How to Tell the Difference Between Intuition and Anxiety

Understanding when your body is protecting you versus when it's working against you can transform your decision-making and relationships.

Identifying the difference between intuition and anxiety is essential for making confident decisions and trusting yourself. Understanding these signals helps you navigate relationships, career choices, and life decisions with greater clarity.

Hello,

I need to tell you something that might change how you see yourself forever. For years, I dismissed every gut feeling I had as "just anxiety." That knot in my stomach when I met someone new? Anxiety. The uneasy feeling about a job opportunity? Anxiety. The way my body tensed up around certain people? You guessed it - anxiety.

It took me years of therapy training and personal work to realize I'd been throwing away one of my most powerful tools: my intuition. I was so afraid of being "too anxious" that I stopped listening to my body's wisdom entirely.

If you've ever found yourself second-guessing that inner voice, wondering if you're being "too sensitive" or if your gut feelings are valid - this one's for you.

What We're Not Taught About Our Inner Wisdom

As women, we're often told we're "too emotional" or "overthinking things." We learn to doubt our instincts and dismiss our body's signals as problems to be fixed rather than information to be heard.

Here's what I wish someone had told me twenty years ago: Your body is constantly gathering information about your environment and giving you feedback. Sometimes that feedback is anxiety trying to protect you from perceived threats. Sometimes it's intuition guiding you toward what's aligned with your authentic self.

The problem isn't having these feelings - it's not knowing how to interpret them.

As a licensed therapist here in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky who's worked with hundreds of women struggling with anxiety and self-trust, I've learned there are clear differences between these two experiences. Understanding them can be life-changing.

Understanding Anxiety: Your Protective System

Anxiety is your body's alarm system. It's designed to keep you safe by scanning for potential threats and preparing you to respond. When this system works well, it helps you avoid danger and make smart choices.

How anxiety typically feels:

• Racing thoughts that jump from worry to worry
• Physical tension that feels urgent and demanding
• A sense of dread about future "what-if" scenarios
• Difficulty being present in the moment
• Feeling like you need to do something right NOW

When anxiety shows up: Anxiety often emerges when you're facing uncertainty, change, or situations that remind your nervous system of past difficulties. It's your brain trying to predict and prevent problems.

The anxiety voice sounds like: "What if this goes wrong?" "You're not prepared for this." "Everyone will judge you." "This is dangerous." "You need to control this situation."

Understanding Intuition: Your Inner Compass

Intuition is your body's way of integrating information from your conscious and unconscious mind to guide you toward what serves your highest good. It's based on pattern recognition, past experiences, and a deep knowing that goes beyond logical thinking.

How intuition typically feels:

• A quiet, steady knowing that doesn't demand immediate action
• Physical sensations that feel informative rather than urgent
• A sense of rightness or wrongness about situations
• Clarity that comes when you slow down and listen
• Feeling more grounded and centered

When intuition shows up: Intuition often emerges when you're making decisions about relationships, career moves, or life directions. It's your inner wisdom helping you navigate toward authentic choices.

The intuition voice sounds like: "This doesn't feel right." "Pay attention to this." "Something is off here." "This person/opportunity aligns with who you are." "Trust this feeling."

The Key Differences That Change Everything

Understanding these distinctions has been game-changing for both me and my clients:

Timing and Urgency

Anxiety creates urgency. It demands immediate attention and action. It feels like an emergency that must be addressed right now.

Intuition is patient. It provides information and then allows you space to consider what to do with that information. It doesn't feel frantic.

Physical Sensations

Anxiety often creates physical tension - tight chest, racing heart, shallow breathing, muscle tension. These sensations feel uncomfortable and demanding.

Intuition might create physical sensations too - gut feelings, energy shifts, a sense of expansion or contraction - but they feel more like information than distress.

Mental Quality

Anxiety tends to create racing, repetitive thoughts. Your mind jumps from worry to worry, often focusing on worst-case scenarios.

Intuition creates a sense of knowing that's often hard to explain logically. It's more of a felt sense than a stream of thoughts.

Response to Reasoning

Anxiety often increases when you try to logic your way through it. The more you analyze anxious thoughts, the more they can spiral.

Intuition remains steady even when you can't logically explain it. It doesn't waver when questioned, though it might become clearer with reflection.

Outcome Focus

Anxiety is usually focused on preventing something bad from happening. It's oriented toward avoiding pain or problems.

Intuition is often focused on moving toward what serves your authentic self, even if that path includes challenges.

Real-Life Examples: Anxiety vs. Intuition in Action

Let me share some scenarios I see constantly in my practice:

Meeting Someone New

Anxiety response: "What if they don't like me? What if I say something wrong? What if they judge me? I should prepare topics to talk about."

Intuitive response: "Something feels off about this person, but I can't put my finger on it." Or "I feel comfortable and energized around this person."

Job Opportunity

Anxiety response: "What if I'm not qualified? What if I fail? What if they realize I don't belong there? I should probably turn this down."

Intuitive response: "This opportunity doesn't feel aligned with who I'm becoming." Or "Despite my nerves, something feels right about this direction."

Relationship Concerns

Anxiety response: "What if I'm being too sensitive? What if I'm sabotaging a good thing? Maybe I'm just anxious about commitment."

Intuitive response: "Something fundamental doesn't feel right in this relationship, even though I can't explain why."

When Anxiety and Intuition Work Together

Here's something important: anxiety and intuition aren't mutually exclusive. Sometimes they work together.

Your intuition might pick up that something isn't right, and then your anxiety kicks in to help you pay attention and take protective action. The key is learning to distinguish between helpful anxiety that's responding to real intuitive information, and anxious thoughts that are creating problems where none exist.

For example: Your gut tells you something feels off about a relationship (intuition), and then you feel anxious about addressing the issue (anxiety about conflict). Both responses are giving you information.

The Trauma Factor: When Anxiety Masquerades as Intuition

If you've experienced trauma, your anxiety system might be hyperactive, sending alarm signals even when you're actually safe. This can make it challenging to distinguish between protective anxiety and genuine intuitive guidance.

Signs your trauma response might be interfering:

• You feel anxious in most new situations, even pleasant ones
• Your body reacts strongly to situations that remind you of past difficulties
• You have trouble distinguishing between past and present threats
• You feel anxious around people who are actually safe and supportive

This is where working with a trauma-informed therapist can be incredibly helpful. Healing your nervous system allows your natural intuition to emerge more clearly.

How to Develop Both Skills: Trusting Your Anxiety AND Your Intuition

The goal isn't to eliminate anxiety or rely solely on intuition. Both serve important functions. The goal is to understand what each is telling you.

Working with Anxiety Skillfully

Ask yourself:

• Is this anxiety about something in my control or something I can influence?
• Is this fear based on past experiences or present reality?
• What would I do if I felt brave right now?
• What's the worst that could realistically happen, and could I handle it?

Helpful practices:

• Deep breathing to calm your nervous system
• Grounding techniques to stay present
• Challenging anxious thoughts with evidence
• Taking small, manageable actions despite anxiety

Develop Intuitive Awareness

Ask yourself:

• When I slow down and get quiet, what do I sense?
• How does my body feel when I imagine different choices?
• What would I choose if I trusted myself completely?
• What feels most aligned with who I'm becoming?

Helpful practices:

• Regular quiet time for reflection
• Body awareness and mindfulness
• Journaling about your felt sense of situations
• Noticing patterns in what your intuition tells you

The Cincinnati Connection: Trusting Yourself in Real Life

Whether you're navigating family dynamics in Mason, making career decisions downtown, or evaluating relationships in Blue Ash, learning to work with both anxiety and intuition can transform your life.

I see so many women here in the Greater Cincinnati area who've been told they're "too anxious" or "too sensitive" when actually, they're picking up on real information that their environments have taught them to dismiss.

Your sensitivity isn't a weakness - it's a superpower when you know how to use it.

When Professional Support Can Help

If you find yourself overwhelmed by anxiety or unable to access your intuitive wisdom, that's where therapy and coaching can make a profound difference.

Some signs it might be helpful to work with someone:

• Your anxiety feels unmanageable and interferes with daily life
• You've lost touch with what you actually want or feel
• Past trauma is making it hard to distinguish between past and present threats
• You want to develop stronger self-trust and decision-making skills

As a licensed therapist who specializes in anxiety and trauma, I help women learn to work skillfully with both their protective anxiety and their inner wisdom. It's some of the most empowering work we can do together.

Moving Forward: Becoming Your Own Trusted Guide

My friend, you have everything you need inside you to navigate this life with wisdom and confidence. Your anxiety is trying to protect you. Your intuition is trying to guide you. Both deserve your attention and respect.

The women I work with who learn to distinguish between these two voices report feeling more confident in their decisions, more authentic in their relationships, and more aligned with their true selves.

You don't have to choose between being logical and trusting your gut. You don't have to dismiss your feelings to be taken seriously. You can learn to honor both your thinking mind and your feeling body.

Your next step: Start paying attention. When you feel that familiar knot in your stomach or that sense of unease, pause. Ask yourself: "Is this anxiety trying to protect me from something, or is this intuition giving me information?"

There's no wrong answer - only more information to help you navigate your path with greater awareness and self-compassion.

If you're ready to develop stronger self-trust and learn to work skillfully with both anxiety and intuition, I'd love to support you on that journey.

Ready to start? Call or text me at 513-706-5950, or email me at [email protected]. Let's explore what it would feel like to truly trust yourself.

You can also check out my self-discovery courses designed to help you reconnect with your inner wisdom and build unshakeable confidence in your own guidance.

Remember: You're not broken for having anxiety. You're not weak for needing to learn these skills. You're human, and learning to trust yourself is one of the most important investments you can make.

Because you matter!

~ Cindy

Cindy Jesse, LISW
Licensed Independent Trauma Therapist & Life Coach
Serving Cincinnati, Mason, Blue Ash, Hyde Park & Northern Kentucky

P.S. If this post resonated with you, you might also enjoy my other resources on building self-trust, managing anxiety, and healing from trauma. Remember: learning to trust yourself is a practice, not a destination.