“I Still Can’t Explain It To This Day”: 73 Stories That Prove Trusting Your Gut Feeling Is Never Stupid

Went on one date with a guy (early 30s male) who was a teacher. He had this whole IG persona obsessed with his job and his students (middle schoolers). He delightedly showed me all of his posts day after day of him with his beloved students, making funny videos or whatever from school. I remember thinking it was sweet how adored he was by the kids but I also had a weird feeling about the “showiness” of it all. I didn’t know this word back then but it felt performative for sure.

He was truly super nice but I declined a second date because I didn’t feel there was a spark there I was looking for. I also remembered feeling a little hesitant knowing he had a daughter (12 years old) and I was not in the mindset to be open to that.

A few months later, I was in a bar watching the news and whose mugshot do I see…he had been arrested for [attacking] a 13-year-old. This was years ago and he is thankfully still in jail.

Was working the desk, overnight at a hotel. Had a young Chinese man who appeared *very* flamboyant, tipsy and friendly, who lingered to chat to me and the night manager. You'd say he was almost cliche, effeminately gay, just on first impressions.

Anywho, a short time later, he called down to the desk saying that there was something beeping in the room. He couldn't find it and wanted me to come up and help him so he could go to sleep.

Now, yes, this is something that is normally my job to do. Dude came across as friendly and not overtly threatening in a way some drunk guys are. But I made the night manager go up instead - and the guest answered the door completely [bare] with a hard-on. Guest immediately ran into the bathroom and said there was no problem, no beeping, no whatever. Night manager came down rattled and couldn't believe I'd picked up a creep factor that he hadn't (him coming from a security background himself).

My older sister had a boyfriend when I was younger that always made me feel uncomfortable. Even though he had never done anything, there was something about it that made me scared. At some point, there was a weird situation where he told me to sit on his lap. My sister was there, and she did not say anything, which made me feel like maybe I was in the wrong, and I sat on his lap. He didn’t do anything, but I felt very uncomfortable. Years later, I told my older sister about her ex-boyfriend, and apparently, years later, he got caught doing things to his own daughter. At that moment, I learned that whenever I get feelings like that, I need to trust them.

I had a bird feeder in my backyard because I love watching birds. Every day for a couple months I would watch from a shorter distance until I could get to my goal: a close, comfortable spot. One day, I was finally able to sit there without the birds flying away. I was so happy.

I called my dog to join me, but he didn’t want to move. This was normal and not a cause for concern, since he was old and didn’t like getting up when he was comfortable. For some weird reason, I thought: “what if this is the last time I get to spend time with him like this?”. I backed away from the spot I’d been working toward to go sit with him instead. Turns out that feeling was right; the next day he became ill and [passed away].

My intuition has been predictive many times in my life.

I was watching the Career Ladder guy and he asked his guest if they'd ever saved a life.

It reminded me of something that happened when I worked as a mental health counselor at a community mental health center in the states.

After college, I worked in a residential halfway house, and then moved into a case manager role where I had a caseload of around 30 people and drove around the neighborhood to visit them.

I would go to their apartments, make sure they had groceries, take them to the doctor, meet them for soda, and talk through whatever was going on in their lives.

Tom was one of my clients.

He was a sweetheart. Tall, huge smile, nice apartment, but he was absolutely miserable.

He couldn’t have normal relationships, keep a job, run basic errands, or be independent, because he had to count everything in his apartment three times before he left, and again upon his return.

His food was arranged alphabetically. Everything was perfectly straight, checked against a ruler. It took over his life.

He talked openly about how awful it was. The medications weren’t helping. Just getting through the day was hard.

I usually met with clients once a week. Tom’s day was Thursday.

This happened on a Tuesday.

I was driving to work, about a half-hour commute, and the whole way there I had this strong feeling that I needed to check on him.

It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t his day. I wouldn’t normally call.

But it didn’t go away.

I tried calling him. No answer.

I knew he was home. He never left that early.

At that point I had a choice. Ignore it and go to my first appointment, or do something about it.

I called 911 and asked for a welfare check.

They had to break into his apartment.

He had taken an entire bottle of his prescription medication.

They treated him and kept him on a 72-hour hold, then an inpatient stay.

He was very upset with me.

After that, he moved back home to live with his family. I didn’t see him again.

I still think about that day.

I don’t know if I did right by him or not.

I had a strong feeling something was wrong, and I acted on it.

My intentions were good.

But I may have just prolonged his misery.

Things like that have happened to me a few times in my life. Not to that level, but strong enough that they have decided what I do.

I had a date come to my house years ago. It was a morning coffee date, and it was at my house because I'm disabled and it was the easiest way to meet.
I remember opening the door, looking him in the eyes and it was as if I got shocked or something. Such an intense feeling and I couldn't really name it at the time. I had had so many negative experiences with men that I had the urge to immediately cancel the date and make him leave, thinking it was my body warning me, but I couldn't make myself do it. It just didn't feel right.

Currently sitting here, pregnant with our first child. Most amazing man I've ever met, I can confidently say I didn't know love could be this safe and easy until now. I'm sure my body immediately knew in that single moment all those years ago, I just didn't recognize it yet.

Not sure if this counts as intuition, but I woke up at 3am on the election night with a bottomless pit in my stomach and a tight chest. After looking online, many others experienced this as well.

Broke up with a guy for inappropriate conduct with a friend. Everyone accused me of expecting him to be perfect.

He is now on a registry.

My mother kept reading books about adopted children finding their birth family. I thought that maybe one of my parents had a child that had been given up for adoption.

Three years after my father [passed away], his other daughter found us. My mother had been sworn to secrecy and tried for years to get dad to tell us.

(Before he met my mother, my father accidentally got a girlfriend pregnant and then abandoned her. My sister was given up for adoption.)

First time I met a now former friends new boyfriend and the hair stood up on my neck. One hello and I knew this man was trouble.


I was right. Not even a month later he used her card to buy a new bed for 'their apartment' - ie hers, screamed at her when she asked him to go home and in his words 'restrained himself from hitting her.'

A coworker of mine just always had weird vibes. He acted so strange to women. I never liked him. He would always look at women weirdly, always tried to be alone with women in situations where it was weird he was even there, major lingerer. Always lingering. 2 years into working with him the cops showed up and arrested him at work. Turned out he [attacked] a 12 year old girl. WHILE ON THE CLOCK.

I cried inexplicably for days before I caught my fiance cheating on me. I sat at my desk at work and told my co worker I didn’t know what was wrong, but that I felt something awful was going to happen. Three days later I saw him in a bar holding hands with another woman, hanging out with friends whom I had known and spent time with. I always tell my kids to follow their gut, it’s always right.

Felt the vibes were off on a guy at a pizza store when I was crying. He was the employee and paid for my pizza as my card declined on a $1. It was on my college campus. He kept trying to get my number and meet me after classes. He wanted to take me on a motorcycle at midnight. I told him my fiance and mom wouldn't like that. He said they didn't have to know.

I left and didn't go back to that shop. Later that week, a campus alert came up. A girl who had my exact demographics was found in a dumpster. Another one was found [attacked] but alive. I called the detective and she told me to always trust my gut and read the book The Gift Of Fear. The suspect drawing looked just like the pizza guy.

He apparently had an alibi, but I'm still not sure...

I ignored my intuition when a guy was hanging near me, I got robbed at gun point. My favorite bag was never found.. and what's worse.. he took my bagel..

When your kids are unwell.

conflictmuffin:
I don't have kids, but I do have pets, and, same. Vet always told me I was wasting my money when I insisted on tests after they told me my dog was "fine". I knew she wasn't fine, I could see it in her eyes, she was not "fine". Once it was a bad UTI that the urine test missed. Once it was urinary stones, that the urine test AND ultrasound missed (which required immediate surgery), the third time it was cancer...
It took 4 vets clinics to finally find one that listens to me when I tell them something is wrong.

I wanted to take my mother to hospital, but my dad thought I was being dramatic, maybe it was just a UTI, maybe she would be better in a few days. Took her hospital. Brain tumour.

That he had another woman. After an entire year and a half that I knew him, turns out he's been married for over 25 years. He also told me he's 12 years younger than he actually was. I'm still not over it. They're still married...

With my dad. In the year before my dad passed away, I became paranoid about his health. I thought he was going to [be gone] soon. My dad was never what I would call in good health, but he didn't look worse than usual. It was just a feeling that I was going to lose him. I asked him to see a doctor and mentioned to family members multiple times that I thought dad didn't look right. Everyone else said he looked and acted the same, including my mom so I thought I was losing my mind. 


He went to the doctor for acid reflux that wasn't improving and came out with a diagnosis of liver cancer. Six months later he was gone.

I went to a BBQ hosted by one of my husband's coworkers and met a bunch of people who work in his department. One young lady came up to me and said, "You're a vegan, right? I remember your husband said that about you," which i thought was sweet of her to remember, but then she asked me how my husband and I met, and after telling her, she responded, "I wish I had a husband."

Something about the way she said that felt off, like she was saying "I wish i had *your* husband," and I put my guard up around her. Turns out, she had a thing for sleeping with married men and eventually turned her sights on mine. She'd buy him Starbucks everyday at work. Started calling him by his first name (in the context of the military, as his subordinate, this is very inappropriate.) She'd text him on the weekends asking if he wanted to go drinking with her and her friends (neither of us drink and she knew it.) Luckily, I 100% trust my husband, not to mention he fears what I'd do to him if he ever cheated on me, lol.

Not going to France with my cousin when it was me who originally talked her into going because tickets were cheap at the time and we have family there. It would’ve been during Christmas and one of my cats was not well. That was his last Christmas.