After a traumatic incident, some people feel numb. Others feel overwhelmed or swing between the two.

Your felt sense of what’s happening inside you is called interoception. Everyday cues like hunger, thirst, tiredness and tension can be too quiet to notice or too loud to make sense of. It can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself, or confused about what you need or overwhlmed and wanyting to shut down.

Quiet

Your body may feel muted or far away.

Hunger, thirst and tiredness barely register, so meals get missed and rest gets pushed aside. Even pain can feel dull, and you may not notice something is wrong until later.

Loud

Your body may feel intense.

Sensations are all-consuming, or there are so many at once that it’s hard to know which matters. You might feel uncertain about what your body needs, and want to quiet it all down.

Both

Many people move between the two, overwhelmed one minute and disconnected the next.

This isn’t a flaw in you. It’s a body and brain that adapted to protect you.

Getting to know your body again

Pause now and then and ask, “What am I noticing right now?”

Notice patterns, like when you feel most numb or most overwhelmed

Try naming a sensation without judging it

Be curious rather than critical.

Understanding all this can be a relief. It’s an automatic response your body has to a threat, and it can shift with time, curiosity and the right support.

Therapy can help you reconnect with your body at your own pace and to find and feel a sense of safety again.