Many of us struggle to recognize the difference between fear and a gut instinct. Knowing the difference can be a useful tool in helping us when it comes to decision making. Both fear and a gut reaction serve as an alarm system that goes off to warn us about impending danger or potentially harmful outcomes. However, one feeling is irrational, and another is an intuitive signal alerting us to take proper actions. But how can one tell the difference?
Fear
For starters, fear is produced by hormonal surges activated by the amygdala. The central nervous system triggers chemical reactions in the brain, which activates the hypothalamus, sending chemical signals to the pituitary gland, releasing the hormone and ACH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) bloodstream. The brain’s chemical reactions set the body’s alarm system into flight or fight mode.
If you take time to analyze fear, you will realize that we initially started fearlessly. As infants, we had no understanding of anxiety until we learned through sensory experiences that certain pinches or gestures spontaneously activated our central nervous system. During our developmental stages, we began learning from different backgrounds that specific actions produced adverse outcomes. Fear has several functions; it allows us to recognize things that may be dangerous such as jumping rope at the ledge of a building or hanging out in an alley filled with hungry rats while carrying a pizza.
However, fear can also turn into irrational and anxiety-producing behaviors that lock us inside an emotional safety box that prevents us from taking action. Fear can become counterproductive when it contributes to procrastination, phobias, or ongoing anxiety.
Gut Instinct
Our gut instinct, also known as our intuition, is connected to our sensory system, which we initially dependent on as infants entering a new world outside our mother’s womb. As infants, we enter the world with our sensory system fully ready to connect to our world.
Our sensory experiences help create an internal database of quick responses to various impressions we witnessed during our infancy stages. Keep in mind; infants have no prior history to use as references for coping, which is why our intuition served as an observatory skill that allowed us to survive as we evolved through our developmental stages. As a whole, infants behave in occurrence to sensory inputs and lack the full awareness to comprehend fear, which is why most kids do not have phobias until later in their development.
Our intinction is designed to help us assess situations as quickly and as efficiently as possible for the sake of survival. In addition, our intuitive reactions, also known as the gut instinct, occurs spontaneously, seldom giving us time to process or even worry for long. Since instinctive responses occur in a flash, we barely have time to process what takes place, often leaving us clueless about taking action.
Understanding the difference
The difference between fear and our gut instincts is that the intuitive spark is seldom operating from a place of ego or hidden agendas. Here are some simple ways to tell the difference:
Fear
- Fear reacts to situations that reactivate old feelings
- Fear halts us based on irrational concerns
- Fear negates our skills to handle situations
- Fear is based on both primitive survival skills and unresolved patterns
- Fear often prevents us from taking actions
- Fear is usually based on the belief we lack coping skills
- Fear attempts to protect us from both real and imagined harm
- Fear is based on anxious thinking
Gut Instincts
- The gut reacts to the current situations
- The gut has no logical summary to draw from
- The gut operates from primitive survival skills we relied on before cognitive skills fully developed
- The gut is trying to protect us
- The gut understands situations before our conscious mind can decipher details
- The gut reactions are based on the intuitive awareness
- The gut reactions are validated at the end of the outcome
Our fear is based on years of collective experiences that have impacted our confidence and self-esteem. Fear often insulates use from actions that can benefit us, while our gut merely is protecting us. Our gut is like a smoke detector that smells out a fire, while our fear is unsure if it smells a fire or only recalls an experience.
Copyright © 2020 R. Castro
Sources
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323492#Triggering-the-response
https://www.bustle.com/p/9-fascinating-ways-to-tell-the-difference-between-gut-instincts-anxiety-according-to-experts-11935213
https://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/HelpfulRes/Articles/WhatCognitiveDev/index.html
Gut Feeling or Irrational Fear? How to Tell the Difference
Holistic Coaching 