Because a lot of autistic people struggle with it, I want to talk a little about interoception. Interoception is our sense of what is happening with our body. It is our awareness of hunger, thirst, needing to use the toilet, pain, and much more. I have commonly read about autistic people who have hyposensitive interoception, but there isn’t as much information about hypersensitive interoception out there. There’s even less about people who have a mixture of both.
I’m one of the odd ducks who has a mixture of hypo and hyper sensitivities with my interoception. I am excruciatingly aware of minute changes in my body’s normal functions. I can follow pain signals along the nerves and tell you where referred pain originates (although admittedly, pain needs to register at a 5 or higher on the pain scale for me to consciously notice it). I know the difference between small intestine pain, colon pain, and stomach pain. I know if it’s my heart, my esophagus, or a pectoral muscle hurting. I am intimately aware of every nuance of abnormal function happening in my body at any time, which is ironic considering my inability to know basic, normal needs like hunger, thirst, and needing a restroom until they become urgent.
The hyper awareness of where these bodily sensations originate can be a blessing when seeking medical attention because it helps doctors know where to look; on the other hand, it is a massive pain in the ass when you are lying in bed at midnight worrying what the pain means. Is it serious or am I just hyper focused on the sensation making it seem worse than it is?
I think my awareness of my body malfunctioning and my inability to notice hunger, thirst, and needing to use the bathroom are both tied to the same trigger: urgency. I unconsciously ignore anything that falls into the pattern of “normal.” Somehow the way I am wired, normal body function and needs have registered as being a non-threatening pattern and are ignored, much the same way I am unconscious of my heart rate and breathing until they act abnormal. Having an urgent, immediate need to use a restroom registers as an emergency, much the same way low blood sugar or an irregular heartbeat does.
Ideally I would like to have an unremarkable sense of interoception. Being hyper aware of my body is anxiety provoking. Being caught unawares twenty miles away from the nearest public bathroom is also anxiety provoking. I find it frustrating to have to schedule trips to the restroom, to drink water, to eat, etc. My autism likes routine, but my ADHD does not!
What techniques and tricks do you use to manage your interoception issues?
Meme from Invader Zim
Rod and I both have interoception issues. We both tend to be oblivious to pain below a certain (rather high) threshhold, for instance. (I didn't find labour particularly painful. A lot of hard work, yes, but not painful. Except that last time, where I was actually forced to be in hospital, and was terrified by active threats of C-section. Then it *really* hurt, but I'm sure that was anxiety. ) I am far more likely to topple over and have no idea why, though I am far better now at figuring it out than used to be. But I do seem to be a lot more sensitive than most people to other kinds of discomfort, particularly the kinds tha…