Use the Cues
My Emotional Resilience instructor at the UGA School of Medicine, Cathy Snapp, PhD, shared a story with us last week about a medical student who noted that the interoceptive awareness and somatic reappraisal skills they were learning could be summarized with the mantra “use the cues” for emotional regulation in the moment.
At a recent event I spoke at, one attendee asked why part of the exercise included the questions “where” she felt an emotion and “how” it felt, not just “what” she was feeling.
During a session, my client shared that she had noticed her eyebrows furrowing during a stressful morning at the office, even before realizing she was feeling frustration. And decided to do some breathing and stretching as a result.
Interoceptive awareness and somatic reappraisal are a fascinating topic, and seemingly medical students and clients agree!
But what do these terms really mean and why is it important to know?
Interoception is the ability to notice what’s happening inside your body—like physical sensations or gut feelings—that often go unnoticed. It’s the felt sense of an emotion.
Somatic reappraisal is about understanding what those sensations might be signaling to you and deciding how to respond to them.
It’s an opportunity to gather from yourself “What is this sensation telling me about what I care about or need to do right now?” And to accept it as information, not a problem.
For example: “Tightness in my shoulders means I'm on edge.” “The flutter in my belly means I’m uncertain.” “The tingling in my hands means I’m getting nervous.”
The power is in transforming body sensations into adaptive insights that often lead to healthier, more balanced actions and reactions for well-being…like responding to the above by booking a massage, grabbing a hot cup of tea with a friend, or going for an outdoor walk.
Over time, this practice can increase emotional self-regulation and build emotional resilience (Price et al., 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019).
Below is a short practice you can use to put this into practice.
Daily “Use The Cues” Check-In 🌞:
When: Anytime during the day (2–5 min)
How:
-Close your eyes or soften your gaze
-Take a few steady breaths
-Ask yourself what emotion you are feeling
-Then ask where you feel it and how it feels (head, tight; gut, gurgly)
-Next, choose one small supportive action you can take
Example: Eyebrows furrowed—>frustration—>breathing exercise and stretching.
Why: This helps build consistent emotional self regulation and mind-body awareness, leading to healthier actions and responding to what you need in real time.
Simply put, Interoceptive Awareness and Somatic Reappraisal are about using the cues from the mind-body connection to guide your next steps–or massage!
In my case, I noticed a heaviness in my arms this weekend, and the feeling of overwhelm, leading me to take 10 minutes to reset by getting outdoors, just in time to enjoy a dear (deer!) BEAUTIFUL VISITOR.
