The brain’s reading of the body’s state is key to mental health

Some friends have a 7-year-old son who is being assessed/treated for autism-spectrum disorder; he's outgoing, sociable and highly intelligent, but has issues with emotional and behavioural dysregulation and can often get into kind of manic states. One of the techniques I've seen his parents use when he's getting into these states is to ask "where are you feeling this in your body?", then for him to focus on that region while using controlled breathing to calm down.

Re this: There is also the possibility of using interoception training as a form of mental health treatment

This kind of thing exists, though still in the fringes. I've been using versions of it for over 10 years to resolve the effects of many earlier-life experiences caused ongoing charged reactions and chronic mental and physiological issues (after years of mainstream medical treatment and therapy was ineffective). It's very much a process of identifying and letting go of the way these experiences (often described as traumas, but not always in that category) are held/felt in different parts of the body ("butterflies the stomach" when nervous is the most obvious example, but goes much much further/deeper than this).

I'm now completely free of depression and mostly free of anxiety and fatigue/pain issues (CFS/ME) but still continuing to progress.

If any researches/professionals working in this field happen to be reading this, I'd love to get in touch.

This is something I've been exploring on a personal level lately. I'm practicing intermittent fasting, and have found that listening to your body is key to maintaining personal discipline.

Sometimes I'd get "the munchies" and I'm gradually developing the ability to respond to those urges by stopping, listening to my body and understanding what it really wants. Now that it's more used to it, my body would say "I don't need anything right now, I have enough energy, proteins etc in my reserves, thank you."

It also occurred to me that I can develop this skill of listening to my body for other uses/occasions. For example, listening to music can also be done with our skin, which is sensitive to vibrations.

Finally, it's the realization that our bodies have a very rich interface with our environment, and can provide us with so many signals, we just need to turn off our brains for a while in order to have that feeling of connectedness.

As someone who is bipolar, it’s very easy to see how the mind and body are connected.

Getting my high blood pressure treated significantly helped my anxiety, because it got rid of the constant pressure in my chest that felt like anxiety.

Separating anxiety and asthma symptoms is difficult. They feel very similar and trigger each other.

Unfortunately, this is far from new information. It is decades old and this study currently offers no greater insight into what is already a well-known effect. This is already incorporated into a treatment of mental illness. Not as widely as it should be, but it is there.

Nevertheless, this study gives me hope for the future, because someone is looking in what I believe the right direction. It’s the one more step in a long series of steps into figuring why this is the case.

Many commenters here have already noted the strong connection between this study findings and common Buddhist-/mindfullness-based meditation instructions.

To me it was the concept of interoception which produced the stronger callback to Buddhist themes, in this case to the notion of "sixth inner sense" commonly referred to in Pali Buddhist scriptures:

> In Buddhism, "mind" denotes an internal sense organ which interacts with sense objects that include sense impressions, feelings, perceptions and volition.[0]

I have always found this sixth sense organ a welcome –and even necessary– addition to the regular Western list of senses, as without it it is impossible to account for the bountiful nature of our inner experiences (and our perception of them, which evidently foregoes the five other physical senses). I am really glad to see we have a somewhat established (if not very well-known) comparative concept to use in the scientific framework of understanding.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80yatana

edit: typo and missing word

If this is true (and it seems to be), the metaverse and VR aren't likely to help mental health. Too much of our entertainment disembodies us.

I had inflammation from sciatica that was causing depression. Had no idea. My conciousness was completely changed. I went in to a see a sports medicine team for the sciatica (after I fought off a round of depression) and they prescribed an anti-inflammatory which has solved the issue for now (need to remedy the sciatica which is a long term effort). I didn't take the pills for a few days--I was feeling good and forgot to--and it crept back.

The depression was so bad I'm literally scared/paranoid for it to ever return. I nearly attacked my family twice before getting the anti-inflammatories. Really fucked up.

I have great sympathy for anyone dealing with this, and an understanding of the condition now. Depression is indescribable. I 100% get why people dealing with unrelenting depression kill themselves.

I think back to my reaction on hearing of the deaths of Bordain, Cornell, Hartman, Williams and wondering why these famous people who had fulfilling careers, riches, free time, and beautiful families would kill themselves. It was not "unhappiness."

My problem is the reverse. When my brain is working, my jaw tenses up, and my breathing becomes shallow. I tried everything, but it seems impossible to decouple mental performance from these physical issues. I wish that there was some kind of bio-feedback device that could warn me when I push myself too far.

Reminds me of this video, where they ask: "where is your headache?", "what color is your headache?", etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKGtv84aSjo

I can justify this exhaustively. I will not do so in an argument on the internet. You may ask questions. I reserve the right to refuse.

This is how to protect your body if you have a strong impulse to argue, and you find yourself testing it on the internet.

I’ve been learning a lot about this. It’s pretty wild. Anyone interested in this should look up Polyvagal Theory.

This related book with a strange name has been incredible to read. “Accessing the healing power of the vagus nerve.”

We don’t even necessarily know, to what extent we lack fidelity in our understanding of what goes on in pur bodies. I’ve found I have often mistaken thirst for hunger. Also, after having done endurance sport for a few years I’ve realized, that “my stomach is empty”, “my blood sugar is low” and “my internal reserves are depleted” all feel very different. Previously there was just a general feeling of tiredness.

The body keeps the score is the best book on this that I am aware of.

I wonder if there is any applicability of this to phobias - e.g. acrophobia or claustrophobia, to name some of the most common.

Check out the Breathly App.

So this isn't directly related but is in a similar veind. There's a book I read called persuasion bt a Dr. Robert Calidni which is about demonstrating various types of subconscious tricks to get someone to be compliant. However one of the parts of the book I found interesting was he also noted that many of these tricks of persuasion would be made to disappear if the you brought someone's attention to the trigger. E.g people are less complaint when the weather outside is bad; however if you start by asking someone how the weather is the effect disappears.

I take the whole book with a grain of salt since the whole of social psychology is full of tons of issues right now but it is interesting, especially when one considers the beneficial effects of meditation that have been observed when that is mostly about sitting and becoming aware of your body and your feelings.