Danielle RalstonFounder, How Capacity Works · Founder of ND Hive | Building the productivity hub where work actually gets done | Execution spaces, body doubling & community accountability

Understanding ADHD and interoception

8 Nov 2024 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker discusses how people with ADHD often experience impaired interoception, meaning their brains do not filter internal bodily signals effectively. This results in a constant flood of information, making it difficult to recognize basic bodily states such as pain, hunger, thirst, the need to urinate, or feeling overheated. Because the brain receives everything simultaneously, individuals with ADHD may need to deliberately pause and perform conscious body check‑ins to become aware of these needs. The speaker notes that while they cannot speak for autism, the difficulty with interoception appears to be a notable characteristic of ADHD.

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Amen. Well, and I think you bring up an excellent point on taking stock of the body. And I certainly can't speak for autism, but with ADHD, we do know that we really struggle with interoception. Our brains are not filtering out information in the same way. So we're getting everything all at once. This can make it so, so, so hard To understand what's going on in your body because it can take— and this may sound insane to people who don't experience it, but it can take needing to sit down and like check in to realize you're in pain, to realize you have to pee, to realize you are hungry or thirsty or overheated. My brain is getting everything all at once.