Intuition vs. Anxiety: Do You Know the Difference?

I was driving the other day thinking, as I so often do, about anxiety. I have such a long history with anxiety and I'm often having to reflect and un-learn old beliefs around my relationship with it.

For example, I used to think I'm an anxious person because I'm defective or broken in some way and there is nothing I can do to change it. But over the years I've come to learn that my anxiety isn't even always mine. I am highly sensitive and have always picked up on other people's worries and feelings (more on that here). And while I do believe anxiety is a natural part of any human experience (especially in our times), I have also learned that there are so many outside influences on my anxiety, namely what I eat (yes Rachel, eating a whole bag of marshmallows at one time does contribute to your anxiety #true story #sugaraddict), how much sleep I get, and how often I move my body to move excess energy out.

Too Anxious for Intuition

But one important story I've had to debunk is the thought that I'm too anxious to have or hear my intuition. I thought my anxiety was too loud to ever get quiet and follow my gut. Of course, there are so many examples of me following my gut even while I was anxious but it has always felt harder for me to get quiet and listen while those thought spirals are happening. And I would often feel confused as to WHAT was my intuition talking versus my anxiety talking. And yet, today I am able to do it. To hear my intuition with more ease and follow where it guides me (even if it's into some kooky places).

Back to my car where I was thinking about how I have learned to make this distinction for myself. How do I decipher one from the other when the urgent voices or feelings can seem the same at times? And a clear message (from my intuition perhaps?) came into my mind. “Feeling to Thought vs. Thought to Feeling”

Feeling to Thought

For me, intuition starts as a feeling in my body (usually in my gut or heart) that if I stop and pay attention, turns into a thought. Like, "Oh, I feel like I want to call this friend I haven't talked to in a while" or "Oh, I feel like I want to take this class". They can sometimes be random, but I've come to trust the thoughts that grow from a quiet feeling in my body.

Thought to Feeling

My anxiety is the exact opposite experience. It will usually start with a thought (or outside event/influence)- "Wow, you messed that up and everyone is going to be mad at you" or "You'll never figure this out, you are going to let everyone down". And then that thought will turn INTO a feeling in my body. The rolling of my stomach, tightening of my chest, a quickening of my heartbeat. And then we are off to the races, usually ending in some hair-brained idea to quit/leave/hide in response to the anxious thoughts.

Now, this is obviously a simplification of the whole process, but the idea has helped me learn to discern over the years. I have used my meditation practice to help me tolerate getting still enough to catch the difference between these two. I can ask myself, "Did this start as a feeling or a thought?" And even if my anxiety is present in a situation, I can also look to see if my intuition feels present as well.

So often I find the best things in my life bring up anxiety. It can be scary to pursue my passions, build a relationship, and ask for what I want! And so my anxious mind often has a lot to say about it. But if I stop and drop into the feeling place in my body I may also detect the encouragement, even if it's small, to walk through the fear. To take the risk! It's not always easy, but I haven't ever regretted following my gut.

Can you stop and drop into the feeling place where your body and intuition talk to you? What do they have to say today?

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