How To Tell The Difference Between Your Intuition And Your Anxiety

Soooooooo I’m writing this because far too many of you wouldn’t know your intuition from your anxiety if they sat in your lap and whispered it directly into your ear. I want more for you, babe. 😭

And I get ittttttt! They really can feel like Jeremy and Jason London, especially when you’re stressed, overstimulated, or just dealing with a lot of shit. They both live in your body, they both give you feelings about situations, and they can both be loud as fuck.

But they are NOT the same, and learning to tell them apart is one of the most important skills you can develop. So let’s break this shit down right quick. 😌

INTUITION:

Intuition is calm. Even when it’s warning you about something dangerous, it doesn’t feel panicky. It’s just a knowing, clear and steady. It’s giving, “This is what’s happening, and this is what you need to do.” We love a communicator!

It shows up in your body as a sense of certainty. Might be a gut feeling, a settling in your chest, or even a voice in your head (that sounds different from your regular thoughts). However it shows up, it’s clear af.

Intuition gives you information, then waits for you to act on it. It’s not repetitive or obsessive, and it doesn’t spiral. It says what it needs to say once, maybe twice if you’re not listening, and then it’s quiet.

Another thing, intuition is usually about the PRESENT or *NEAR* FUTURE. “Don’t get in that car.” “This person is lying to you.” “Take the other route home.” It’s giving you actionable information about what’s happening RIGHT NOW or what’s *about* to happen.

And here’s the big one—your intuition just knows, therefore *you* just know. You may not be able to explain *why* you feel like you shouldn’t trust someone, or why you need to leave a situation, but the knowing is there, and you will never regret listening to it.

ANXIETY:

Anxiety is loud, and repetitive, and it spirals. It will take one small concern and turn it into seventeen different catastrophic scenarios that may or may not have anything to do with reality.

It lives in your THOUGHTS more than your body (though it definitely affects your body too). It’s the voice that says, “What if this happens? And then what if THAT happens? And oh god what if—”

It is *not* calm. It is *not* clear. It is chaotic as fuck.

Anxiety is usually about the FUTURE, and specifically about shit that *might* happen, but probably won’t. “What if they don’t like me?” “What if I fail?” “What if something terrible happens?” It’s all hypothetical doom.

Unlike intuition, anxiety needs reasons. It wants to figure out every possible angle, every potential problem, every way things could go wrong. It’s obsessive about the WHY and the HOW and the WHAT IF.

Also, anxiety doesn’t give you actionable information. It just makes you feel bad without telling you what tf to actually do about it.

SO HOW THE FUCK DO YOU TELL THEM APART IN THE MOMENT?

Here are some tests you can run when you’re feeling something and you’re not sure what it is:

TEST 1: Is it calm or chaotic?

Close your eyes. Take a breath. Notice the quality of the feeling.

If it’s CALM, even if it’s urgent, that’s intuition.

If it’s CHAOTIC, spiraling, making your thoughts race, that’s anxiety.

TEST 2: Is it repetitive?

Intuition says something once, maybe twice. Then it’s quiet.

Anxiety says the same shit over and over and over, like a broken record that won’t shut tf up.

If you’ve been thinking about the same concern for hours or days and it keeps looping, that’s anxiety babe.

TEST 3: Can you identify a logical reason for the feeling? This one’s tricky, so pay attention.

Anxiety wants to explain itself. “I feel bad because of X, and also Y, and what if Z…” Intuition just KNOWS. You may not be able to articulate *why* you feel like you shouldn’t do this or that, but the knowing is clear regardless.

If you’re making up reasons to justify the feeling, that’s probably anxiety. If the feeling exists *without* needing reasons, that’s probably intuition.

TEST 4: Does it give you actionable information?

Intuition: “Don’t trust him.” “Leave early.” “Call your mom.”

Clear, specific, actionable.

Anxiety: “Everything is wrong and I don’t know what to do and maybe I should do this or that or nothing or—”

Vague, overwhelming, *not* actionable.

TEST 5: How does your body feel?

Intuition usually shows up as a sense of knowing in your gut or chest, calm certainty (even if the message is urgent), and feeling grounded (even if you’re uncomfortable).

Anxiety usually shows up as a racing heart, shallow breathing, tension in your shoulders, jaw, or stomach, and feeling ungrounded, scattered, panicky.

TEST 6: What happens when you try to ignore it?

Your intuition will keep showing up calmly until you listen. It might get a little louder or more insistent, but it won’t spiral.

Anxiety will get worse when you try to ignore it, and spiral into more and more catastrophic thinking. That shit will fuck around and take over your whole mental space.

TEST 7: Is it about now or later? Stop thinking about the candy.

Intuition is usually immediate. As in, “This situation right now is off.” “That person right there is lying.”

Anxiety usually zeroes in on the future. As in, “What if this goes wrong tomorrow?” “What if they think I’m stupid later on?”

If it’s about something that MIGHT happen eventually, that’s probably anxiety.

If it’s about what’s happening RIGHT NOW, that’s likely your intuition.

BUT HERE’S WHERE IT GETS COMPLICATED:

Sometimes anxiety and intuition accidentally tag team your ass, and that’s when shit gets *really* confusing. Your intuition might say, “Something’s off,” and then your anxiety takes that lil’ niblet and makes up the wildest shit ever. Now you gotta booboo.

That’s why it’s so important to catch the FIRST feeling. The very first moment you felt something, that’s usually your intuition. Everything that comes after—all the spiraling and catastrophizing—that’s your anxiety twerking all over your nervous system.

“BUT MILLI, MY ANXIETY WAS RIGHT BEFORE!”

Yeah, that might happen every once in a blue moon. A broken clock is right twice a day, babe. But the difference is that your intuition is *consistently* reliable, once you learn to recognize it, whereas anxiety is only occasionally right, and mostly just making you bloody miserable.

Don’t let the one or two times your anxiety was correct convince you that all your anxious thoughts are intuition. That’s how you end up never doing anything at all because you’re “listening to your gut,” when really you’re just scared.

YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!! SOLUTIONS.

1️⃣ Get grounded regularly

Anxiety thrives when you’re ungrounded and scattered. Intuition speaks clearer when you’re grounded and present. Touch grass, literally. Eat root vegetables, move your body, get out of your head and into your BODY.

2️⃣ Clear your energy

If your energy is mucked the fuck up, you won’t be able to hear your own intuition clearly. It’ll be like tryna hear someone whisper in a loud ass room. Pull cords, cleanse yourself, create space for *your* voice to come through.

(This is where Moonblood Labs comes in handy. My spirits can help you unfuck it all. Just sayin’. 🤭)

3️⃣ Practice discernment

Start small. Notice when you have a feeling about something small and low-stakes. Was it intuition or anxiety? What happened?

Build up your track record so you start to recognize the difference in *your* body, because everyone’s intuition speaks a little differently.

4️⃣ Get support

If you STILL can’t tell the difference, if everything feels like noise and you just can’t hear yourself clearly, that might mean that you need help clearing all the shit outta your energy.

That’s where Goddess’s Renewal would come in. That’s a full-on energetic factory reset. Moonblood Labs is also great for maintaining your spiritual hygiene between sessions so that you’re not drowning in anyone else’s energy.

QUICK TIPS:

Your intuition wants to *guide* you, and your anxiety wants to *protect* you. It’s just a godawful guardian at times, and never knows when to shut tf up.

Both have their place, but only one of them should be driving, and it’s never anxiety. 😭 So learn the difference, practice discernment, and unfuck your energy so those first two get way easier to do.

Questions? Ask meeeeee! Love you! 💋