ИСТИНА

Background The perception of signals from within the body, known as interoception, is receiving increased attention in mental healthcare due to its association with various affective disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, and PTSD (Brewer et al., 2021; Nord & Garfinkel, 2022). Interoception is considered to be essential for emotional awareness, and limited understanding of one's bodily state may predispose an individual to alexithymia—a trait associated with poor outcomes and drop-outs in psychological treatments (Pinna et al., 2020). Although most of the research evidence regarding the role of interoception in mental well-being comes from the field of cardioception, this specific interoceptive modality is a challenging training target due to the limited availability of heartbeat sensations for the consciousness. Key features of the technology We have pioneered a technology that enhances the perception of heartbeats through naturalistic feedback. A vibration device placed on the anterior central chest region provides gentle haptic stimulation which is synchronised with the client's actual heartbeats. This rhythmic vibration mimics the natural sensations generated by pressure fluctuations within the ventricles. Our pilot study showed promising results: individuals with low baseline interoceptive abilities demonstrated an improvement in their heart rhythm detection accuracy. Furthermore, compared to the traditional visual feedback technique, our approach appeared to be a more enjoyable and relaxing experience.