How do people with mental health conditions experience bodily signals? Lydia Hickman and Gabriel Mackie’s new paper in eClinicalMedicine explores lived experiences and patient priorities for interoception research.

Individuals with psychiatric disorders report differences in bodily experiences. However, formal priority setting by people with lived experience of mental health conditions has so far been overlooked in this rapidly expanding research area. This study synthesised contributions from people diagnosed with mental health conditions, both from an in-person workshop and an online sample.

Initial ideas about how the body relates to mental health spanned a wide range of bodily signals, specific situations, and intensities. In-depth discussions focused on: (1) understanding aetiology; (2) attention to sensations; (3) factors that relate to sensations; and (4) the effects of sensations. Contributors additionally selected and ranked which bodily signals are of most concern for them: muscle tension, stomach, breathing and heartbeat were particularly highly selected and ranked.

Through thematic analysis & online validation, a list of ‘ten patient-led priorities for interoception research in psychiatry’ was generated. These focus on understanding causes, improving management, and refining clinical approaches.

The full paper can be read here: Hickman, L. J.*, Mackie, G.*, Longley, B. F., Savage, H. S., Bagley, E., Fleming, H., Knight, R., Lau, I., Whines, A., Garfinkel, S. N.*, & Nord, C. L.* (2025). Breaking through the mind-body divide: patient priorities for interoception research. eClinicalMedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103183