The holiday season is full of joy, connection, and tradition, but it can also bring stress, overwhelm, and sensory overload. Amid the hustle, it’s easy to lose sight of our own needs as we focus on others. This is where interoception—the ability to sense, acknowledge, and interpret bodily signals—becomes a powerful tool for self-care.
What Is Interoception?
Interoception refers to the practice of noticing and understanding the signals your body sends, such as hunger, fullness, satisfaction, thirst, or even tension in your shoulders. It’s a foundational part of Intuitive Eating, a self-care framework created by two dietitians in 1995 that integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought to help individuals foster a healthier relationship with food.
In Intuitive Eating, interoception helps you connect with your body’s cues to gauge hunger and fullness, and to determine what truly satisfies you. But during the holidays, with their abundance of sensory input—sights, smells, sounds, textures, people, and activities—interoception can extend far beyond eating.
The Holiday Season: A Time to Pause and Tune In
The holiday season is rich with opportunities for sensory and emotional experiences. It’s a time to connect with loved ones, enjoy delicious meals, and reflect on the year. But it’s also a time of heightened busyness, which can make it challenging to care for yourself. Cultivating interoception can help you navigate the season with more intention and balance.
Consider these two levels of interoception:
Macro-Level Awareness
Take a moment to step back and reflect on how the holidays make you feel.
Positive Emotions: What activities, moments, or traditions bring you joy, energy, or peace? Lean into these experiences. Allow them to become part of your personal emotional reservoir—resources you can draw upon when you need a boost.
Negative Emotions: What leaves you feeling sad, anxious, or exhausted? Notice your reactions and instincts. Instead of reacting impulsively, pause to explore strategies that might make these moments less overwhelming.
By labeling your emotions—whether positive or negative—you gain insight into how to approach each situation in a way that aligns with your needs.
Micro-Level Focus
Zoom in on specific experiences, such as food, drink, or activities, and observe how they affect you.
Acknowledge how novelty might influence your reactions: Do you feel the urge to try everything, risking overindulgence? Or do you set strict limits that leave you feeling restricted?
Pause and check in with your body. Notice your breathing, jaw tension, or whether you feel hungry, thirsty, tired, or overwhelmed.
The Pause-Evaluation-Action Cycle
The practice of pausing, reflecting, and choosing your next step can be a game-changer during the holidays.
Pause: Stop and tune into your body. What signals is it sending?
Evaluate: Are you content with the current sensation, or do you want to change it?
Act: If you want to continue, keep going and set a time to check in again. If you want to make a change, identify the feeling you want to achieve (calm, focus, satisfaction, etc.). Consider what you need to support that change—relaxation, energy, compassion—and take action.
Repeat this cycle throughout the day to navigate moments of hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and even emotional highs and lows with greater clarity and intention.
A Season of Self-Care and Connection
Whether it’s savoring your favorite holiday dish, managing a packed social calendar, or navigating tricky family dynamics, interoception offers a pathway to balance. By noticing and responding to your body’s signals, you can take better care of yourself while sharing the joy of the season with those around you.
This holiday season, let interoception be your guide to both giving and receiving—starting with yourself.
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