Intuition vs Anxiety

[All-Rounder]

All of us have an inner voice that tells us to be cautious around certain people or situations or to try a bold new idea.

That’s intuition.

The ability to understand something immediately, without conscious reasoning, is called intuition.

In contrast, anxiety is a feeling of worry, unease, or nervousness about an uncertain event.

You might feel dread or a gut sense of discomfort and assume it’s your intuition trying to tell you something.

Often, it manifests as physical symptoms, like a racing heart, sweating, and shaky hands.

So, what’s the distinction between intuition and anxiety?

https://mindfulzen.co/intuition-vs-anxiety/

 

[All-Rounder]

These negative responses are a warning sign to stay away from a specific decision in a difficult situation:

A tingling in the back of your neck or spine
The hairs on the back of your neck standing up
A certain feeling in your gut, like butterflies or a queasy feeling
A strong sense of knowing without any logical explanation
An unexpected wave of emotion that takes over you suddenly
Unexplained goosebumps or chills
A feeling of being drawn to something without understanding why
A sudden flash of insight or clarity
Your heart racing or pounding for no apparent reason – increased heart rate
A powerful sense of deja vu
Your palms becoming sweaty when you encounter a certain person or situation
A feeling of being watched, even when there is no one around
Difficulty sleeping on nights that something important needs to be decided upon
Having vivid dreams about a potential outcome before it happens
An overwhelming desire to turn away from something or someone even when it doesn’t make sense
A feeling of being pulled in a certain direction, like a force field is leading you somewhere
An inner voice speaking to you giving clear guidance
Seeing visions or symbols that have meaning for you personally
Physical reactions such as tears or trembling when confronted with a situation
A strong feeling of intuition that can’t be ignored


Positive physical signs of intuition

1. A sense of peace or calm

2. A feeling of excitement or joy

3. A strong inner knowing without any logical explanation

4. Unexpected flashes of insight or clarity

5. An overwhelming desire to move in a certain direction

6. Physical reactions such as tears or trembling when confronted with a situation

7. A feeling of being drawn to something without understanding why

8. Tingling in the back of your neck or spine

9. An inner voice speaking to you giving clear guidance

10. Seeing symbols that have personal meaning



Albert Einstein is often credited with the quote “intuition is a sacred gift and the rational mind its faithful servant.”

He believed that intuition was more powerful than reason, because it allows us to access information from beyond our conscious awareness. This quote echoes his belief in the power of intuition and how it can be used to access information from our subconscious minds.

Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2 is said to be a result of his intuitive understanding of the universe. In addition, he believed that the creative process often relied on intuition and could not be reduced to a series of logical steps.

Every situation is different and requires a unique approach in order to make the best decision. When faced with a decision, try to take the time to really listen to your gut feelings and use them in combination with your logical thinking for the best results.

 

[All-Rounder]

I think like "seeing symbols" or things could also be like "this thing reminds me of that" and I think about something specific like having fun in the future or an image from the past like flowers, songs that symbolize something for me. Or I imagine myself in danger like falling and I feel like avoiding a certain road area, seems like intuition.

I had stressful dreams every night at points and I couldn't really tell why and I felt like "they're just dreams" and I chose to ignore them but they kept warning me, eventually found out my dreams were true when I tested just in case, I was shocked because I couldn't believe it was true.

Do you remember times when your intuition was signaling something to you?

 

[AspieChris]

Intuition is for me, really just my subconscious mind playing Jenga with all of the little bits of subtle information at hand. Sights, smells, minuscule facial ticks , etc.

If I’m walking through a park and smell dog poop, is it intuition that turns my eyes to the grass?

If I’m at an ATM and a man with tattoos on his face walks up with one hand in his coat pocket, would you call it intuition when I decide to leave?

I wasn’t born with the basic abilities to read a situation that others take for granted. So, I have had to learn through decades of failures. Sometimes “intuition” is actually “wisdom”.

 

[Neia]

All of us have an inner voice that tells us to be cautious around certain people or situations or to try a bold new idea.

That’s intuition.

The ability to understand something immediately, without conscious reasoning, is called intuition.

In contrast, anxiety is a feeling of worry, unease, or nervousness about an uncertain event.

You might feel dread or a gut sense of discomfort and assume it’s your intuition trying to tell you something.

Often, it manifests as physical symptoms, like a racing heart, sweating, and shaky hands.

So, what’s the distinction between intuition and anxiety?

https://mindfulzen.co/intuition-vs-anxiety/

My intuition makes me feel alert, my anxiety makes me feel afraid.
Two very different things.

My intuition makes my brain work, my anxiety stops from properly reasoning.

 

[All-Rounder]

Intuition is for me, really just my subconscious mind playing Jenga with all of the little bits of subtle information at hand. Sights, smells, minuscule facial ticks , etc.

If I’m walking through a park and smell dog poop, is it intuition that turns my eyes to the grass?

If I’m at an ATM and a man with tattoos on his face walks up with one hand in his coat pocket, would you call it intuition when I decide to leave?

I wasn’t born with the basic abilities to read a situation that others take for granted. So, I have had to learn through decades of failures. Sometimes “intuition” is actually “wisdom”.

They do say we have less intuition than others in social situations.

 

[AspieChris]

They do say we have less intuition than others in social situations.

I have none. Absolutely no intuitive understanding of social nuances. My wife kicks me underneath the table a lot.

 

[All-Rounder]

I have none. Absolutely no intuitive understanding of social nuances. My wife kicks me underneath the table a lot.

But does she miss autistic hints?

I wish someone would cue me in when I'm not spot on or noticing something. What things do you miss?

 

[AspieChris]

But does she miss autistic hints?

I wish someone would cue me in when I'm not spot on or noticing something. What things do you miss?

I’m an old white guy. I once gold a really funny ‘N-word’ joke to a group of guys I was training at work. We were all just joking around like guys do and laughing at everything. It was a fun day.

One of the men I was training was a black man. The room got very quiet when I spit out the punchline. Fortunately, he had been working with me and the whole group of us for a few months and we had become sort of friends, so he didn’t say anything. But I definitely put my foot in my mouth and I had no clue why everyone’s face went blank together so fast. It took me a few seconds to understand what had happened.

 

[All-Rounder]

I’m an old white guy. I once gold a really funny ‘N-word’ joke to a group of guys I was training at work. We were all just joking around like guys do and laughing at everything. It was a fun day.

One of the men I was training was a black man. The room got very quiet when I spit out the punchline. Fortunately, he had been working with me and the whole group of us for a few months and we had become sort of friends, so he didn’t say anything. But I definitely put my foot in my mouth and I had no clue why everyone’s face went blank together so fast. It took me a few seconds to understand what had happened.

I made a joke about some guy's earring that it was his grandma's because it was practically a flower and everyone went quiet, the guy left. I later apologized he said no problem I just had to leave. Perhaps it was my silly joke lol

I generally dislike gender roles and don't believe in it but how would they know that.

 

[Rodafina]

So, what’s the distinction between intuition and anxiety?

I think what has been described as "intuition" here is actually feelings. Feelings based on an observation of circumstances combined with the knowledge and life experiences of the observer. While intuition can be given quite a lot of credulity, I think it is more often just a feeling and it is not to be trusted as fact or reality. I think the strength of one's intuition comes from how much weight they are willing to give their feelings.

Anxiety is not much different, although it can be more related to both thoughts and feelings. Anxiety is typically a response to our automatic thoughts and feelings - the ideas and emotions that immediately jump into our minds. These are also formed based on one's knowledge and life experiences and they are not always accurate. For example, someone with very poor self esteem will have automatic thoughts that imperfection means failure and a reason for shame. This is an automatic thought and can lead to increased anxiety about one's personal expectations and performance.

In my opinion, both anxiety and intuition are autonomic responses to the scenario before the observer and they both deserve a moment of analysis to see where facts and logic may present a different perspective and understanding of the scenario.

 

[All-Rounder]

Begs the question what we're missing because neurologists say that the most accurate predictions we have are based on the subconscious which is far more powerful in analyzing than our aware thinking processes. But maybe our subconscious patternizes in which case it could go wrong and we need to be finding the truth in other ways in accordance with each situation.

I'm sure there were times when I felt it was a good thing and it wasn't or maybe I was missing other feelings.

 

[Roisin]

A bit of a ramble, but that's where I'm at...
I thought about intuition vs anxiety very early on in recognising I was Autistic, it took being "with" Autistic peers to have these realisations.

I had trusted my gut feelings to leep me safe for the first two decades of life, but it did not work so well in my twenties and looking back in my thirties I couldn't comprehend how this happened.

Turns out, it was never intuition, but instead hypervigilence, or anxiety, I had learned to observe, recognise patterns, to predict outcomes, all fear based. It had been there so long that it felt a part of me, my self image.

The loss of this belief hit me like a tonne of bricks, I had engaged in magical thinking for years, yet it was a turning point in the anxiety, I gained the ability to comfortably doubt myself, my perception, this may not seem like great news, but it was!

I questioned everything I thought, not because I wanted to, like change, or desired this sense of vulnerability, nope, this was a deeply uncomfortable period, I done it because I no longer wanted my true self to be hijacked by this anxious monstrosity.

In an ideal world I would have had access to professional help, its not and I didn't.

So this is the basics of what I learned while I muddled through: the most notable commonality for me between intuition and anxiety is observation.

For observation and evaluation to be reliable it requires a person to know how their biases influence their perception.

We all have biases, it will take a lifetime of introspection to recognise and work on/with mine, and thats the biases I have access to. My subconscious slips out new biases and new forms of these known biases adding new context and complexity and identifying the actual source can require an external perspective/counselling.

Today intuition is my sensory input, everything I experience all coming together to tell me something, but with so many variables in the moment, the most weight I can give this message is that it could be accurate, it is a possibility, no more.I trust it and doubt it in equal measure.

 

[AprilR]

I don't think i have social intuition, so i am pretty careful when meeting new people. I don't open up easily and since i miss social cues i try to keep a low profile. I think this is survival instinct as opposed to anxiety.

I often feel like a "sheep among wolves" because of my lack of intuition. I think everyone must have good intentions, even when someone does something bad there must be some reason or i might have done something that made them angry etc. It takes a lot of observation of other people's behaviors to get out of that mindset. To tell myself again and again, "do NOT trust people in advance"

 

[Judge]

I don't think i have social intuition, so i am pretty careful when meeting new people. I don't open up easily and since i miss social cues i try to keep a low profile. I think this is survival instinct as opposed to anxiety.

I often feel like a "sheep among wolves" because of my lack of intuition. I think everyone must have good intentions, even when someone does something bad there must be some reason or i might have done something that made them angry etc. It takes a lot of observation of other people's behaviors to get out of that mindset. To tell myself again and again, "do NOT trust people in advance"

In this day and age I honestly don't see this as a bad thing.