What Is the Difference Between Anxiety and Intuition?
If you experience anxiety on a consistent basis, it is likely you have asked yourself and others this question! Anxiety and intuition can tell us similar things which makes it easy to feel confused and led astray. Even worse, struggling to discern between the two makes it challenging when you are trying to make an important decision. Below I will share some key differences between anxiety and intuition as well as tools on how to make decisions when you are struggling to figure out the “right” thing to do.
Key differences between anxiety and intuition:
What is anxiety? What is intuition?
Anxiety: Anxiety is a natural and common human emotion that is characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, or unease about the future. It can be caused by both real and perceived threats and stressors. While occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, persistent or excessive anxiety that interferes with daily functioning (completing your daily tasks and routines, like going to school or work, eating, maintaining hygiene, and engaging in relationships) may indicate an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can also be caused by a genetic predisposition, past experiences, and current environmental stressors. In other words: anxiety is like an annoying sidekick who is always telling you to worry about what could go wrong. It is like having a nagging voice in your head that will not shut up about all the bad stuff that might happen.
Intuition: Intuition is a subconscious process through which individuals can understand or sense something without the need for conscious reasoning. It is often described as a “gut feeling” or instinctive knowledge that guides decision-making. Intuition can happen spontaneously and may be influenced by past experiences and subconscious cues. Intuition is like an unlocked skill, operating behind the scenes without you even realizing it. It is that gut feeling, the little voice inside nudging you in a certain direction. Unlike anxiety, intuition doesn't come with all the drama. It is more like a quiet whisper guiding you toward what feels right.
What are the physical differences between anxiety and intuition?
Anxiety: Anxiety is often experienced through physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, nausea and upset stomach, restlessness, and feeling keyed up or on edge. People who experience anxiety may also struggle to maintain focus, fall asleep, and feel relaxed. These symptoms can vary in intensity and duration depending on the person and event. Often times, in the moment anxiety can feel hastened and intense.
Intuition: Intuition typically does not cause physical sensations in the same way anxiety does. Instead, it may show up as a subtle feeling, hunch, or sense of knowing that something is right or wrong. Many people describe feeling settled or calmed down when experiencing intuition as opposed to the heightened nature of anxiety. Intuition has been described as feeling more “free flowing” as opposed to the rushed intensity of anxiety.
What does anxiety look like? What does intuition look like?
Anxiety: Anxious thoughts tend to focus on potential negative outcomes or dangers, and they can be irrational or disproportionate to the actual cause. Anxiety is often focused on the worst-case scenario or catastrophic outcomes. People with anxiety may have difficulty controlling or dismissing these thoughts, which leads to ongoing distress. This experience is often described as intrusive. In other words, people do not choose to be anxious or struggle to make the thoughts go away; it just happens and can be all consuming.
Intuition: Intuitive insights are often related to making decisions or solving problems. They may involve a sense of clarity, certainty, or feeling grounded about a particular course of action or outcome. Intuitive feelings may not always be logical or rational, but they can sometimes lead to positive outcomes. Additionally, intuitive insights are often spontaneous and unexpected, whereas anxiety is often consistent or related to a certain trigger.
“Intuition has been described as feeling more “free flowing” as opposed to the rushed intensity of anxiety.”
Tools to help you differentiate between anxiety and intuition:
Ideally at this point telling the difference between anxiety and intuition feels a bit easier for you. However, I know things are always different in practice than they are written down! Here are a few tools to help you hone in on your intuition, strengthen it to let it help you guide your decisions, and set the voice of anxiety aside.
Mindfulness: Engaging in things like mindful eating, guided meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing exercises, and body scans can help you get more in touch with your body’s natural messages. Practicing these activities over the course of time (rather than only trying them in the moment when you need them) is like strengthening a muscle – it will allow you to access your intuition when anxiety is getting loud. It will also help you figure out whether the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing are fueled more by anxiety or by intuition.
YouTube is a great resource for guided meditation, deep breathing, and body scan videos!
Journaling: Taking note of your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and experiences over the course of time can help you identify themes, patterns, and triggers. Making this a daily habit will give you the most information, but it can also be helpful to start with journaling about specific experiences you felt your intuition guiding you. What did it feel like (both physically and emotionally) for you? What were the thoughts or words and phrases that were coming up for you? How did these sound different from times when anxiety was guiding you?
How We Feel and Moodflow are two of my favorite apps for quick mood tracking and short journaling!
Chat with others: Share about your experiences and ask for feedback from people that you trust such as a best friend, family member, mentor, teacher, or counselor. Inviting a trusted outsider’s perspective can help you see situations from different sides. It can also help you identify whether the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing are more anxious in nature or your intuition coming through.
Weighing the pros and cons: If you are stuck on a particular decision, listing out all of the pros and cons can help you evaluate the potential outcomes of a decision or course of action. Make sure to note both the evidence and logical reasoning behind each option, as well as your emotional responses. If there are certain outcomes that you notice feeling more settled, grounded, or an internal sense of quiet about, that is likely your intuition coming through. Additionally, if there is time, writing out these pros and cons and coming back to your notes a few days later may help you see different perspectives or outcomes that you were not aware of before.
At the end of the day, intuition plays a significant role in various aspects of life, including creativity, problem-solving, decision-making, interpersonal relationships, and personal growth. Whether it's choosing a career path, making important life decisions, or navigating complex social situations, intuition can offer valuable insights and guidance.
While intuition is a natural and inherent aspect of human cognition, it's important to recognize that it's not infallible. Intuitive insights may sometimes be influenced by biases, emotions, or unconscious beliefs, leading to errors in judgment. Therefore, it's essential to balance intuition with critical thinking, rational analysis, and external information when making important decisions. In other words, sometimes the very processes that influence anxiety are actually there to help you make an informed decision!
Cultivating and honing intuition involves developing self-awareness, mindfulness, and openness to inner guidance. Practices such as meditation, journaling, and reflection can help you tap into your intuitive wisdom and harness its transformative power in your life.
Ultimately, the key lies in finding a balance between both anxiety and intuition. While anxiety may serve as a cautionary signal, urging us to approach situations carefully (or avoid them altogether!), intuition encourages us to trust in our inner wisdom and take bold leaps of faith. By honoring both anxiety and intuition as integral parts of our human experience, we unlock the door to a life guided by clarity, courage, and authenticity.
Are you interested in practicing these tools in a way that is unique to you and your own experiences? Contact me today to set up a free consultation and we can start that process together!