“Trust your gut”, “Listen to your instincts”, “Your intuition knows what is best for you”, “Your gut knows what is up, even if your brain does not want to admit it”, “Your body is always telling you the truth”. Are these quotes familiar to you? How many times have you read or heard someone speak these words before? While there is truth in that our body sends us signals or messages most of the time, alerting or informing us how we are feeling, what our needs are (e.g. hunger), and changes occurring in our body, it sometimes can be confusing in certain situations. Maybe you have asked yourself when making a decision or thinking about a situation, “Is this a gut feeling or my intuition telling me something? Or am I anxious?” When we struggle or experience anxiety, it can be hard to discern whether it is anxiety or intuition. It can be perplexing to understand the difference between the two and to trust yourself to make a choice or believe what you are feeling. So, what is intuition and what is anxiety? How do we differentiate between the two and understand what our body is trying to tell us?

What is Anxiety?

I have had clients say to me, “I can’t tell if what I am feeling is anxiety or if it is my intuition leading me”. Anxiety is when worry, dread, fear, or panic is strongly present. It intensifies worry with a tendency to catastrophize, focusing on imagining worst-case scenarios. When we feel anxious, physical sensations in our body may also arise. Notice any bodily sensations within yourself, such as a racing heart, a knot in the stomach, your face or throat getting hot, tinglings in limbs, or mouth getting dry. Anxiety can look and feel different for everyone. What happens here is that our amygdala, responsible for our fight/flight system, is activated. It detects that there may be a threat, causing our anxiety levels to spike (Hartley & Phelps, 2013).

Symptoms of anxiety look like:

Persistent and excessive feelings of worry, dread, fear, stress, unease, and/or anticipation
Overthinking or rumination of thoughts: “What if?” questions, constantly wondering about situations, pondering worst-case scenarios
Physical bodily sensations like those mentioned above. Other symptoms include sweatiness, dizziness, headaches, churning feeling in stomach or chest, or tightness in the chest

It is important to note that anxiety is a very common and normal thing to experience! Everyone experiences bouts of anxiety here and there. It can actually be helpful at times to help alert us to potential danger or to prepare us for an important moment. It is when anxiety is excessive, becomes difficult to manage and is bringing in more distress then it may not be helping your well-being. This would be best addressed in therapy to help you learn helpful techniques on how to manage and navigate your anxiety better.

What is Intuition?

Intuition can guide decision-making or judgements without necessarily knowing the reasons why (Remmers & Zander, 2018). It can offer clarity and come from a sense of knowing that is often accompanied with calmness or inner certainty. It is more of a subtle nudge or guidance not rooted in overthinking. Intuition often also taps into our value-system, asking us whether the feelings or decisions align with our values. Have you had moments where you have thought, “I knew changing jobs was the right choice” or “Something feels off about this situation or person”? This is intuition or your gut feelings talking to you, even though there may not be a definite explanation or reason for it.

But, intuition can also manifest similar symptoms to anxiety. Symptoms such as racing heart, tightness in chest or stomach are some symptoms that are alike to what experiencing anxiety feels like. Notice what physical sensations come up for you when you experience anxiety and intuition independently. Are they different or similar? If there are different sensations unique to each, then this can help you assess when you are feeling anxious or your intuition is coming up.

Major Differences Between Anxiety and Intuition

Anxiety focuses on the future, leading to worries about what is going to happen. Intuition is usually more instantaneous and happens in the present-moment.
Anxiety is fear-based whereas intuition generates a general sense of calmness or peace
Intuition comes from an inner knowing that is not always explainable, but feels clear or certain. Anxiety can promote overthinking and rumination.
Intuition is about sensing something. Anxiety can be often about overthinking about something.
Intuition asks us whether something aligns with our values. Anxiety does not always consider values as fear can take over.

Imagine you are walking through a dark park in the middle of the night. If there are feelings that arise telling you to walk faster, then it might be your intuition signaling you to move away from any potential danger. But, if feelings of persistent worry and unease have been occurring all day prior to walking in the park, then it is likely a sign of anxiety.

Here are some reflective questions to ask yourself to further assess whether your thoughts and feelings are led by anxiety or intuition:

Am I feeling calm or grounded right now? Does this feel like a sense of knowing about what is right for me, even if it is about a difficult decision? How certain do I feel about this?
Am I sensing something or am I overthinking about this?
Am I focusing on worst-case scenarios and “what ifs” scenarios? Am I doubting and second-guessing a lot?

Hopefully this has helped you understand and discern the differences between anxiety and intuition. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two. Both can feel emotionally intense and overlap in symptoms, which makes it even more confusing to understand the distinction. Sometimes anxiety can even override intuition. If you are struggling with thoughts and feelings on what to do or how you are feeling, talking to someone or a professional can help you figure and explore what is going on.

References:

Hartley, Catherine A., and Elizabeth A. Phelps. “Anxiety and decision-making.” Biological Psychiatry, vol. 72, no. 2, July 2013, pp. 113–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.12.027.

Remmers, Carina, and Thea Zander. “Why you don’t see the forest for the trees when you are anxious: Anxiety impairs intuitive decision making.” Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 6, no. 1, 27 Sept. 2018, pp. 48–62, https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702617728705

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