Anxiety vs. Intuition: Learning the Difference

Have you ever had that tug in your gut and wondered, “Is this my intuition… or just anxiety?” You’re not alone.

This is something that comes up all the time in therapy, especially for people who’ve been through a lot, or who’ve learned to second-guess themselves. When you’re used to living in high-alert mode, it can be really hard to tell the difference between a true inner knowing and the voice of fear.

So let’s talk about it.

Anxiety tends to be loud, fast, and relentless. It’s full of “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios. It’s the voice that says, something’s wrong, even when nothing specific has happened. It spins stories, ramps up your heart rate, and pushes you to act quickly sometimes out of panic, not clarity.

Intuition, on the other hand, is quieter. It’s more of a steady knowing than a spiraling thought. It doesn’t usually feel urgent or panicked. Instead, it feels grounded, like something inside you calmly saying, this isn’t right for me, or I need to move toward this, even if it’s hard to explain why.

One isn’t “bad” and the other “good” they’re just different. Anxiety often comes from lived experience — past trauma, stress, uncertainty. It’s your brain trying to protect you. But sometimes it gets a little overzealous and starts sounding the alarm when there’s no real danger.

Learning to tell the difference takes time and practice. In therapy, we help people slow down and get curious. What does anxiety feel like in your body? What does intuition feel like? Can you notice the tone, the pace, the story behind each one?

We also explore where your inner signals got scrambled. Maybe you grew up in an environment where your instincts were dismissed, or where emotional safety was unpredictable. If so, it makes total sense that self-trust would feel shaky. Rebuilding that trust is part of the work and it’s possible.

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Therapy can help you reconnect with your own internal compass and learn to distinguish between fear and insight, panic and knowing.

Your body is wise. Your intuition is still in there. And with the right support, you can learn to trust yourself again.