Anxiety And Intuition Difference
Can you tell the difference between anxiety and intuition? Which fears are real and which fears are consequences of an anxious state?
I often daydream about my youth, even though I am in my early thirties. I guess that’s what it’s like to be a moody person in confinement! Moreso, I think back to my oral presentations to the ease and confidence I had in expressing myself in front of my high school class. I think back to the naivety and lightness with which I made my small and big decisions. I think back to 17-year-old Liane, the one who moved from her hometown to study in a City, without knowing anyone, with the firm intention of making her life there.
As far back as I can remember, anxiety has never been a part of my adolescence. And it’s proven, anxiety disorders develop with age, along with our cognitive abilities. Mine developed insidiously until I put my finger on it.
You’ve probably already been told, when you were in a relationship or professional impasse, to follow your instinct. It’s spiritual, following your instinct, it’s positive, it’s reassuring. But what exactly is following your instinct? It’s following the feeling you have, the assurance that you must deliberately take a certain direction.
Anxiety And Intuition
How Do You Know If It’s Anxiety or Intuition?
However, for an anxious person, it becomes really difficult to differentiate the voice of their instinct VS that of their anxiety. Let the person who has never Googled their symptoms to reassure themselves throw the first stone!
Allison Stone, an American holistic psychotherapist, says that while anxiety is a response to potential danger or threat, that doesn’t mean we should constantly listen to it. “I like to think of anxiety as a reaction, rather than a reality,” she says. In other words, anxiety is a reaction to something and most of the time has nothing to do with the situation that’s making you anxious.
When you’re constantly buzzing with anxious thoughts, you end up not being able to hear your inner voice, your gut.
Research doesn’t yet concretely explain how anxiety can take away our ability to make decisions based on our intuition, but our self-esteem could be an avenue for reflection. When we’re anxious, we’re less likely to be optimistic, to trust ourselves and therefore to follow our intuition. It’s like she’s turning into a super persuasive ninja.
I know it’s not easy to silence her. It’s not something that can be fixed overnight. It’s a matter of management, and it’s a daily task.
However, there are ways to reduce these anxious voices that buzz to better reconnect with your inner voice, your instinct.
Anxiety And Intuition
1- Stay Away from Sources That Can Fuel Your Anxiety
The more you fuel your anxiety, the more you disconnect from your instinct.
I am aware that it can be confusing to challenge these moments of anxiety when it is supposed to protect us above all.
If, for example, social media is something that causes anxiety for you, respect your limits. This could be by unsubscribing from certain accounts, limiting your screen time, etc. For others, it’s the consumption of alcohol, cannabis or coffee that is problematic.
And it’s not realistic for everyone to drastically cut these habits overnight. The goal is to go gradually and see how you feel before and after making changes. Do tests and take notes.
2- Take A (Real) Break
It’s easy to get sucked into everyday obligations; appointments to remember, important meetings, bad days, questioning, etc. It’s important to take the time to settle down. And it doesn’t even have to be a complicated and long process!
Simple inhalations/exhalations to change the course of your day. There’s nothing magical about it, it’s simply activating your parasympathetic nervous system to get you out of your “fight” or “flight” mode caused by your anxiety.
Square breathing is a great technique to get back on top. I practice it regularly and it gives me peace almost instantly.
Anxiety And Intuition
Square Breathing Technique
Imagine that you are drawing a square while breathing.
1- Inhale for 3 seconds while drawing the first line
2- Hold your breath for 3 seconds while drawing the second line
3- Exhale for 3 seconds while drawing the third line
4- Hold your breath for 3 seconds while drawing the fourth line
Anxiety And Intuition
3- Practice Creating Other Scenarios (Other Than the Catastrophic Ones!)
Whether you are creative or not, your anxiety is always the case when it is time to create unlikely scenarios! Yes, we have all imagined that everyone hates us for X reason; they look at me crossly, they do not speak to me, they laugh in the distance, etc. Or, my partner was supposed to text me. No news. That’s it, he/she wants to leave me.
No matter the situation, the brain automatically goes into panic mode. I am the first to jump to irrational conclusions, I admit it!
4- How to Get Rid of This Bad Habit and the Stomach Aches That Come with It?
Take a pencil and paper and write down ALL the possible scenarios of the situation that make you anxious, whether they are plausible or not. The goal is to outwit your anxiety by proving to yourself that ultimately the chances of the catastrophic scenario happening are not that high after all.
You can also sit down and meditate for 10 minutes to relax and clarify your thoughts.
I am aware that it can be confusing to challenge these moments of anxiety when it is supposed to protect us above all. The important thing is to become aware of it. To become aware of where this fear comes from, where you feel it in your body and the recurring situations or events where it occurs.
Afterwards, you just have to trust yourself, not listen to it, not let it get to you.
You can do one step at a time.
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