SP.9: Case study – Interoception: Ruòxī is Anxious About Her Job Search

Approximate reading time: 2 minutes

Ruòxī just finished her degree in Psychology and is looking for her first job. Her journey is a great example of how interoception plays a role in our lives.

• Interoceptive awareness: As she got ready for her first job interview, Ruòxī’s heart was racing. She knew this meant she was nervous, which helped her get ready mentally for the interview.
• Interoceptive coherence: While writing cover letters, Ruòxī started to feel irritable. Then she heard her stomach growl — she had forgotten to eat lunch! Her hunger was making her grumpy.
• Interoceptive attention tendency: Ruòxī often checked how alert she felt, especially when working on her resume late at night. She was good at noticing when she was too tired to continue.
• Interoceptive sensitivity: During a stressful group interview, Ruòxī could feel her heartbeat change. She used this signal to help herself stay calm.
• Interoceptive accuracy: Once, Ruòxī had a stomach ache before an interview. She knew it was because she was anxious, not sick or hungry.
• Interoceptive sensibility: Whenever Ruòxī felt a headache starting, she was confident it was because of the stress from job hunting.
• Interoceptive regulation: Before each interview, Ruòxī did deep breathing exercises to manage her nerves. This helped her stay calm.

Ruòxī’s story shows us how understanding and managing our body’s signals can make a big difference in challenging situations.