Interoception_items.md

Interoceptive Items

Author: Ana Neves Date: February 13, 2024

Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (Murphy et al., 2020)

Below are several statements regarding how accurately you can perceive specific bodily sensations. Please rate on the scale how well you believe you can perceive each specific signal. For example, if you often feel you need to urinate and then realise you do not need to when you go to the toilet you would rate your accuracy perceiving this bodily signal as low.

Please only rate how well you can perceive these signals without using external cues, for example, if you can only perceive how fast your heart is beating when you measure it by taking your pulse this would not count as accurate internal perception.

Scale: Strongly Agree (5), Agree (4), Neither agree nor disagree (3), Disagree (2), Disagree Strongly (1)

1. I can always accurately perceive when my heart is beating fast
2. I can always accurately perceive when I am hungry
3. I can always accurately perceive when I am breathing fast
4. I can always accurately perceive when I am thirsty
5. I can always accurately perceive when I need to urinate
6. I can always accurately perceive when I need to defecate
7. I can always accurately perceive when I encounter different tastes
8. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to vomit
9. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to sneeze
10. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to cough
11. I can always accurately perceive when I am hot/cold
12. I can always accurately perceive when I am sexually aroused
13. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to pass wind
14. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to burp
15. I can always accurately perceive when my muscles are tired/sore
16. I can always accurately perceive when I am going to get a bruise
17. I can always accurately perceive when I am in pain
18. I can always accurately perceive when my blood sugar is low
19. I can always accurately perceive when someone is touching me affectionately rather than non-affectionately
20. I can always accurately perceive when something is going to be ticklish
21. I can always accurately perceive when something is going to be itchy

The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2) (Mehling et al., 2018)

Below you will find a list of statements. Please indicate how often each statement applies to you generally in daily life from 0 (Never) to 5 (always).

Noticing

1. When I am tense, I notice where the tension is located in my body.
2. I notice when I am uncomfortable in my body.
3. I notice where in my body I am comfortable.
4. I notice changes in my breathing, such as whether it slows down or speeds up.

Non-Distracting

1. I ignore physical tension or discomfort until they become more severe. *
2. I distract myself from sensations of discomfort. *
3. When I feel pain or discomfort, I try to power through it.*
4. I try to ignore pain. *
5. I push feelings of discomfort away by focusing on something. *
6. When I feel unpleasant body sensations, I occupy myself with something else so I don’t have to feel them. *

Not-Worrying

1. When I feel physical pain, I become upset. *
2. I start to worry that something is wrong if I feel any discomfort. *
3. I can notice an unpleasant body sensation without worrying about it.
4. I can stay calm and not worry when I have feelings of discomfort or pain.
5. When I am in discomfort or pain I can’t get it out of my mind. *

Attention Regulation

1. I can pay attention to my breath without being distracted by things happening around me.
2. I can maintain awareness of my inner bodily sensations even when there is a lot going on around me.
3. When I am in conversation with someone, I can pay attention to my posture.
4. I can return awareness to my body if I am distracted.
5. I can refocus my attention from thinking to sensing my body.
6. I can maintain awareness of my whole body even when a part of me is in pain or discomfort.
7. I am able to consciously focus on my body as a whole.

Emotional Awareness

1. I notice how my body changes when I am angry.
2. When something is wrong in my life, I can feel it in my body.
3. I notice that my body feels different after a peaceful experience.
4. I notice that my breathing becomes free and easy, when I feel comfortable.
5. I notice how my body changes when I feel happy / joyful.

Self-Regulation

1. When I feel overwhelmed, I can find a calm place inside.
2. When I bring awareness to my body, I feel a sense of calm.
3. I can use my breath to reduce tension.
4. When I am caught up in thoughts, I can calm my mind by focusing on my body/breathing.

Body Listening

1. I listen for information from my body about my emotional state.
2. When I am upset, I take time to explore how my body feels.
3. I listen to my body to inform me about what to do.

Trusting

1. I am at home in my body.
2. I feel my body is a safe place.
3. I trust my body sensations.

Note: * indicates a reversed scored item.

The Body Perception Questionnaire (Porges, 1993)

1. Awareness

Imagine how aware you are of your body processes. Select the answer that most accurately describes you. Rate your awareness on each of the characteristics described below, using the following five‐point scale.

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

During most situations, I am aware of:

1. Swallowing frequently.
2. A ringing in my ears.
3. An urge to cough to clear my throat.
4. My body swaying when I am standing.
5. My mouth being dry.
6. How fast I am breathing.
7. Watering or tearing of my eyes.
8. My skin itching.
9. Noises associated with my digestion.
10. Eye fatigue or pain.
11. Muscle tension in my back and neck.
12. A swelling of my body or parts of my body.
13. An urge to urinate.
14. A tremor in my hands.
15. An urge to defecate.
16. Muscle tension in my arms and legs.
17. A bloated feeling because of water retention.
18. Muscle tension in my face.
19. Goose bumps.
20. Facial twitches.
21. Being exhausted.
22. Stomach and gut pains.
23. Rolling or fluttering my eyes.
24. Stomach distension or bloatedness.
25. Palms sweating.
26. Sweat on my forehead.
27. Clumsiness or bumping into people.
28. Tremor in my lips.
29. Sweat in my armpits.
30. Sensations of prickling, tingling, or numbness in my body.
31. The temperature of my face (especially my ears).
32. Grinding my teeth.
33. General jitteriness.
34. Muscle pain.
35. Joint pain.
36. Fullness of my bladder.
37. My eye movements.
38. Back pain.
39. My nose itching.
40. The hair on the back of my neck “standing up.”
41. Needing to rest.
42. Difficulty in focusing.
43. An urge to swallow.
44. How hard my heart is beating.
45. Feeling constipated.

2. Stress Response

Imagine yourself in a very stressful situation or during periods of severe stress. Using the following 5‐point scale, rate your awareness of perceived changes due to stress in each of the global response systems described here.

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

During stressful situations I am aware of:

1. Vascular responses such as my face becoming flushed or pallid, or feeling
2. faint.
3. Body posture shifts such as being hunched over, head down, and knees
4. locked.
5. Muscle tone or tremor such as arms and legs feeling weak, hands
6. shaking, and lips quivering.
7. Breathing more rapidly and shallowly, and having difficulty in catching
8. my breath.
9. Digestive responses including gastric distress, gas, cramps, and diarrhea.
10. Difficulty in paying attention, with my mind wandering or day dreaming.
11. Difficulties in sensory abilities such as problems hearing, seeing,
12. smelling, or feeling touch.
13. Emotional problems such as more frequent feelings of depression,
14. frustration, rage, or anger.
15. Difficulty organizing my thoughts.
16. Difficulty speaking clearly and understandably

3. Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity

The autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that controls your cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and temperature regulation systems. It is also involved in the experience and expression of emotions. The autonomic nervous system functions differently among people. This scale has been developed to measure how your autonomic nervous system reacts. Using the following five‐point scale, rate yourself on each of the following statements:

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

During stressful situations I am aware that:

1. I feel nauseous.
2. I have difficulty coordinating breathing and eating.
3. My nose is runny, even when I am not sick.
4. When I am eating, I have difficulty talking.
5. My heart often beats irregularly.
6. When I eat, food feels dry and sticks to my mouth and throat.
7. I have a “sour” stomach.
8. I feel like vomiting.
9. I feel short of breath.
10. I have difficulty coordinating breathing with talking.
11. When I eat, I have difficulty coordinating swallowing, chewing, and/or
12. sucking with breathing.
13. I have a persistent cough that interferes with my talking and eating.
14. I drool, especially when I am excited.
15. I gag from the saliva in my mouth.
16. I produce a lot of saliva even when I am not eating.
17. I have difficulty adjusting my eyes to changes in illumination.
18. I have chest pains.
19. I gag when I eat.
20. When I talk, I often feel I should cough or swallow the saliva in my mouth.
21. I am constipated.
22. I have indigestion.
23. After eating, I have digestive problems.
24. I have diarrhea.
25. When I breathe, I feel as though I cannot get enough oxygen.
26. I have difficulty controlling my eyes.
27. I get dizzy when urinating or having a bowel movement.
28. I have trouble focusing when I go into dimly or brightly illuminated places

4. Stress Style 1

Each of us responds differently to stressful events and conditions. The Stress Style 1 Scale evaluates your style of responding to stress. Using the following 5‐point scale, rate yourself on each of the following statements:

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

When I am emotionally stressed because of a specific problem:

1. I approach the problem head‐on.
2. I withdraw.
3. I know that things will be better later, so I wait until I feel better before acting.
4. I know that things will go better if I act immediately.
5. I feel mental tension.
6. I feel frustrated.
7. I feel insecure.
8. I feel aimless.

5. Stress Style 2

Each of us responds differently to stressful events and conditions. The Stress Style 2 Scale evaluates your style of responding to stress. Using the following five‐point scale, rate yourself on each of the following statements:

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

When I am emotionally stressed because of a specific problem:

1. I feel dizzy.
2. I have difficulty speaking.
3. I feel a tingling in my face.
4. I feel my blood sugar drop.

6. Health History Inventory

Using the following five‐point scale, rate the following items:

1. Never
2. Occasionally
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always

I experience, have experienced, or have been diagnosed as having:

1. Migraine headaches
2. Gastric distress or digestive problems
3. Arthritis
4. Hypertension
5. Hopeless unhappiness
6. Clinical depression
7. Bulimia
8. Anorexia
9. Obesity
10. Asthma
11. Endocrine problems (e.g., thyroid, adrenal, or gonadal hormone
12. dysfunction)
13. Eczema
14. Edema
15. Back problems
16. Diabetes
17. Epilepsy
18. Cancer
19. Hypoglycemia
20. Heart disease
21. Stroke
22. Gastric and duodenal ulcers
23. Psychiatric disorders
24. Pneumonia
25. Heart attack
26. Motion sickness
27. The following questions are for women only:
28. Premenstrual syndrome
29. Severe menstrual cramps
30. Postpartum depression

Body Awareness Questionnaire (Shields, Mallory, Simon, 1989)

Listed below are a number of statements regarding your sensitivity to normal‚ nonemotive body processes. For each statement‚ select a number from 1 (not at all true about me) to 7 (very true about me) that best describes how the statement describes you and place the number in the box to the right of the statement.

1. I notice differences in the way my body reacts to various foods.
2. I can always tell when I bump myself whether or not it will become a bruise.
3. I always know when I’ve exerted myself to the point where I’ll be sore the next day.
4. I am always aware of changes in my energy level when I eat certain foods.
5. I know in advance when I’m getting the flu.
6. I know I’m running a fever without taking my temperature.
7. I can distinguish between tiredness because of hunger and tiredness because of lack of sleep.
8. I can accurately predict what time of day lack of sleep will catch up with me.
9. I am aware of a cycle in my activity level throughout the day.
10. I don’t notice seasonal rhythms and cycles in the way my body functions.*
11. As soon as I wake up in the morning‚ I know how much energy I’ll have during the day.
12. I can tell when I go to bed how well I will sleep that night.
13. I notice distinct body reactions when I am fatigued.
14. I notice specific body responses to changes in the weather.
15. I can predict how much sleep I will need at night in order to wake up refreshed.
16. When my exercise habits change‚ I can predict very accurately how that will affect my energy level.
17. There seems to be a “best” time for me to go to sleep at night.
18. I notice specific bodily reactions to being overhungry.

Note: * indicates a reversed scored item.