Anxiety or intuition? How your body can help you tell

Sometimes we can find ourselves thinking about something over and over again, with a sense that something isn’t quite right or needs to change. It can be hard to know if we’re overthinking as we go round the same mental loops, or whether our intuition is trying to tell us something important. We ask ourselves, ‘Is this my anxiety, or is this something I need to listen to?’ but it can be hard to find an answer as our thoughts feel unsettled and we lack peace.

Perhaps there’s another voice to listen to here - that of our body. Alongside anxious thoughts, do you also feel a sensation in your gut, a sense of wanting to escape, a tension in your jaw, neck or shoulders? It can be easy to want to ignore these sensations, instead gritting our teeth and pushing through, or withdrawing and finding ways to numb ourselves. 

What if, instead, we could learn to listen to these signals?

Anxiety or intuition: why your body matters

As we learn to stay with our experiences, we may begin to discern what the movements within us are trying to tell us. We can begin to distinguish between a sense that we need to consider a change in direction, and an invitation to recognise what may be uncomfortable or challenging but is an opportunity to stay, grow, and expand. We can learn to tell the difference between the anxious, urgent, repetitive and spiralling thoughts and the quieter, returning, more spacious messages of our inner knowing. Often, it is only as we journey with these sensations over time and that we can begin to notice and recognise their character. We start to distinguish between anxiety or intuition.

The first invitation is often to stay present rather than rushing to resolve things. If we’ve spent a lifetime learning to override what our bodies are telling us, pushing through discomfort and rationalising or minimising our feelings of pain or tension, it can be difficult to relearn how to listen to the wisdom of our bodies. A great way to begin to trust our body again is to start small - with the small things we notice as we go through our day. Noticing the small signals we experience can help us to be ready for listening when there is a need for bigger change.

A simple exercise to try:

One way to begin noticing this more clearly is to look back over recent experiences.

Quieten yourself and take some deep breaths. 

Take a moment to reflect on the last 24 hours. 

Can you remember a moment when you felt any of these sensations?

• Tiredness or exhaustion

• A feeling of joy and wanting to stay in what you were doing

• Anxiety or tension, with a sense of wanting to leave 

• A sense of being calm and ‘in the flow’ 

Choose one of these feelings, and remember how this felt in your body. How did you respond? Did you listen to this sensation and did that change how you acted? Or did you try to ignore it or move on quickly? 

Is there anything from your reflection on this experience that might influence how you respond to a similar experience next time?

Beginning to trust our body can be revolutionary if we’ve spent a long time trying to do things in spite of what we feel, rather than recognising that our bodies may be trying to support and protect us, and guide us towards a more balanced way of living.

A simple practice for when you feel anxious:

Next time you notice yourself feeling anxious, stressed or caught in repetitive thoughts, could you try pausing for a moment? 

Take a deep breath, and notice where you are feeling this tension within your body. 

What does it feel like? It could be a tight stomach, a locked jaw, or a tension in your head and shoulders. 

Without trying to fix or analyse, can you simply pause and be with this feeling for a moment? 

What might it be pointing towards, and what would it be like to respond with gentleness?

This might be something very small, like stretching your body, stepping outside for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, or creating a little space in your day.

While these simple practices will not remove what may be very real sources of this anxiety, they can begin to show your body that you are paying attention and listening. At times, these experiences can also point towards a need for additional support, and reaching out to a trusted professional can be a helpful and important step. Over time, we learn to recognise the way our bodies respond to stress and anxiety, and we may notice patterns emerging. This can help us to discern more clearly what the invitations are for us in terms of growth and change. 

On this journey, it can often be helpful to share your experience with another person. A spiritual director can be with you regularly over time as you learn to listen and discern, providing a space where these inner movements can be explored slowly and honestly. If you would like to explore this further, you can find out more here.