What Is ‘Gut Feel’ and How Do You Know It’s Real?
Many people describe gut feel a intuitive feeling they get towards a scenario or person. It’s a sense of knowing something positive or negative will happen even before the situation has occurred or realising the full details of it. Since this kind of instinct can’t always be explained logically, some people believe that trusting your gut is similar to listening to your inner voice.
To be specific, spiritual individuals believe that their intuition serves as their inner voice that guides them to stay on the right path and helps protect them from harm and danger. For others, they see intuition or gut feeling as a part of the intelligent life force that exists in everyone. To tap into this sense of knowledge and wisdom, they must listen to their inner sense that tells them what’s right and true.
With different beliefs surrounding the concept of the “gut feel,” it can be challenging to determine whether it’s real and whether or not you should pay any attention to it. To further understand the concept, we’ll discuss the sensations you may experience when you have a gut feeling as well as what it may be trying to tell you.
How Do You Know You Have a Gut Feeling About Something?
There are different ways to have a gut feeling and it can present in many ways. Most commonly, having a gut feeling can manifest physically, and the exact manifestation can vary from person to person. It can also come suddenly and in different intensities. These feelings take the form of slight uneasiness or discomfort. Sometimes, they can be strong and overwhelming. A few of the usual signs of a gut feeling include:
- A sense of peace and happiness after making a decision
- A flash of clarity or sudden realisation
- Sweaty palms or feet
- Goosebumps or prickling on the skin
- Tension or tightness in the body
- Butterflies in the stomach or nausea
- A sinking sensation in your stomach
What Happens In Your Brain When Your Gut Is Telling You Something?
While gut feelings can seem like they come from out of nowhere, they’re not as random as some people may perceive them to be. These flashes of intuition are linked to how your brain processes information—to be specific, it has to do with how your brain assesses and evaluates emotional and other nonverbal cues.
As you engage in your daily activities, your brain collects and processes data from your surroundings. This information can be big or small, and you may not actively pay close attention to them. However, your brain becomes aware of them in a more passive sense.
For example, let’s say you’re chatting with a friend in a café. While you’re engaged in a lively discussion, your brain is reading your environment, taking note of the aroma of the coffee, the sound of people ordering at the counter, and even the temperature of the place.
When your brain collects all of this data, it also becomes more familiar with the environments and situations you’ve been in before. This, in turn, allows you to predict future outcomes based on your past experiences.
In addition, having a feeling that particular events are about to take place is connected to your dopamine neurons. Dopamine helps keep track of reality or the familiarity that you have with your surroundings. It kicks in when there are subtle patterns your brain can’t detect. This means any irregularity, even if it’s only a slight change, will cause your brain to release dopamine and give you an uneasy feeling. Examples of such irregularities can include a person exhibiting unusual behaviour at a party you’re attending or a slight increase in the speed of an approaching vehicle as you’re crossing the street.
While these pattern changes can signal your brain to be suspicious, not all irregularities are necessarily warning signs regarding dangerous things. Sometimes, they can also mean you have a hunch that something positive is going to happen.
What Could Your Gut Feelings Be Telling You?
If you want to put your intuition into practice, it’s a good idea to become more aware of these gut feelings and what they can represent. This way, you can best determine when you need to trust your gut and when to take a moment and think things through. Here are some common scenarios you may have already encountered before wherein you likely felt your intuition kick in:
1. You Need to Be Cautious
Based on evolution, humans have developed the ability to pick up hints of potential threats. This goes back to prehistoric times when men had to stay alert so as to detect the presence of any dangerous animals around them.
Thus, when viewed through this context, having gut feelings is a helpful ability that can keep you out of harm’s way. Having butterflies or a sinking feeling in your stomach can give you a hint that something is not quite right and that you should be cautious of what you’re about to do. At times, people will interpret this feeling as a warning that an unfortunate outcome may occur if they don’t do something about the situation.
2. Something Feels Wrong in Your Body
Have you ever had the feeling that you’re about to get sick or that something feels off with regards to your body, and your hunch turned out to be true? Sometimes, it’s a good idea to listen to what the body is telling you. Pay attention to subtle hints or changes, such as a rise in temperature, a rapid heartbeat, or racing thoughts. Often, you can feel some tension in the body that can signal that something’s not quite right.
If you experience something like this, it’s best to confirm your suspicions by getting a health check from your physician. Sometimes it’s not a sign that something’s wrong physically, though. Should you think that’s the case, you may have to consult a different kind of professional, such as a spiritual coach.
3. You Made the Right Choice
As mentioned, gut feelings aren’t always negative. They can also be affirmations that you made the right decision. It’s often signaled by a sense of peace and happiness after contemplating a challenging ordeal you just went through or avoided. You can also experience pleasant situations that you can tell are good for you, such as meeting a new person you get along with really well. Some people even describe the positive gut feeling as a feeling of warmth, safety, and certainty.
At some point in your life, you’ll likely experience your gut trying to tell you something important. Whether it feels like slight uneasiness or an overwhelming sense of dread, be mindful of your intuition. Assess your feelings carefully and re-assess them with rational thinking so that you can make more informed decisions as you pursue your goals and your happiness.
Want to know if it’s a gut feeling or not? Get in touch with MRS V today.
love and sparkle xo
