Being Curious with the Mind and Body Union

The question (perhaps cliché at this point) often posed in therapy is, “How did that make you feel?” And you may also hear, “where do you feel that in your body?” What these questions are getting at is the act of bringing awareness to one’s interoception. Interoception is defined as the perception of your internal body signals and senses.

These questions may be beloved and/or disliked, depending on your relationship with them, but they are important ones to be curious about as they help engage the connection between your mind and your body. Our body’s signals, emotions and feelings (the meaning ascribed to the emotion) are all data being communicated to us.

The mind and body are an interconnected system, a union. Recent research has shown this link present within our very brain structures, which helps explain why certain responses occur when you’re feeling anxious, such as pacing back and forth.

This union is a powerful one, dictating unconscious processes and actions. However, by becoming more conscious of this interoception, we can then help understand our reactions and better attune and adapt our responses to fit our current context. For some people, this felt interoception can be challenging to locate and may even feel threatening to experience. This can be due to a variety of reasons, including ADHD and trauma.

But helping re-create a secure attachment and safety between the mind and body can be an important part of the healing process. Breathing exercises, yoga, meditation and other mindfulness exercises can all help increase one’s sense of the present moment in their body and mind. Research indicates that practicing these, even briefly, can aid in rebuilding the connection and can help lower stress and improve other mental health conditions.

So next time you are asked, “How did that make you feel?” and/or “Where did you feel that in your body?” it’s not because your therapist is trying to annoy you, but to help support the union, the relationship between your mind and body.

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Elissa McDavid is a second-year Clinical Master of Social Work student at Boston College, with a concentration in Mental Health. Elissa has a passion for providing trauma-informed, client-centered and anti-oppressive therapy. She approaches therapy with curiosity and collaboration. Before attending Boston College, she worked at a humanitarian aid organization in Arizona and provided services to immigrants, with a specific focus on serving survivors of violence and torture. 

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