“The ability to tune into the activity of our internal organs is called interoception and there is emerging evidence that this ability is linked to how well a person is able to identify their own emotional state and to empathise with others.”
A trial seeks further proof that tuning into our internal organs’ activity can reduce anxiety …
Hannah Devlin reports for The Guardian:
“A pioneering therapy aimed at lowering anxiety by tuning into your own heartbeat is being put to the test in the first clinical trial of its kind.
The treatment, known as interoception-directed therapy, is being tested on 120 autistic people, for whom anxiety is a common problem.
The trial follows a decade’s research by Prof Sarah Garfinkel, a psychologist at the University of Sussex, into the intriguing ways that interactions between the heart and the brain influence emotions and behaviour. The latest work, funded by the mental health charity MQ: Transforming Mental Health, aims to turn these insights into a therapy.
‘Anxiety is really high in the autistic population,’ said Garfinkel. ‘Fifty percent of people with autism also potentially have anxiety, which is so high and really not known’.
The ability to tune into the activity of our internal organs is called interoception and there is emerging evidence that this ability is linked to how well a person is able to identify their own emotional state and to empathise with others. …”
Read more here.
