TessaReneeDear Tessa,
I feel like I’m ignoring my intuition, and that realization feels heavier than I expected. I sense things, notice patterns, feel moments of clarity rise up, and then I talk myself out of them. I explain them away. I tell myself I’m overthinking or being too sensitive. Somewhere along the way, I stopped trusting that inner voice and started treating it like an inconvenience.
What’s frustrating is that my intuition isn’t loud or dramatic. It doesn’t scream. It nudges. It shows up as quiet discomfort, lingering doubt, or a feeling I can’t quite explain. And because it’s subtle, it’s easy to dismiss. I tell myself I need more evidence, more certainty, more reassurance before I listen to it. But the feeling keeps returning, no matter how much I try to rationalize it.
I’ve learned how to override myself in the name of being reasonable. I consider everyone else’s perspective. I give the benefit of the doubt. I try to stay grounded and fair. And while that sounds mature, it’s starting to feel like I’m betraying myself just to avoid making waves. I don’t want to confuse intuition with fear, but I also don’t want to keep silencing myself just because the truth feels inconvenient.
What scares me is how familiar this pattern is. I’ve ignored my intuition before, and I know how that story ends. I end up hurt, exhausted, and wondering why I didn’t listen sooner. I don’t want to repeat that cycle, but I also don’t know how to trust myself without questioning every feeling that comes up.
I want to believe that my intuition exists to protect me, not sabotage me. I want to learn how to listen without immediately doubting myself. I just don’t know how to rebuild trust with that part of me after so much second-guessing.
So how do you tell when intuition is guiding you versus when fear is speaking? And how do you stop ignoring that quiet knowing without needing absolute certainty first?
Signed:
A woman learning to listen inward
Tessa’s Thoughts on the Subject
Intuition often gets dismissed because it doesn’t come with spreadsheets or explanations. It communicates through sensation, repetition, and emotional response. That doesn’t make it unreliable. It makes it efficient. Your intuition gathers information faster than your conscious mind, especially when it comes to emotional safety and alignment.
Many women are taught to distrust this inner knowing in favor of logic, patience, and understanding. Over time, that conditioning makes intuition feel suspect, like something that needs to be justified before it’s honored. But intuition isn’t impulsive. It’s cumulative. It’s built from lived experience, not fear.
Fear tends to be loud and urgent. It pushes you to imagine worst-case scenarios and demands immediate action. Intuition is steadier. It repeats itself calmly. It doesn’t rush you, but it doesn’t disappear either. If you’ve noticed the same feeling showing up again and again, that’s not anxiety. That’s information asking to be acknowledged.
Ignoring intuition doesn’t make it go away. It just forces it to speak through discomfort instead. When you override your inner signals repeatedly, they often resurface as exhaustion, anxiety, or loss of clarity. Your body and mind find other ways to get your attention when you won’t listen quietly.
Rebuilding trust with your intuition doesn’t require dramatic leaps. It starts with small acknowledgments. Noticing what you feel without immediately arguing with it. Letting intuition inform your choices, even in subtle ways. Trust grows through use, not certainty.
Tessa’s Straight-Up Perspective
Here’s the truth. Your intuition isn’t something you need to earn access to. It’s already there, waiting to be trusted. Ignoring it doesn’t make you rational. It makes you disconnected. You don’t have to act on every feeling, but you do have to listen. Intuition doesn’t demand immediate decisions. It asks for honesty. And the more you honor it, the quieter your confusion becomes.
Disclaimer:
Dear Tessa is written woman-to-woman — honest, imperfect, and human. It’s meant to offer comfort, clarity, and perspective, not professional guidance. You know your life best.
TessaRenee