Intuition vs Anxiety: How to Tell the Difference

You know that feeling in your gut? The one that could be a sacred message from the universe or your nervous system short-circuiting over something that hasn’t even happened yet?

Yeah, us too. It can be tough to distinguish between intuition and anxiety cosplaying as intuition.

“They can sometimes feel similar, but they come from very different places within us,” says Tammy Adams, an intuitive healer with more than 30 years of experience. “There is a difference, and learning to recognize it is such a powerful part of building self-awareness and trust in yourself.”

We asked her to break down how these two inner messengers show up in the body, what they’re trying to tell us, and how to strengthen our ability to hear—and trust—the difference.

Intuition is that quiet inner knowing, a sudden insight, gut feeling, or unexplainable clarity. Psychologically, it’s your subconscious putting together patterns faster than your conscious mind can keep up. Spiritually, it’s seen as divine guidance, nudging you toward alignment and protecting you from what’s not meant for you.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is your body’s built-in alarm system. It’s a psychological fight-or-flight response to perceived threat. Spiritually, it can signal that you’re out of alignment or disconnected from your inner truth.

1. Tune in to your body.
“Intuition tends to feel grounding and steady,” Adams says. “Even if the message it brings is unexpected or challenging, there’s often a sense of calm or clarity that comes with it. It’s a sense of ‘knowing’ that isn’t wrapped up in fear or urgency.”

You may notice it as a gentle nudge, a subtle “ping,” or that quiet inner voice that feels more like a whisper than a shout. “Intuition doesn’t demand your attention, it invites it.” —Tammy Adams, intuitive healer

“Anxiety, on the other hand, tends to be loud and overwhelming,” Adams says. “It often feels urgent, chaotic, or fear-based, like your mind is racing to prepare for every worst-case scenario.” It often pulls you out of the present moment and into that spiraling space of “what ifs.”

It can also create physical symptoms. Think: racing heart, shallow breathing, that pit-in-your-stomach dread. And it’s usually loud, persistent, and impossible to ignore.

2. Pay attention to timing.
“While anxiety loops and lingers on potential bad outcomes at pretty much any time, intuition is usually more attached to specific situations in need of clarity,” Adams explains.

Intuition often arrives as a quiet, in-the-moment message that’s brief but clear. It may even come with synchronicities or signs that affirm it. Anxiety, on the other hand, replays old stories, projects fear into the future, and creates a mental echo chamber that’s hard to shut off.

3. Ask yourself the right questions.
Is this a response to something real and present, or is it fear based on a ‘what if’ scenario?

Try a visualization. Imagine saying yes to the decision your intuition seems to be guiding you toward. Does it feel peaceful and expansive, or tight and constrictive?

“Intuition usually responds to the now. Anxiety tends to live in imagined futures or past patterns,” Adams explains.

“Intuition often feels like opening a door. Anxiety feels more like getting stuck behind one,” Adams says.

Intuition:

• Evokes quietness, calm, and steadiness
• Feels neutral or clear, even if it’s challenging
• Speaks to the present moment
• Creates subtle sensations like a gut feeling, grounded stillness, or a soft nudge
• Comes from clarity or alignment
• Pops up quickly, then fades quietly
• Feels like a door opening
• Invites you
• Often comes with directness
• Flows when your energy is clear

Anxiety:

• Presents as loud, urgent, and overwhelming
• Feels like panic or dread
• Spirals into “what ifs”
• Causes physical symptoms like a racing heart, sweaty palms, and shallow breathing
• Comes from fear or disconnection
• Loops and replays
• Feels like you’re stuck
• Pushes you
• Feels reactive
• Fueled by unresolved emotions

If your intuition feels MIA, it might just be muted under mental noise. The quieter your mind, the louder your intuition becomes.

Try these daily practices, recommended by Adams:

• Name what you feel. Labeling emotions helps regulate your nervous system.
• Stay present. Mindfulness over mental noise.
• Meditate. Even two minutes count.

“These practices will help quiet the mind, so you can listen to your internal voice more intently and clearly,” she says. “The more you practice being in the moment, the more naturally you’ll start to be in alignment with your inner voice guiding you to your higher self.”

The truth is, both anxiety and intuition are here to guide you. Intuition helps to nudge you in the direction of your best self, and anxiety tells you when you’re out of alignment or disconnected from your inner truth.

You don’t need to silence anxiety to hear your intuition. You just need to know which one’s talking.

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