at the heart of how we understand what we’re feeling, why we’re feeling it, and what we might need in response.
When this sense is well-developed, it becomes the bridge between body awareness and emotional clarity. But when interoception is disrupted, that bridge can feel shaky—or like it’s not there at all.
Understanding and supporting interoception is essential for anyone working toward emotional resilience and self-regulation. And for many people, there are valid and complex reasons why this connection is missing.
The Body-Emotion-Regulation Connection
Emotions aren’t just mental states—they are physiological experiences. When something in our environment feels threatening, exciting, comforting, or distressing, our nervous system responds with real, felt changes in the body. That’s why fear might show up as a tight chest, or joy as a sense of lightness. These sensations are not separate from emotions; they are the way emotions are experienced.
To self-regulate, we need to be able to detect those internal shifts, understand what they mean, and respond in ways that help us return to a grounded state. That entire process relies on interoceptive awareness.
Without this internal input, it becomes much harder to even know we’re dysregulated—let alone do anything about it. Interoception is the early warning system that something is off and the signal that something needs attention. It’s a critical starting point for self-care, emotional clarity, and nervous system balance.
Why Interoception Is Difficult for So Many
Interoception doesn’t develop in isolation. Like many aspects of emotional functioning, it grows within relationships and in the context of lived experience. And when those experiences include trauma, misattunement, or neurodivergence, the interoceptive system can be disrupted.
Let’s begin with early relational experiences. For children to develop a reliable internal sense of self, they need caregivers who are attuned to their bodily and emotional needs. This might look like a parent recognizing a baby’s hunger cues, responding to a distressed cry, or helping a toddler name big feelings like anger or fear.
When that attunement is present, children learn: My internal signals make sense. They lead to care. I can trust what my body is telling me.
But in environments where caregivers are inattentive, overwhelmed, dismissive, or neglectful, those body signals may be ignored or invalidated. Over time, children learn to tune out their own sensations—or override them completely. If expressing emotion or discomfort is met with punishment or indifference, it can actually feel safer to disconnect from the body’s cues altogether.
This pattern is especially common in individuals who’ve grown up needing to minimize their needs, stay small, or prioritize others’ comfort over their own. In those situations, disconnecting from internal cues is often a strategy of survival—not a failure of awareness.
Trauma also plays a powerful role. During traumatic experiences, particularly those that are overwhelming or inescapable, the nervous system often protects us by distancing us from our physical experience. Dissociation, numbness, and a muted sense of the body are all ways of coping. When the body becomes a site of pain, fear, or unpredictability, tuning out is often the most adaptive option available at the time.
And for many neurodivergent individuals, interoception may develop differently from the start. People with autism, ADHD, sensory processing differences, and other forms of neurodivergence often experience their internal cues in ways that are either intensified (too much sensation) or blunted (not enough sensation). Someone might not notice hunger until feeling dizzy or irritable. Another person might be hyper-aware of every small shift in heartbeat or stomach sensation. Neither of these experiences are wrong—they’re simply different nervous system patterns that require unique supports.
It’s also important to remember that some people live in systems or cultures where tuning out of the body is reinforced. This includes environments that value productivity over rest, dismiss emotional expression, or stigmatize mental health needs. All of these can create distance between a person and their internal world.
Supporting Interoceptive Awareness
The good news is that interoceptive awareness is not fixed. It can be nurtured and re-learned at any age. With intentional support, individuals can begin to rebuild the connection between body sensations and emotional understanding.
Kelly Mahler’s interoception curriculum offers thoughtful and accessible practices to support this process. Rather than jumping straight into deep emotional work, the focus starts with building awareness of bodily sensations in neutral, manageable ways. This might include pausing to notice changes in heartbeat, skin temperature, muscle tension, or breathing. It might mean using visuals or body maps to identify where sensations are felt, and linking them to emotions in a curious and non-judgmental way.
Critically, this work needs to be titrated. For people who have spent years disconnected from their body, diving into intense sensations can be overwhelming. The process of reconnecting must be approached with care, patience, and permission to move at one’s own pace. Sometimes the first step is simply noticing that you feel something—without needing to name or fix it.
Relational support is also key. The interoceptive system often heals best in the presence of attuned others. In therapy, this can look like gently reflecting on observed physical cues (“I notice you took a deep breath just then—does that signal anything to you?”), or co-regulating through grounding practices. Over time, this reinforces the message: Your internal experience is real. It’s allowed. It’s safe to listen.
Why This Matters
When people understand their internal signals, they can begin to trust themselves. They can notice when they’re overwhelmed and take steps to care for themselves before hitting a breaking point. They can understand what emotions are surfacing, and respond with clarity and compassion rather than confusion or shame. They can set boundaries, express needs, and choose actions that align with what their body is telling them.
This is the foundation of emotional regulation—not just as a skill, but as an embodied experience.
At our practice, we hold deep respect for the complexity of interoceptive awareness. We understand that the ability to “tune in” is not something everyone has had the safety or support to develop. Whether due to early neglect, chronic stress, trauma, or neurodivergence, many people have had to disconnect from their body in order to survive.
Reconnecting isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about expanding the options available for care, for regulation, and for self-understanding. It’s about rebuilding trust in the body—gently, over time, and with compassion.
Because being able to feel what’s happening inside isn’t just a therapeutic skill. It’s a human right. And it’s never too late to come back home to yourself.