HSPs & Intuition.
Every human being gets gut instincts about things. It's called Intuition. It's our internal GPS system. It is programmed to guide us along this pathway called life. It helps us to go in the right direction, or guides us back when we have taken a diversion or gone the wrong way. And just like a traffic light that flashes red, our negative gut feelings warn us to stop or take another route. Our positive 'vibes' flash green to tell us we are good to go, or to proceed along the road we are taking.
HSPs are extremely intuitive. They pick up 'vibes' about people, places or situations very easily. What HSPs struggle with most however, is trusting their gut feelings. This is often because the warnings are often subtle feelings or body responses initially. There is no visible traffic lights flashing up red or green for us to see.
Wouldn't it be great, if the subtle warnings were much more obvious!
'I didn't listen to my intuition', 'I knew there were red flags/warning signs but I just ignored them' - these are just a couple of the statements I've heard from HSPs over the years when they've been sitting in my therapy room discussing situations with colleagues, friendships or relationships. And they often feel embarrassed, foolish, ashamed or angry as a result.They tend to berate themselves when they look back.
But instead of berating themselves I encourage them to be more self-compassionate. Life is a series of lessons and tests. We gain more and more awareness along the way. Our experiences are the keys to learning and growth.
So why do HSPs ignore their intuition?
There are many reasons, here are just a few:
*Not wanting to hurt the other person's feelings.
*They struggle with a lack of boundaries.
*They can be easily manipulated by others if they lack self-love.
*HSPs are highly empathic. They have a tendency to absorb other people's emotions and feelings and then their own feelings get lost in the mix.
Another reason is that HSPs struggle with being either TOO trusting or not trusting anyone. Being too trusting and ignoring any ‘niggling feelings’ often leads to heartache for HSPs. Consequently, they may flip into the opposite and end up trusting no-one as a result of the hurt, pain or betrayal that has occurred in the past. The latter closes them off from being receptive and letting lovely people or experiences into their lives.
So what's the answer? The key is 'DISCERNMENT'. Your intuition / gut instincts don’t lie. If there is a warning sign or an alarm bell going off internally when you are around someone or if you have a strong negative body reaction – please listen to it. Your intuition is your wise inner guide and it speaks to you through your feelings not your emotions. If you have a feeling about someone and can’t explain why, other than it being an intuitive feeling, then please trust it.
As most of you know, I worked in a prison for ten years. There, gut feelings, 'vibes' and intuition were valued enormously. Prison staff may walk onto a quiet wing or landing, but if they could feel a vibe or something 'brewing' as they described it, they would trust it. Alarm bells would go off, literally and figuratively speaking! So learn to listen to your own inner alarm bells.
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