05/08/2025
🧠💓 The Interoceptive System: The Hidden Sense That Guides the Inside World
Interoception is your body’s internal messaging system - it tells your brain what’s happening inside you.
It helps you notice and interpret signals like hunger, thirst, pain, needing the toilet, body temperature, heart rate, and emotional states like anxiety or excitement.
Why is it important?
✔ Helps identify physical needs (e.g. “I need to eat” or “I’m tired”)
✔ Supports toilet training and continence
✔ Plays a key role in self-regulation and emotional awareness
✔ Allows children to respond appropriately to internal signals (e.g. rest, hydrate, calm down)
✔ Builds body-mind connection and helps develop emotional intelligence
When interoception is underdeveloped or disrupted, a child may struggle to interpret or act on what their body is telling them - often leading to meltdowns, toileting issues, or emotional outbursts without clear cause.
🚩 Red Flags to Look Out For:
- Doesn’t notice when they’re hungry, full, tired, hot, or cold
- Struggles with toilet training or ignores the urge to go
- Doesn’t seem to notice pain or injury or overreacts to minor discomfort
- Has frequent emotional outbursts without understanding why
- Can’t name or describe how they feel inside (e.g. “I don’t know what’s wrong”)
- Difficulty with self-regulation (e.g. calming themselves, recognising rising frustration)
- Often unaware of basic physical needs like thirst or needing a break
Supporting interoception can help children better understand and respond to their internal world - leading to improved regulation, independence, and emotional well-being.
