This is really hitting home. I myself have OCD and anxiety and really struggle with this. My coach recently said “anxiety screams and intuition whispers” but it’s hard to hear the whispers through the scream.
I really appreciate the way you've delineated this. It's a conversation I have often with my patients who have anxiety and/or OCD - how do they know which is which? I'm going to use this article to answer that quest going forward!
This resonates, Amber. DBT makes sense to me, early in my career I read- Head, Heart and Guts: How the World's Best Companies Develop Complete Leaders (April 2006). Since then, I've tried to ensure my decisions were head-heart-gut aligned, with eyes wide open to evidence, facts and the emotional context (mind and others). This approach has kept me clear on why I do what I do on big and tiny choices, AND to share why I was wrong/made a mistake or outright failed...there's a whole other article on assumptions and failures we could talk about there!
Thank you for this. Asking people not to trust their gut is harmful in my opinion. I think it could make anxiety worse because the inability to trust one’s intuition leads to a greater sense of uncertainty and confusion. Instead you are finding the middle ground and suggesting people learn the difference between the two voices. The DBT concept is solid! I also like ACT when working with this stuff. One cognitive defusion exercise I’ve done is to imagine thoughts as passengers in a car one is driving. Intuition, anxiety, and inner critic could be passengers. In this way, you can describe and work to understand each “person” and thereby learn to recognize which one a given thought is coming from. I’ve personally dealt with this issue myself. It particularly hit when trying to decide whether to take a risk and try something new. Is my gut telling me not to jump into this opportunity or am I just afraid? Am I avoiding vulnerability because I’m nervous or because this person isn’t trustworthy?
I hate how things in the treatment community have become so black and white-this article is a good example of finding the nuance.
Thank you for this. I am constantly trying to discriminate between my anxiety and my intuition. This is so helpful!!!
It’s definitely not just you!
This is really hitting home. I myself have OCD and anxiety and really struggle with this. My coach recently said “anxiety screams and intuition whispers” but it’s hard to hear the whispers through the scream.
You aren't alone in that struggle ❤️Hopefully, the more the anxiety quiets, the louder your wise mind will be.
Very helpful
I love the concept of Wise Mind.
I really appreciate the way you've delineated this. It's a conversation I have often with my patients who have anxiety and/or OCD - how do they know which is which? I'm going to use this article to answer that quest going forward!
This resonates, Amber. DBT makes sense to me, early in my career I read- Head, Heart and Guts: How the World's Best Companies Develop Complete Leaders (April 2006). Since then, I've tried to ensure my decisions were head-heart-gut aligned, with eyes wide open to evidence, facts and the emotional context (mind and others). This approach has kept me clear on why I do what I do on big and tiny choices, AND to share why I was wrong/made a mistake or outright failed...there's a whole other article on assumptions and failures we could talk about there!
This is such a helpful piece Amber, and a question that comes up a lot!
Thank you for this. Asking people not to trust their gut is harmful in my opinion. I think it could make anxiety worse because the inability to trust one’s intuition leads to a greater sense of uncertainty and confusion. Instead you are finding the middle ground and suggesting people learn the difference between the two voices. The DBT concept is solid! I also like ACT when working with this stuff. One cognitive defusion exercise I’ve done is to imagine thoughts as passengers in a car one is driving. Intuition, anxiety, and inner critic could be passengers. In this way, you can describe and work to understand each “person” and thereby learn to recognize which one a given thought is coming from. I’ve personally dealt with this issue myself. It particularly hit when trying to decide whether to take a risk and try something new. Is my gut telling me not to jump into this opportunity or am I just afraid? Am I avoiding vulnerability because I’m nervous or because this person isn’t trustworthy?
It’s a tricky one as I was always told growing up that my feelings were wrong, so even now I’m never entirely sure!