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Forum » The "I can't tell if I'm hungry or nauseous or anxious" club
The "I can't tell if I'm hungry or nauseous or anxious" club
Is anyone else just... really bad at interpreting their own body signals? I've been sitting here for an hour feeling vaguely unwell and I genuinely can't tell if I'm hungry, nauseous, anxious, or all three simultaneously.
I read about interoception issues after my diagnosis and it was like a lightbulb went off. I don't know when I'm thirsty until I'm dehydrated. I don't know when I need to pee until it's urgent. I don't know when I'm tired until I'm falling asleep standing up. My body sends signals but I don't understand the language.
Is this an autism thing? An ADHD thing? A trauma thing? All of the above? How do you figure out what your body is telling you?
Replies (10)
The "hungry, nauseous, or anxious" trifecta is my daily experience. It can absolutely be all three — autism affects interoception, ADHD makes you forget to check in with your body, and trauma disconnects you from body signals as a survival mechanism. The unholy trinity.
What's helped me: a checklist app that pings me every few hours. "Have you eaten? Have you had water? Have you peed? Are you too hot/cold?" I answer instinctively and sometimes my answer surprises me. "Oh. I'm cold. I didn't know I was cold. That explains the irritability."
i once went 10 hours without peeing because i just... didn't notice. and then suddenly i noticed VERY MUCH. interoception is a joke.
Interoception difficulties are heavily documented in autism and also common in ADHD and trauma survivors. The part of the brain that processes internal body signals (the insula) functions differently in autistic brains. So yes, it's literally neurological. You're not "out of touch with your body" in some woo-woo way — your brain literally processes internal signals differently.
Practical tip: externalize the signals. Set alarms for meals. Check the clock to see if it's been "too long" since you drank water. Use a mood tracking app that prompts you to scan your body. Over time, you learn to connect the external cue with the internal sensation.
@overstimulated_owl the "suddenly i noticed VERY MUCH" made me laugh out loud. the all-or-nothing interoception is so real.
i have a water bottle with time markings on the side. "by 10am you should be at this line." it's the only way i drink water. without the visual cue, my body would simply never mention thirst to me.
@jellycat_jamie The time-marked water bottle is genius. Adding to cart immediately.
Something my therapist taught me: when you can't identify a sensation, go through a checklist. Water. Food. Bathroom. Temperature. Rest. Stimulation level. One of those is usually the culprit. Over time, you start to recognize the patterns — for me, "vague unease" is usually low blood sugar, and "irritability for no reason" is usually dehydration.
i have alexithymia in addition to interoception issues which means i ALSO can't identify my emotions. so i'll be sitting there feeling "bad" and it could be hunger, thirst, needing to pee, sadness, anger, or overstimulation. it's a fun mystery every time.
the HALT check: hungry, angry, lonely, tired. i go through it like a diagnostic checklist whenever i feel bad and don't know why. 90% of the time it's one of those four.
@the_raccoon_king The "feeling bad" mystery box. I know this game. Is it a physical problem? An emotional problem? A problem with the environment? Nobody knows! Least of all me!
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