11 Sep Why I don’t endorse the “trust your gut” or “follow your instincts” advice (especially if you have mental ill-health)
You’re probably familiar with the advice to trust your gut, or follow your instincts, or maybe to trust your intuition.
I certainly am. I’ve heard it time and time and again. And I’ve even tried it.
But here’s why it doesn’t work for me and why I’m not sure it’s great advice for anyone, really, especially for those of us who’s mental health isn’t always that healthy.
You see for me, someone who’s experienced quite severe levels of depression and anxiety, my gut isn’t always helpful; especially when my depression is running rampant.
If I listened to this “inner voice”, I’d never do anything because I’d “know” I would just fail; I’d rarely try anything because I’d think “what’s the point?”
And if or when my anxiety was peaking, then I’d just avoid everything and everyone, “knowing” that whatever I did would be risky and dangerous and that pain and suffering were just around the corner.
So, for me anyway, trusting my gut or listening to my inner voice can actually be counter-productive. If I do what I think I should do, at times when I’m very unhappy, I’ll most likely just make things worse. And I don’t think I’m the only one for whom this is the case.
What, then, is the alternative?
Well, I’m not suggesting we don’t acknowledge our distress or distress related thoughts. And I’m not suggesting we don’t try to be our authentic selves, as best we can.
What I am suggesting, however, is that we’re careful that we recognise that thoughts are not facts, and feelings are not always truths. The challenge then becomes not to trust or listen to every inner comment or emotion, but only to those that are serving us.
With this in mind, I’m suggesting that happiness and positive mental health come from listening to BUT THEN questioning our gut or instincts; questioning along the lines of “is this helpful?” and/or “is this useful?” and/or “is this actually realistic?”
If the answer is “yes”, then by all means, trust and follow with all your heart. But if not, be wary that those thoughts and beliefs, instincts and inner feelings, are not always best for your happiness and wellbeing. They might be sometimes, but not always.
This is why I’m not a fan of the “trust your gut” approach. And this is why I’d rather recommend trusting, instead, what you’ve found and what you’ve learned has been helpful and good for you based on past experience.
A bit of trust with a bit of healthy scepticism; maybe that’s the formula for happiness.
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