How identification with one's own body is related to emotional processes in individuals with alcohol use disorder

Research suggests that there is an association between being disconnected from one's body and having problems processing emotions.

The objective of the study was to examine whether individual differences in identification with the body are associated with emotion processing, and whether this association differs between individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUDs) and a non-AUD healthy comparison group (HC).

The study sample included 134 adults who participated in an eight-week inpatient alcohol treatment program and 80 non-AUD healthy controls. Emotion processing was assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Identification with one's own body was assessed with a novel pictographic scale.

In the serial mediation model (R² = 0.599; F[9174] = 28.890; p < 0.001), the effect of identification with one's own body on trait anxiety was found to operate via difficulties in identifying feelings and difficulties in emotion regulation in individuals with AUD, [ES = -0.19; CI(-0.18, -0.03)] but in not healthy comparison group [ES = -0.11; CI(-0.52, -0.20)]. Namely, lower identification with one's own body was associated with greater difficulty in identifying feelings, which in turn was associated with increased emotional dysregulation, which in turn was associated with greater trait anxiety only in individuals with AUD.

The results suggest that in individuals with AUD greater disconnection between self and body is related to higher trait anxiety, and that this effect is partially mediated by difficulties in identifying feelings and emotional dysregulation. In clinical populations, disruptions to this emobodiment process may lead to more severe emotional dysregulation, whereas in healthy individuals, the absence of such a connection does not necessarily result in dysfunction. Increasing the level of identification with one's own body may represent a future therapeutic target among individuals with AUD.