Intuition is this deep sense of knowing that guides and expands our lives. Anxiety on the other hand restricts us by keeping us beholden to fear. Despite their differences, they can feel remarkably the same, especially if you are someone who has an anxious, overthinking disposition. In today’s episode, we break down how to tell them apart, including: Where anxiety sits in the body How to spot an anxious thought The origin and science of intuition How intuition should feel Why they feel similar My 6 question checklist for telling them apart How to strengthen your connection with your intuition Plus personal stories of being saved by a gut instinct and our listener questions! Listen now! PREORDER MY BOOK: https://www.psychologyofyour20s.com/general-clean Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast For business: [email protected] The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is the main topic of this episode on anxiety vs intuition?
When we hear those phrases in response to a situation where we really just need advice, we're feeling uncertain, it can make the situation feel even more confusing, especially if you are someone who is naturally anxious, because feelings of anxiety and a gut instinct often feel completely similar and are incredibly hard to differentiate.
Self-doubt, intuition, generalized anxiety, even excitement, they all feel the same. They all operate on the same axis. So how can we ensure that we are making the right choices, that we are choosing the right path, questioning the right things when we can't always tell what to focus on and what to ignore? Well today, that is exactly what we are talking about.
We are going to talk about how to distinguish between intuition and anxiety. And let me tell you, I think it is so important to have this conversation in our 20s because there are so many big life decisions to be made during this decade and so much insecurity and doubt in general. And if we let ourselves be led by fear, by Thinking that an emotion that powerful must be a sign. Fear must be a sign.
I don't think that we give ourselves the lives that we want. And fear in these situations or anxiety cannot be the master of our fate or the master of our destiny or whatever you want to call it. Knowing the difference between my gut instinct and my fear, it has been a process of trial and error for me. I used to be such a back and forth kind of person.
I would constantly need other people's input. I would take a leap of faith and then I would back down because I began to doubt my own instincts and But around three years ago, I think I experienced just this huge mental shift in general across all areas of my life. And around that time, I basically decided that for three months, I was just going to go with whatever thing I decided to do first.
So whether it was what restaurant to pick, what movie to watch, what person to date, I had to be decisive and I had to base it on my first thought and my first decision. And I definitely got things wrong during that period. But I think I came out of it with such a strong inner voice. And there have been so many times where I have really not trusted my inner voice and been disappointed.
And every single time I have been, it's almost been reaffirming to me when, like what that sounds like. When it's an instinct, when it's my intuition and it's so loudly calling me and I ignore it, it feels terrible. But it also just helps me, again, reinforce what that voice means to me and when to listen to it.
Now, don't get me wrong, I still experience anxiety when it comes to my decisions, but I think I can now really sit back and appreciate it and have a conversation with my anxiety almost rather than allowing it to dictate what I do in life. When we confuse intuition and anxiety, I think a lot of things can happen.
We can become very obsessive over particular thoughts that are unhelpful because we think they mean more than they do when really they are just thoughts. We can make decisions because we're panicked that actually end up being ones that we regret. We leave someone we shouldn't. We turn away from an opportunity we shouldn't. We quit when we shouldn't.
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