Interoception: a scientific link between Autism and Anorexia

We've all heard of the five basic senses, but did you know that there are three more, lesser known senses? One of these is interoception, or our ability to monitor the inner state of our bodies. In today's science-based solo episode, I discuss the following questions:

- What is interoception?
- What does the biology of the brain have to do with interoception?
- What is the role of interoception in Autism?
- What is the role of interoception in Anorexia?
- Why Autistic individuals and people with Anorexia may lack interoceptive awareness
- Interoception as an explanation for lack of hunger cues
- Why people with Anorexia often don't think they're "sick enough"
- Why people with Anorexia may have a distorted body image
- How to improve interoceptive awareness

RELATED BLOG POSTS:

[michelle_cen]

This is incredible <3 I wanted to comment on it on the website, but for some reason didn't see a comment field on the article. This is such a brilliant, detailed explanation! Thank you for compiling this amazing research and sharing it. Science nerds unite!!! 🎉

[lougreenfield]

This was a beautiful explanation of some really complex concepts. So impressive how you held the sheer complexity of info and then disseminated is slowly and clearly. Awesome, awesome, will be sharing!

[Muurain]

Wow, really well put together and thoroughly explained! Greetings from a fellow science nerd who's just getting starting on her psych masters' thesis about body image disturbance. :) This was a great listen and nudged me a little forward in my own analysis paralysis. So thank you, keep up the good work!

[RevanEde]

That was so interesting and helpful. Thank you. I am trying to convince my brain to let me eat something. But I don't feel hungry and am overweight, so my brain keeps telling me, that I shouldn't eat if I'm not hungry. Except I haven't eaten for five days and today is day six. 😒 I feel like this gave me an insight in what is going on and maybe I can convince myself that I can and should actually eat something even if I'm not hungry. A reoccuring struggle. Someone at the doctor's office triggered me by letting me know that "you know you should lose weight, it's unhealthy to be overweight"! No shit... As if I'm not painfully aware of it and haven't denied myself food from when I was a little kid. 🤦🏻‍♀️ With the success that I not only don't know when to eat or not to and having unhealthy eating patterns (overeating/not eating at all), my body also decided to hold on to anything that it gets. (And I wasn't even fat as a child, I just thought I was, but pictures do not confirm it.) I wish people wouldn't comment so carelessly about other people's weight without asking the full story. 😔 I could have gone without another fight against this whole mess. Thanks lady at the doctor's office. 😒