Interoception is the ability to notice and identify feelings inside one’s body, like thirst or hunger. It also includes the ability to notice and regulate temperature changes or notice pain.
Many neurodivergent individuals, especially autistic folks have difficulty with interception, for example, they only notice hunger, thirst or the need for a bathroom break when it has become a very strong feeling and needs urgent action.
Interoceptive struggles could also explain the phenomenon of people not noticing they’ve hurt themselves when it happened, only a bit or much later.
Related terms
alexithymia
Alexithymia is the inability to assign names to feelings, describe them to others or talk about them. It is considered a separate neuropsychological condition but has significant overlaps with autism.
emotional dysregulation
Emotional dysregulation is the inability to regulate the intensity and quality of emotions in order to generate an appropriate emotional response and return to an emotional baseline.
When someone has difficulty regulating their emotions, they are easily overstimulated and they can get upset or overwhelmed easily. On the other hand, they can also have trouble with calming down, relaxing, or decompressing and it takes much effort to regulate their mood.
From the outside, it might look like overreacting. From the inside, it feels like your nervous system is overwhelmed by emotional information your brain is struggling to process and modulate.
hyposensitivity
Hyposensitivity, also known as sensory underresponsivity, is a condition characterized by a reduced sensitivity or diminished response to sensory stimuli from the environment.
Individuals with hyposensitivity may have difficulty with detecting or processing sensory inputs, such as sound, touch, taste, smell, or visual stimuli. They may require more intense or prolonged sensory stimulation to register and respond to the sensation.
