OT: Trust your instinct?

When is your instinct reliable, and when is it just you bringing old issues or insecurities to the surface? How can you distinguish the two?

Wed. Oct 4, 8:21am

You need a careful blend of instinct and intellect. When I get a gut instinct, I usually run it by my brain. Before therapy, my brain would shut off and I would only go by emotion and therapy helped me use both.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 10:11 AM

Always trust when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That one is never wrong.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 10:48 AM

I read that instinct is your subconcious mind picking up tiny, nearly imperceptible details and nuances that don't register with your concious mind and I can definitely believe it. If you ignore it and all turns out ok you go "Oh, hahaa, guess I was just being silly", and if things don't turn out so good you kick yourself and say "i knew it!!! I should have gone with my gut instinct - it was trying to tell me something!" Only hindsight really shows whether you should have.

The best thing for me has been to realize when I don't feel quite right about something and ask myself "Does this make sense? What is bothering me about this?" And sometimes it feels like one of those little CSI scenerios in my mind sometimes while I look for the minute little things that don't add up - lol! Sometimes I figure out what's bugging me and sometimes I don't (and I try not to obsess about it at that point), but I do feel more aware of what's going on around me and have a better feeling for what my actions and responses should be.

If I feel really strongly though and can't figure out what's bothering me I still go with my gut.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 12:36 PM

My husband and I teach martial arts classes for women. We recommend listening to your gut feelings if you think you are in danger.

You might want to read "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 12:42 PM

ALWAYS listen to your gut feelings. They are strongest and most reliable during the end of your cycle. The creator made women with this lovely feature to help protect their families and themselves. It is instinctive but the problem is that living in our society has made us learn to ignore it and not rely on it. Go against your teachings and trust that little voice.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 5:39 PM

10:11 hit it bang on the head.

One has to be careful whether or not it's instinct, or emotion. If you find your brain saying no, but you keep rationalizing, then it's probably emotion, not instinct, and I say listen to your brain (I mean, really, that's what we have them for...) If it's something in the back of your mind that tells you something is off, and you can't rationalize it, but just know something is wrong, it's probably instinct, and at least pay it some heed.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 7:18 PM

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