03/09/2025
At Rise & Thrive, we start at interoception, which is one of our 8 senses. It allows us to recognize bodily signals, interpret them, then act on them as needed. Many individuals struggle with interoceptive awareness, especially those with sensory processing disorders, Autism, anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, trauma histories, and many others. Interoception allows us to notice when our body is trying to tell us something, like we’re hungry, we’re stressed, we’re tired, we’re excited, we’re getting angry, we need to use the bathroom, etc. and without this, we struggle to meet our own needs, which then impacts our ongoing state, including our emotions, behavior, and connections to others.
Compliance-based approaches just don’t work for most individuals in the long run because they don’t build the skills or address the needs that exist, they just layer on demands and consequences, increasing anxiety and shame while overlooking the opportunities for development and learning.
Here at Rise, we start at interoception and ensure we’re always addressing it. Here’s a quick and easy interoceptive practice you can try: use the HALT method with yourself and/or your child. When emotions and behaviors start to grow big, ask… am I / my child:
H ungry
A ngry
L onely
T ired
Then meet those needs and see if things shift. Working through bodily needs and emotions requires a devotion to curiosity and uncovering of why’s. Let us help you do that sometimes hard but always rewarding work ☀️
Graphic created by interoception researcher & OT,
