How to Trust Your Intuition As You Recover From Burnout: The Science Behind Your Gut Feeling

If we had a fairy godmother, she’d make life easier for us and whisper in our ears the things we really needed to know, right?

Well, good news. We sort of have one.

It’s your intuition.

The problem is...many of us have gotten really good at NOT hearing it.

We’ve learned to analyze. Overthink. Ask everyone else what they think. Google it. Make the pros-and-cons list. Stay busy. Push through. Do what seems responsible.

And sometimes, especially if life has felt unpredictable or you've spent years taking care of everyone else, listening to yourself can actually feel uncomfortable.

I know this one personally.

The Time My Gut Told Me Something Was Very Wrong

Years ago, I was in the middle of a divorce. I was trying incredibly hard to be fair and kind. I didn't want lawyers. I didn't want fighting. I didn't want things to become ugly or toxic. But I was very overwhelmed, and headed toward burnout. In my effort to keep the peace, I was about to make a grave financial mistake. Like...a REALLY foolish one. I didn't have anyone I felt I could talk to about these things. Then something strange happened.

I had this sudden, whole-body knowing that I needed to make a change in the agreements: Kelly, what are you doing?

I realized I wasn't simply being kind. I was people-pleasing, trying to be the good girl, wanting so much for the suffering to be over that I was rushing through hard things...and potentially hurting myself in the process.

Nothing outside of me had changed. But something inside of me had finally gotten loud enough that I couldn't ignore it. A feeling in my body made me listen and know that I was messing up.

That moment made me stop and question WHY I was making the choices I was making. And it became the beginning of learning how to listen to my gut.

At a time when I felt very alone, and had been ignoring what my body needed, my own internal wisdom came through and helped me.

There Is Actually Science Behind the “Gut Feeling”

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has spent decades studying the relationship between emotion, the body, and decision-making.

His influential Somatic Marker Hypothesis proposes that our brains don't make decisions using logic alone. Experiences can become associated with changes in our bodies and emotional states, creating signals—or “somatic markers”—that can influence future choices.

In other words, your body may sometimes recognize something before your conscious, analytical mind has completely figured it out.

This connects with something else I teach a lot: interoception.

Interoception is your ability to notice and interpret signals coming from inside your body—your heartbeat, breathing, tension, temperature, hunger, fullness and other internal sensations.

One fascinating study found that people who were better at detecting their own bodily signals showed a stronger relationship between those signals and intuitive decision-making. But there's an important caveat: following bodily signals wasn't always beneficial. It depended upon whether those signals were accurately pointing the person toward a good choice.

And I think that's an important distinction. Your intuition isn't magic. And every uncomfortable feeling isn't intuition.

• Sometimes a tight stomach means, “Don't do this.”

• And sometimes it means, “This is new and scary.”

That's why learning to understand your own nervous system matters.

Why We Stop Hearing Ourselves

Intuition is usually quieter than anxiety.

It can be difficult to notice when you're rushing from meeting to meeting, scrolling, worrying, holding your breath, answering everyone's texts, thinking five steps ahead or living primarily from the neck up.

And many of us have spent years overriding our own signals:

• I'm exhausted...but I'll keep going.

• I don't really want to do this...but I don't want to disappoint anyone.

• Something about this doesn't feel right...but maybe I'm overreacting.

• I need some space...but they'll be upset with me.

Do that long enough and you can lose touch with the question: What do I actually want?

The signal may still be there. There's just a lot of noise on top of it. And if you’ve been headed towards burnout for a while, you’ve likely have ninja-level skills at dismissing what your body is telling you.

It’s time to change that!

Intuition vs. Anxiety: How Can You Tell the Difference?

I often think of intuition as having a different quality than fear.

Fear tends to say: HURRY. FIX THIS. SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

Intuition is often quieter:

• This doesn't feel right.

• I think I need to go in another direction.

• I don't know why yet, but pay attention to this.

You might notice your body feels more open, grounded or settled when considering one option, and more contracted or resistant when considering another.

But I wouldn't make “expansive = intuition” an absolute rule. Our nervous systems carry history. Anxiety, trauma, conditioning and unfamiliarity can all affect how we interpret bodily sensations. Research on interoception suggests that it's not simply noticing bodily signals that matters; how we interpret and appraise those sensations matters too.

So instead of blindly obeying every gut feeling, get curious about it. This is something that I help clients do in life coaching. When you are going through a really difficult life transition, (like divorce, or starting a new career, working overtime into burnout because we are so afraid of losing our job) - the wisdom from our intuition can be so helpful, but we are often battling our own fear. It’s an act of bravery to lean into our knowings.

Your body is giving you information. Listen...then bring your wise, thinking brain into the conversation too.

Getting quiet is nature helps me to hear my intuition.

Try This: The 60-Second Intuition Check-In

Once a day this week, stop. Get quiet, still, give yourself a moment. I like sitting outside.

Put down your phone.

Take a slower breath.

Feel your feet on the ground and let your body settle for a moment.

Then ask:

“What feels true for me right now?”

Don't immediately answer with your brain.

Notice your body first.

Where do you feel tension?

What happens to your breathing?

Does one possibility create a sense of relief?

Is there an answer that keeps quietly coming back?

Then ask one more question: “Is this fear trying to protect me...or is there something here I genuinely need to pay attention to?”

You don't necessarily need to make a giant life decision.

Just listen.

Maybe you need to say no.

Maybe you need rest.

Maybe you need to make the appointment.

Maybe something isn't working anymore.

Maybe you want something you've been afraid to admit you want.

Maybe you need to stop being “nice” at your own expense.

Then take one small step that honors what you've noticed.

You Can Relearn How to Trust Yourself

I used to think creating a good life meant figuring everything out and controlling as much as possible. I'm much more interested now in learning how to listen, and trust me, it’s still a process.

It’s trying to listen to my intuition and my body.

To the little nudges. To the things I keep knowing but don't necessarily want to know. To the quiet voice underneath all the noise.

You don't create your best life by controlling every part of it. Sometimes you create it by becoming quiet enough to hear yourself again.

So that's your practice this week:

Get still. Notice. Listen. Get curious.

And when something inside of you keeps gently nudging you in the same direction...maybe don't dismiss it so quickly.

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💛 More joy. Less stress. A life that feels good to live.

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