Am I awakening or losing it: Intuition vs Mental Illness

When I first awakened my intuition, I had some experiences that led me to question my world view and sometimes even my sanity.  This episode explores the difference between psychic experience and psychosis, and how we can discern between these two very different experiences.  We also discuss the experience of spiritual crisis, that some people experience on the road to their spiritual awakening, and how everyday intuition can impact mental and emotional health when we become overwhelmed by the information coming in and/or tune into the wrong channels. Highlights in this episode: Our intuitive experiences can run the gambit between simple gut feelings and full-on psychic experience. At times these experiences can lead us to question whether we might be losing touch with reality.  My basic rule of thumb: If the messages you receive and the experiences that you have are improving the quality of your life in a real and measurable way, then they are most likely your intuitive knowing and not a mental illness. Mental illness is when we lose touch with consensual reality and/or cannot integrate or make sense of our intuitive experiences and can no longer function effectively in the world.  Spiritual Crisis can sometimes occur as part of a spiritual awakening when our old way of thinking is breaking down to lead to us to a new, and broader spiritual awareness.  For some people, this can look like depression, anxiety, or even psychosis.   Some people are “too intuitive.”  Their intuitive radars are turned up too high and/or tuned into the wrong channels.  In these cases, it is important to learn how to use your intuitive gifts more intentionally to avoid "intuitive overload." Resources:  Two great resources to learn more about  mental illness and how to find help if you need it:   NIMH https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help/index.shtml and https://www.goodtherapy.org/ If you would like guidance and support on developing your intuition, check out my self-paced online course, Activating Your Intuition https://victoriashawintuitive.com/courses/activating-your-intuition/ If you would like to learn more about my work or suggest a topic for a future episode please go to https://victoriashawintuitive.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices