Where do you feel it?

Feelings show up in the body. Learning where, and what it's like (tight, heavy, buzzing), gives you an early, honest signal.

Feelings live in the body too

Often the body knows before we have the word. A tight jaw. A heavy chest. A flutter in the stomach. Your sense of what's going on inside your body is called "interoception".

In one large study, more than 700 people coloured in body outlines to show where they felt different emotions. The maps were strikingly similar from person to person, and across cultures. Anger and fear showed up strongly in the chest and arms. Happiness spread across the whole body. Sadness showed less feeling in the arms and legs (Nummenmaa et al., 2014).

Researchers see body awareness as something you can grow with gentle, regular practice (Farb et al., 2015). It isn't only about noticing sensations. It's also about staying with them without worrying, and using them to understand how you feel (Mehling et al., 2012).

If you'd like to read more, Bessel van der Kolk's book The Body Keeps the Score is a moving, readable exploration of how experience lives in the body.

Words for sensations

Tight. Heavy. Hollow. Buzzing. Fluttery. Warm. Hot. Cold. Pressure. Aching. Churning. Prickly. Shaky. Light. Open. Still.

You can add size, shape or movement: "a fist-sized knot", "a band across my chest", "fizzing that comes and goes". "Numb" or "nothing much" is a real answer too.

A 60-second body scan

1. Sit or stand with your feet on the floor. Let one slow breath out.
2. Head and face (10 seconds): forehead, eyes, jaw.
3. Throat, neck, shoulders (10 seconds).
4. Chest and upper back (15 seconds).
5. Belly and lower back (15 seconds).
6. Arms, hands, legs, feet (10 seconds).

Where did your attention get pulled most? Name one place and one word. That's it. You're being curious, not fixing.

Try it in the app

1. After choosing a feeling, open the In your body step.
2. Do the 60-second scan above, then note the place (for example, chest).
3. Add one or two sensation words (for example, tight, heavy).
4. Next time, compare: does this feeling tend to show up in the same place?

If it gets too much: stop, ground yourself, and reach out. In Aotearoa New Zealand, call or text 1737 any time to talk with a trained counsellor. In an emergency, call 111.

Sources

• Nummenmaa et al. (2014), Bodily maps of emotions, PNAS
• Farb et al. (2015), Interoception, contemplative practice, and health
• Mehling et al. (2012), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness
• Book: van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score