How to Know the Difference Between Intuition and Anxiety
Learn to distinguish between intuition and anxiety with this practical 3-step body-based check-in. Stop second-guessing yourself and start trusting your inner knowing.
I used to think my anxiety was my intuition.
Every time my stomach twisted into knots, I’d think: See? My body is telling me something. This must be a sign.
And I’d make decisions based on that feeling. I’d say no to opportunities because my chest felt tight. I’d avoid conversations because my heart was racing. I’d stay hidden away because my nervous system was screaming (and I was sweating, turning red, and feeling sick to my stomach as a result).
Anxiety and intuition speak completely different languages.
And when you can’t tell them apart you end up living a life designed by your fear instead of your truth.
Let’s change that. You deserve to know the difference between the voice that’s trying to keep you safe... and the voice that’s trying to keep you hiding in a damp, dark, internal cave of procrastination.
What Intuition Actually Feels Like
Intuition is your inner knowing. It’s the quiet, steady voice that just... knows.
It doesn’t need to convince you. It doesn’t need evidence. It doesn’t spiral or catastrophize or pull up a slide show presentation of all the ways you could fail.
Intuition feels like:
A gentle, grounded pull in a certain direction
A sense of clarity or “rightness” even if you can’t explain it
Calm certainty (even about something scary)
Expansion in your body - like your chest opens, your breath deepens
A whisper, not a scream
Intuition says things like:
“This isn’t for you.”
“Wait.”
“Say yes.”
“It’s time to leave.”
“Trust this.”
And then it shuts up. It doesn’t need to repeat itself because it knows you heard it.
What Anxiety Actually Feels Like
Anxiety, on the other hand, is loud and repetitive. This energy catastrophizes. It pulls receipts from 2003 and waves them in your face.
Anxiety feels like:
Tightness, constriction, or panic in your body
Racing thoughts that loop and spiral
Urgency - like you need to DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW
A sense of dread or impending doom
Contraction in your body - shallow breathing, clenched jaw, tight chest
Anxiety says things like:
“What if everything goes wrong?”
“You’re going to fail.”
“Everyone will judge you.”
“You’re not ready.”
“It’s not safe. It’s not safe. It’s not safe.”
And then it says it again. And again. And again.
Why We Confuse Them (And Why That’s Not Your Fault)
If you grew up in an environment where your needs weren’t safe, your boundaries weren’t respected, or your voice wasn’t welcome...your nervous system learned to stay on high alert.
Your anxiety became your bodyguard and armored up under layers of protection.
For a long time, that served you. It kept you safe. It helped you read the room, anticipate danger, people-please your way out of conflict.
But now that same nervous system is firing alarm bells when there’s no actual danger. It’s treating a difficult conversation like a bear attack and confusing growth with threat.
And because you’ve been conditioned to trust fear over intuition, you think that anxious feeling is your gut talking.
It’s not.
Your gut is calm. Your anxiety is chaos.
The 3-Step Check-In: How to Tell Them Apart
So how do you actually know which voice you’re hearing? Just thinking about that might invite the anxiety monster to the table.
Here’s the practice I use (and teach) every single time I need to make a decision, set a boundary, or trust myself.
Step 1: Notice the Body Sensation
Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths.
Now ask yourself: Where do I feel this in my body?
Intuition tends to live in your gut, your heart, or your solar plexus. It feels grounded, even if it’s uncomfortable. There’s a sense of rootedness in the lower chakras.
Anxiety tends to live in your chest, throat, or head. It feels frantic, tight, or racing. There’s a sense of being unmoored and unable to see through the fog in your upper chakras.
Step 2: Listen to the Tone of the Voice
What is the voice actually saying and how is it saying it?
Intuition speaks calmly. It’s clear. It’s simple. It might say something hard, but it says it with love. It doesn’t yell. It doesn’t shame. It just... knows.
Anxiety speaks in worst-case scenarios. It’s frantic. It repeats itself. It spirals. It asks “what if?” a thousand times and never lands on an answer.
Step 3: Check the Time Pressure
Is this voice telling you that you need to decide right now? That you need to act immediately? That if you don’t do something this second, everything will fall apart?
That’s anxiety.
Intuition is patient. It’ll wait. It knows that the truth doesn’t have an expiration date.
If the voice is rushing you, pressuring you, or creating false urgency, that’s not your intuition. That’s your fear trying to protect you by controlling the outcome.
A Real-Life Example: When I Followed Each
Let me tell you two stories.
The Time I Followed Anxiety:
A few years ago, I was invited to speak at a retreat. The moment I got the invitation, my chest tightened. My thoughts spiraled: What if I’m not good enough? What if they don’t like me? What if I embarrass myself?
I said no.
And I spent the next six months regretting it. Because deep down, I wanted to go. My anxiety had convinced me it wasn’t safe.
The Time I Followed Intuition:
Last year, I was offered a collaboration that looked perfect on paper. Good opportunity, aligned audience, easy yes.
But when I sat with it, my body said: No.
There was no panic and zero spiral. Just a quiet, grounded knowing: This isn’t for you.
I said no even though there wasn’t a specific reason why.
A few months later, it became clear that I would’ve contributed a whole bunch of my resources and would have received little, if any, return.
My intuition knew. It always does.
What to Do When You’re Still Not Sure
If you’ve done the check-in and you’re still not sure which voice you’re hearing, that’s okay.
Here’s what I do:
Give it time. If it’s intuition, the knowing will remain steady. If it’s anxiety, the urgency will fade.
Get grounded. Go outside. Put your bare feet on the earth. Move your body. Anxiety lives in your head. Intuition lives in your body.
Pull a card. Use tarot, oracle, or runes as a mirror. Sometimes seeing the message reflected back helps you trust what you already know.
Journal it out. Write: “If this were my intuition speaking, what would she say?” Then write: “If this were my anxiety speaking, what would she say?” Notice which one feels true.
The Bottom Line
Anxiety ≠ wrong or bad or broken. You are not “bad at intuition” because your nervous system is loud.
You’re just learning a new language.
And the more you practice this check-in, the clearer the difference becomes. The more you trust your intuition, the quieter your anxiety gets.
Your intuition has been with you the whole time. She’s just been drowned out by the noise.
Turn down the volume on fear and turn up the volume on your inner knowing.
You’ve got this.
Want help strengthening your intuition and learning to trust yourself again?
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Stay magic, Enchanted Sister. ✨