Interoception is the human ability to perceive what's happening inside the body. How does this relate to anxiety?

Interoception is the human ability to perceive what's happening inside the body. How does this relate to anxiety?

Sample: 175 participants.

Participants were assessed for situational and trait anxiety. They then breathed through a device that occasionally created slight, barely noticeable resistance to inhalation. Afterward, participants were asked if breathing felt harder and how confident they were in their judgment.

Shown: on average, men and women showed similar interoceptive abilities. However, women with high situational anxiety, but not trait anxiety, were less confident in their judgments about changes in breathing difficulty, even though they accurately detected when resistance was applied. This effect was not observed in men. Broadly speaking, anxiety is often linked to poorer interoception, but this study suggests the effect is more pronounced in women.

Like if you didn't understand any of this, but now you're breathing harder.

Link to an article.