Are You Confusing Your Nervous System with Intuition? Fear, Trauma or True Knowing

Most people think they’re following their intuition. But what if what they call “intuition” is actually a nervous system reaction - one rooted in past wounds rather than present wisdom?

We’ve all had those moments. A strong feeling hits, and we assume it’s a warning, a sign, an inner knowing. But here’s the problem: intuition is not fear, and fear is not intuition. The nervous system, if left unchecked, will push you into decisions you don’t consciously want to make—because it recognises its past hell rather than a different heaven.

When the body remembers pain, it doesn’t always care whether something is actually dangerous. It cares that something feels familiar. And familiarity often masquerades as truth.

When Your Nervous System is Making Decisions for You

Intuition doesn’t yell. It doesn’t flood you with anxiety. It doesn’t feel like an emergency. Fear does.

People often mistake their nervous system’s fear response for intuition - especially in decision-making. Have you ever:

• Backed out of an opportunity because something felt “off” when in reality, it was just unfamiliar?
• Stayed in a bad situation because leaving triggered panic, so you assumed you were “meant to stay”?
• Rejected something great because your body mistook excitement for a red flag?

If so, you weren’t acting on intuition. You were reacting to nervous system conditioning.

Here’s the truth: Excitement isn’t intuition either. Excitement is a dopamine-driven nervous system response - it spikes with novelty, urgency, or reward anticipation. But intuition? It’s still, steady, and empowering. If something feels chaotic or urgent, it’s likely coming from the nervous system, not deep inner knowing.

Intuition is Never Fear. Ever.

A common misconception is that intuition works as a “warning system” to keep us safe. It doesn’t.

Intuition does not use fear. Fear is disempowering. Intuition is empowering. Intuition is about expansion, clarity, and alignment. It’s the quiet knowing that this is right for me. Fear contracts. Intuition expands.

When fear speaks, it says: “This is dangerous.”
When intuition speaks, it says: “This is aligned.”

One comes from survival mode. The other comes from deep attunement.

Clearing Trauma to Deepen Intuition

If your nervous system is wired to react from trauma, intuition won’t come through clearly. Instead, you’ll feel stuck in cycles of avoidance, hypervigilance, or emotional overwhelm—mistaking them for gut instincts.

Deepening intuition means clearing trauma first. It requires:
 

• Nervous system regulation – calming fight-flight-freeze responses.
• Emotional processing – releasing stored fear so it no longer controls decision-making.
• Inner safety – learning to trust yourself beyond past wounds.

Without this, intuition will remain tangled in past pain, repeating the same patterns under the illusion of “knowing.”

The Difference Between Intuition and Lower Psychic Senses

Not all “inner knowing” is intuition. Some people assume any psychic hit is intuition, but there’s a difference between intuition and lower psychic senses.

• Lower psychic senses (like clairsentience, emotional absorption, and energy reading) are often entangled with personal bias, energetic imprints, and external noise. They can be influenced by projections, trauma, or even the subconscious desires of others.
• True intuition is beyond all that—it is neutral, clear, and unshaken by external influences. It doesn’t fluctuate based on emotional states or fears.

If something feels chaotic, uncertain, or fear-based, it’s likely not intuition - but rather a psychic or nervous system response.

Reclaiming Your Intuition

If you want to sharpen your intuition, you must first train your nervous system to stop confusing fear with truth. That means:

• Learning to differentiate between fear, excitement, and true knowing.
• Releasing trauma that hijacks your inner signals.
• Building emotional mastery so your nervous system no longer dictates your choices.

Intuition is not a loud voice. It’s a quiet, powerful knowing. And once fear stops running the show, you will actually hear it.

© 2025 Shamala Tan  

For more information on the Emotional Empowerment Blueprint, check it out here: https://www.shamalatan.info/emotionalempowerblueprint