Have you ever thought that something going on in your body wasn’t right, only to have a medical professional tell you it’s “just anxiety”? Or have you done the opposite – had a feeling something was wrong but didn’t go to the doctor because you thought you may be overreacting and you tell yourself that you’ll feel better soon enough? Have you ever been in a situation that made you uncomfortable but wasn’t sure if it was anxiety or instinct?

You’re not alone. I’ve struggled with this my entire life. (to read more in depth about my experience about health, refer to my post “All the Health Things”) But what if the universe is trying to tell us something when we have these feelings? I know it may sound foreign to some but. . . what if? We are part of earth. We are part of nature.

The Discovery of a Health Condition
There’s one time specifically that stands out most in my discovery of the several health conditions that I live with. This discovery was extremely random and unexpected. I had gone to a doctor before that tried convincing me that what I was experiencing was only anxiety. He tried convincing me to take an antidepressant. When I told him I wouldn’t, he said, “Think of it as your daily vitamin.” My answer? NO! I knew that I had anxiety but I wanted to know WHY. I didn’t want the treatment for anxiety. I wanted treatment for what was causing it!

And I got it. I was babysitting for my cousin that was a nurse. She had two small children and loads of medical magazines all over the living room. After I put the kids to bed, I picked up a magazine and read the front cover. It read something along the lines of, “Do you have a thyroid disorder? You may. Take the quiz inside.” I flipped to the page and took the quiz. ALL of my answers pointed to having a thyroid disorder. One of the questions read, “Is the front of your throat sensitive?” UM, YES! ALL THE TIME! That was when I decided to make an appointment with another doctor. I told him all of my symptoms and told him the other doctor didn’t want to test me for anything. I was immediately set up for blood work and an ultrasound for my thyroid. I got the results a week later and found out that I did, indeed, have inflammation of the thyroid.

Intuition About Situations
When it comes to situations, the feelings can feel very different. Here are a couple examples.
When my mom was a teenager, one of her friends picked her up in her pick-up truck every morning to go to school. One morning my mom woke up and told her mom she didn’t want to ride with her friend. When she was asked why, she told her mom that she just didn’t want to. No particular reason. Later that day, my mom got the news that her friend was in a bad wreck that crushed the passenger side of the truck. The authorities said that, if anyone was with her, they would have been dead.

I was recently talking about this with one of my friends and she said, “I feel like that sometimes! I was going grocery shopping yesterday with all the kids and went to the grocery store on the North side of town. I don’t ever do that! But something told me to, so I went with it!”

Have you ever been driving and didn’t go the way you intended to go unintentionally? Sometimes, while I’m driving, I will actually miss a turn I usually take and think to myself, “Now why did you do that? You NEVER miss that turn.” I don’t ever go back. I like to think that sometimes the universe will do that for you. Is it divine? I have no idea. All I know is, I listen to it.

Strong Feelings When Meeting People
When it comes to meeting people, I have often ignored the feelings I had towards them and gave them the benefit of the doubt. But guess what. You don’t owe anyone the benefit of the doubt. You don’t have to give anyone a chance. You don’t have to open yourself up to any sort of relationship with another person, especially someone that carries uncomfortable or negative air around them. I once went on a date with someone that gave off extremely creepy vibes. He hugged me and I could feel that it was more than a friendly hug to him. His smile had hidden intentions and the way he spoke was very rehearsed. My body told me to run. Go home. But I didn’t. We ordered our food and I was extremely anxious. It was to the point that I could feel my body starting to shake deep inside. It’s difficult to explain. I turned my back for a moment and left my drink out of my sight for a few seconds. I didn’t drink another drop. The entire hour or so was exhausting. I finally stopped ignoring my intuition and I sent one of my friends a message. When my friend called, I told my date that I was sorry, but I had to take the call. I stepped outside and told my friend everything. I told my date that I had to go and never talked to him again. I stayed the night with my friend because I didn’t want to be alone.

When I was eighteen, I went to a heavy metal show in town with a few people I met in college. It was the girl I was friends with, her new boyfriend, and another guy I met in college. The plan was to go to her sister’s house, go to the show, and go back to her sister’s and stay the night. When we got to the show and the band started playing, I felt someone jumping behind me very closely. The person kept stepping on my heels and slamming into my back. When I turned around and started yelling, I realized it was my friend’s boyfriend. I immediately got scared. He was easily over six feet tall and two hundred pounds. I’m barely over five feet. When we were leaving the show, I was walking with the other guy to the car. I looked back over my shoulder and saw my friend’s boyfriend staring at me and he grinned the way they do in horror movies when they have you where they want you. Once we got back to the sister’s house, I told my guy friend, “Please take me to the interstate exit.” He said he didn’t think he had the gas money to go there and back and also make it home in the morning. I handed him twenty dollars and said, “Please. Take it.” On the way, I explained everything to him and told him that I have friends that were at the show and I called them and asked if they could meet you. I rode home in tears. I’ll always be thankful for that friend. We still keep in touch.

Family
Having said all of this, it doesn’t only pertain to your feelings. If you have children, you have to listen to their feelings, too. Often, you will already know how they feel before they tell you. A few weeks ago, my seven year old came into my room at 6:15 am. This isn’t rare. He does this almost every morning. He crawled into the bed and went back to sleep. That was the red flag. He NEVER does that. He usually comes in, cuddles up, kisses me, and talks to me for a few minutes before we get up and get ready for school and work. I sent a message to his dad telling him that our boy wasn’t feeling well and that he’ll be staying home from school. He slept for two more hours.

My points I’m trying to make here are:
1: You don’t have to only get the opinion of one doctor. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers you get, see someone else. Holistic doctors can also be very helpful. Ask for blood work to put your mind at ease. Talk to a therapist. Do what you have to do. Every time I get blood work, something is off and I can already tell before they tell me results.

2. Listen to your body when you feel anxious about certain situations or people. People can give you vibes and your body knows whether they’re good or bad. Your body will reject people and places that are bad for you. When you meet someone whose intentions don’t line up with yours, your body knows that. Listen to that.

I’m not saying be paranoid or feel like everything is divine intervention. I always start and go along with my day as usual. If I have a strong feeling about someone or miss a turn while driving, I don’t think twice about it. I take note, change route, and keep going.