Empathy and autism: somatic empathy

This post is the fifth in a six-part series on empathy from Autistic perspectives. In this post, we’ll explore somatic empathy. If you missed the previous four posts, you can find them here: Post 1: alexithymia, Post 2: cognitive empathy, Post 3: emotional empathy, and Post 4: compassionate empathy.

What is somatic empathy?

Somatic empathy, also called physiological empathy, involves physically feeling sensations or symptoms that another person is experiencing. It can manifest as physical discomfort or sensations in response to witnessing someone else’s pain or distress.

Somatic empathy in action

When I first learned about somatic empathy, my mind was blown! I had long been someone who would easily cry when others cried, but I never had the words to describe why this happened! I’ve also discovered that my experience of somatic empathy is not limited to crying when others cry. There are a variety of ways that somatic empathy may be experienced:

• Experiencing emotional pain: Somatic empathy can involve feeling the emotional pain of others in a physical way. For instance, seeing someone cry or hearing about a loved one’s grief may evoke a sense of heaviness or tightness in the chest for the observer (or bring tears as it does for me), mirroring the emotional distress experienced by the other person.
• Feeling physical discomfort: When observing someone in pain or discomfort, you may experience a similar sensation in your own body. For example, witnessing someone stubbing their toe might evoke a fleeting sense of discomfort or a phantom sensation in the toe of the observer.
• Sensing energetic changes: Somatic empathy may extend to sensing energetic shifts or changes in others’ physical presence, such as when entering a room where tension is palpable, an individual may feel a strong sense of unease in their own body, reflecting the somatic experience of the collective emotional atmosphere.

Somatic empathy and autism

Many Autistics anecdotally report higher levels of somatic empathy, but there has been little research done to confirm these lived experiences. So why may Autistics be more likely to experience somatic empathy? Let’s look at a few possible reasons:

• Strong neuroception: Neuroception is the subconscious process through which our autonomic nervous system detects cues of safety or threat in the environment. Neuroception may play a part in somatic empathy, as our nervous system responds to shifts in other nervous systems to ensure our sense of safety, trust, and connection with others. Autistics tend to have highly sensitive nervous systems, which follows that we also likely have strong awareness of others’ nervous system shifts.
• Neuron functioning: Research suggests that Autistics have hyperconnected neurons, meaning that we typically take in more of our environments than allistics. As part of our hyperconnected neuronal functioning, some of us seem to have enhanced mirror neurons as well. Mirror neurons play a role in understanding and mirroring others’ actions and experiences, including physical sensations. Variations in mirror neuron functioning may contribute to differences in how Autistics perceive and resonate with others’ physical states.
• Emotional contagion: As I discussed in the post on emotional empathy, Autistics may experience emotional contagion, where they unconsciously mimic others’ emotional and physical states. This can lead to a shared somatic experience with others, since emotions ultimately are body sensations.

Interoception and somatic empathy

Interoception is sometimes called the 8th sense; it is our ability to sense our internal bodily sensations. For many Autistics, interoceptive awareness is inconsistent – we may be overly aware of certain bodily sensations and/or under-aware of others.

One of the main ways to manage somatic empathy is to be able to identify whether a body sensation is your own, or whether it is an empathetic response to someone else’s emotions or pain. Interoception plays a big part in managing somatic empathy, since if you can’t accurately sense your own bodily sensations, it can be very difficult to sort out whether or why your body feels “off.” 

So let’s look at a few tips for developing interoceptive awareness:

• Body scanning: Start from the top of your head and notice any sensations you may feel there, then slowly move your awareness down through your body to your toes, continuing to pay attention to any physical sensations you notice along the way. This practice can help you become more attuned to subtle changes in your body. You can also experiment with targeted body awareness, tuning in to just one part of your body (such as, your hands) and experimenting with changing how that body part feels (e.g., clenching your fist, then opening it, or running your hand under cold water).
• Interoceptive activities: Participate in activities that promote interoceptive awareness, such as yoga, tai chi, or body-focused meditation. These practices often emphasize bodily sensations, breath awareness, and mindful movement, helping you cultivate a deeper connection to your body and its signals. You may have to experiment to find the right type of activity since not all interoceptive activities work for all neurodivergent people.
• Label and describe sensations: Practice labeling and describing the sensations you experience in your body. When you notice a sensation, such as warmth, tension, or tingling, try to put it into words and describe it in detail. This process of verbalizing your bodily experiences can enhance your awareness and understanding of internal sensations over time. And remember, your experience of bodily sensations may be different than others’ and that is okay! Use describing words that make sense to you.

The next post will be the last in our series on empathy. I’ll be exploring the Double Empathy Problem and how different experiences of empathy can make cross-neurotype understanding tricky but not impossible!