Listening to your instincts and knowing when to trust your gut are skills that can end up saving your life. Just like many animals can sense approaching danger, human beings, too, have an almost primal drive to survive. For some folks, it’s what kept them away from harm.
Internet users took to a captivating online thread to reveal the scariest moments in their lives when their inner alarm bells told them that they needed to leave, ASAP. We’ve picked out the most interesting cases to share with you. Scroll down to read them and to remind yourself that if your gut tells you something is wrong, it most likely is.
#1
My wife was about a month out from the due date for our first child. Something didn’t seem right to her, and she wanted to go in to get checked. I immediately drove her to the hospital. The baby’s heart rate dropped really low suddenly and they did an emergency c section. He came out APGAR 1 (0 is death), looked exhausted and wouldn’t raise his arms, and was in the NICU for eight days, many of them under an oxygen hood. Right after he was born, the anesthesiologist said to us that he might be disabled. I have never been so scared in my life, worried that we would lose him.
Many years later, he is in college now and perfectly healthy, thankfully.
Edit: wow, I have never in my life seen so many comments. Thank you all for your kind words!
My wife was in a room recovering for several days and was unable to see my son in the NICU. Every day I would visit my son in the NICU and then go visit my wife. On the third day, I brought her a framed photo of him from his first hour in this world, so that she could see him from her hospital bed. She broke down in tears.
On the fourth day, he was out of the oxygen hood and I got to hold him for the first time. I brought my wife down to the NICU in a wheel chair later that day and she saw him in person for the first time since his birth. When the nurse said “would you like to hold him,” she burst into tears again, sobbing tears of joy. It was quite an emotional time.
Many years later, he is in college now and perfectly healthy, thankfully.
Edit: wow, I have never in my life seen so many comments. Thank you all for your kind words!
My wife was in a room recovering for several days and was unable to see my son in the NICU. Every day I would visit my son in the NICU and then go visit my wife. On the third day, I brought her a framed photo of him from his first hour in this world, so that she could see him from her hospital bed. She broke down in tears.
On the fourth day, he was out of the oxygen hood and I got to hold him for the first time. I brought my wife down to the NICU in a wheel chair later that day and she saw him in person for the first time since his birth. When the nurse said “would you like to hold him,” she burst into tears again, sobbing tears of joy. It was quite an emotional time.
95points
#2
I was in high school when we had the Tohoku Earthquake in Japan in March, 2011. I lived in Mie prefecture at the time, so luckily far enough from the tsunami, but the earthquake was still strong enough that we had to evacuate the building. All cellphone data was offline, so we had no communication with our parents and no idea if there was a tsunami coming towards us (I could see the ocean from my school’s building).
I only got a taste of what the people closest to the epicentre must have felt like, and let me tell you, it was terrifying enough, I hope to never experience that again in my lifetime.
On a lighter note, I’m proud to say that, while staring at the face of such catastrophe, my community’s first reaction was NOT to hoard all the toilet paper that could be found.
I only got a taste of what the people closest to the epicentre must have felt like, and let me tell you, it was terrifying enough, I hope to never experience that again in my lifetime.
On a lighter note, I’m proud to say that, while staring at the face of such catastrophe, my community’s first reaction was NOT to hoard all the toilet paper that could be found.
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84points
#3
Years ago I had flown home to Denver and took the shuttle to the parking lot. There weren’t a lot of people on this shuttle but there was this one guy who kept asking me questions, some semi personal, and I couldn’t wait to get off that shuttle and get away from him. When the driver stopped at my area I stood up and then the guy stood up and got off the shuttle. I had a really bad feeling in my gut so I stayed on the shuttle and rode it all the way back to the terminal and back to the parking lot. The driver asked me why I didn’t get off the shuttle and I told him about the guy and I had a bad feeling in my gut about him and he said always believe those gut feelings. When we finally got back to my area at the park and ride, the shuttle driver waited until I got into my car and backed out before he left.
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79points
Your gut won’t always be right... at least at first. You have to hone your instincts over time to make them more accurate.
According to psychiatrist and psychotherapist in training Dr. Alex Curmi, your instinctive reactions are the brain’s “best guess about what to do in a given moment.” However, the quality of those guesses can “vary enormously.”
“It is a biological miracle that the human brain can integrate so much information from its environment and produce guiding instincts that we rely on every day, yet those instincts are so easily distorted. Unresolved trauma, limited experience of life or emotional immaturity can all muddy the waters, steering us away from what is best for us,” Dr. Curmi writes in The Guardian.
#4
I was in Barcelona with some friends, ended up in a pretty "local" bar and having a few drinks with the barman, he talked about another bar and said he'd take us in a taxi as he was finishing soon.
Got in a taxi with him and started to drive a LONG way, started to get rural and I asked him how far? He just laughed and said something in Spanish to the driver, who laughed aswell...
We stopped at some traffic lights and I pushed my two (a lot drunker than me) friends out of the car and told them to run.
Found an other taxi luckily and jumped in, taxi driver was surprised as us, we were miles from anywhere we should of been as tourists. He was on his way home but took us back to the city.
Got in a taxi with him and started to drive a LONG way, started to get rural and I asked him how far? He just laughed and said something in Spanish to the driver, who laughed aswell...
We stopped at some traffic lights and I pushed my two (a lot drunker than me) friends out of the car and told them to run.
Found an other taxi luckily and jumped in, taxi driver was surprised as us, we were miles from anywhere we should of been as tourists. He was on his way home but took us back to the city.
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68points
#5
I was staying over at a friend’s house for the first time- I was around 11 or 12. Her dad took us to a gas station and I grabbed some candy and went to pay and he got angry…not like jokingly angry but actually offended I was going to pay for my own stuff. After that, I felt something was off and let him pay for my stuff begrudgingly.
Before night, I just couldn’t shake how uncomfortable I was. I kept thinking I was super sensitive but I still called my parents and convinced them to pick me up.
Come to find out, the guy was a pedophile and had molested a few of her friends during sleepovers. I found out a few months later that he had r***d her and her little sister and she invited friends thinking it would spare her since he would focus on her friends instead.
I’m now a mom and I just feel so…angry but also pity her so deeply. She was willing to sacrifice her friends to spare her and her sister, and has to live with that now.
Before night, I just couldn’t shake how uncomfortable I was. I kept thinking I was super sensitive but I still called my parents and convinced them to pick me up.
Come to find out, the guy was a pedophile and had molested a few of her friends during sleepovers. I found out a few months later that he had r***d her and her little sister and she invited friends thinking it would spare her since he would focus on her friends instead.
I’m now a mom and I just feel so…angry but also pity her so deeply. She was willing to sacrifice her friends to spare her and her sister, and has to live with that now.
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64points
#6
In high school we were eating at a Burger King. A friend kept saying it was too hot inside let’s leave. No one else felt like it was but she insisted. We all walked outside and about 20 seconds later a car smashed through the restaurant where we were sitting.
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54points
However, if you engage in introspection and experimentation, over time, you’ll be able to improve and hone your intuition. You’ll be able to recognize what’s simply “unhelpful baggage of past experience” and what is actually useful and matches your expanding understanding of reality.
“In this way, our gut feelings can become indispensable tools rather than mental noise that leads us astray,” Curmi states.
“Much as weighing scales require calibration to be accurate, so do our minds. We can achieve this by venturing outside our comfort zones, testing our emotions against reality and sometimes opposing them, and seeking continual feedback. When it comes to life’s many complicated problems, by all means trust your gut – but only after you’ve taught yourself what’s worth trusting.”
#7
Not quite a leave, but....
I was living in Kansas. My boyfriend and I were sitting on a friend's front porch when cops came flying up the street, slammed on the brakes, and yelled "get in the house!"
We did. Our friend wasn't home, but thankfully the door was unlocked.
Turned out, there was a man walking around shooting anything that moved. We didn't know this at first - this was around 2002 so we didn't have the net in our pockets. Our friend came home maybe an hour later and told us what was going on. Not long after there was commotion in the backyard, it was the guy with the police on his tail. They arrested him a few feet from the back door.
I was living in Kansas. My boyfriend and I were sitting on a friend's front porch when cops came flying up the street, slammed on the brakes, and yelled "get in the house!"
We did. Our friend wasn't home, but thankfully the door was unlocked.
Turned out, there was a man walking around shooting anything that moved. We didn't know this at first - this was around 2002 so we didn't have the net in our pockets. Our friend came home maybe an hour later and told us what was going on. Not long after there was commotion in the backyard, it was the guy with the police on his tail. They arrested him a few feet from the back door.
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53points
#8
I was at the fair with my wife and 6 year old daughter. From the moment we arrived I had the feeling we shouldn't be there, I can't explain it beyond a feeling in the pit of my stomach that was telling me this wasn't the place for us. I told my wife, but she brushed it off because she loves the fair, the girls were having fun, and we had tickets for the monster truck show. Halfway through the monster trucks there was an intermission and I took that moment to say nope. We are leaving now, not going to argue about it, it's time to leave NOW. It was a 25 minute drive home and by the time we arrived home it was already on the news, the local papers website and all over Facebook that there had been a gang related shooting at the fairgrounds in the concessions area we had to walk through on the way out. Huge police response, EMS etc. It happened probably less than a minute after we had gotten to the car. We didn't hear the shots. We never told our daughter but needless to say my wife trusts my gut now.
Edit: For those asking: the feeling started in the car and grew stronger as we approached the fair. I can say to the best of my memory I spoke up before we even entered the gates and the feeling grew stronger over the course of the next 4ish hours we were there. We went on rides, saw animals, ate all the food etc but as the monster truck show went on it got to the point where I couldn't ignore the feeling anymore.
One of you is correct in your guess about where and when this took place. The USA is in obvious need of more sensible gun laws. Seeing the amount of places people have said this has happened somewhere else makes me sad.
Edit: For those asking: the feeling started in the car and grew stronger as we approached the fair. I can say to the best of my memory I spoke up before we even entered the gates and the feeling grew stronger over the course of the next 4ish hours we were there. We went on rides, saw animals, ate all the food etc but as the monster truck show went on it got to the point where I couldn't ignore the feeling anymore.
One of you is correct in your guess about where and when this took place. The USA is in obvious need of more sensible gun laws. Seeing the amount of places people have said this has happened somewhere else makes me sad.
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44points
#9
My fathers' story, not mine, but still. He was working in construction as a contractor, leading a team who were working on an old estate on a hillside. It was a clear day, weather was fine and they were up there on the scaffolding, working on the chimney. Rather suddenly, my father experiences this pressure to go down, right now. It's a hassle, you have to climb down this scaffolding, they hadn't been up there all that long, so he resisted for a bit. But it was just this tremendous push, this urging, to descend ASAP, so he told his team to go down. They asked why, they didn't understand, they were in the swing of things, why go down? My father finally just ordered them down. So they went, and a few minutes later they all stood on the lawn, looking at one another sheepishly. At that moment, completely unexpectedly, a lighting strike hit the chimney they'd been working on.
When he told me the story hours later, he was still upset!
When he told me the story hours later, he was still upset!
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39points
When you’ve read through these stories and upvoted the ones that left an impression, let us know in the comments below what you think, Pandas.
Which of these situations genuinely scared you the most? What are the most dangerous situations you’ve personally been in? How often do you trust your instincts, and has it saved you from danger?
#10
When my husband and I were teenagers, and first started dating, we were parked in an empty golf course for some privacy. We had been to this spot before and it was a great place to walk around at night and then make out in the car. Tonight was different. As soon as we pulled in, something felt wrong. I reclined my chair back to hide myself, paranoid someone was watching us. We sat for a few moments, making awkward small talk. I was suddenly filled with overwhelming dread and sheepishly asked if we could leave. My then boyfriend immediately obliged… a little too quickly considering the hormones of teenage boys and the plans we had to fool around. He peeled out of the parking lot, my seat still fully reclined because at this point I’m absolutely convinced we aren’t alone. The bottom of the Honda scrapes the ditch of the driveway as we pull out in a panic. At this point neither of us had communicated with one another what we were feeling but his reaction was enough to know we were on the same page. We were in danger. We speed a few miles away before we broke the silence, and I put my seat back in its upright position. I tried to laugh it off and admitted I wasn’t sure why I was scared. Neither of us really had an explanation for the sudden fear we both experienced, but decided not to question it too much.
We found out after the fact there was a brutal attack on a couple teens walking home from the burger joint by the golf course, by a schizophrenic homeless man. I’m convinced we both felt like someone was watching us because he was… and I know if we had gone on our normal late night walk something horrible would have happened. This happened almost 16 years ago, but I can still remember that fear so vividly.
We found out after the fact there was a brutal attack on a couple teens walking home from the burger joint by the golf course, by a schizophrenic homeless man. I’m convinced we both felt like someone was watching us because he was… and I know if we had gone on our normal late night walk something horrible would have happened. This happened almost 16 years ago, but I can still remember that fear so vividly.
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35points
#11
Climbing a 12,000 ft mountain and suddenly the horizon turned black. Then the black began getting closer.
By the time we got back to camp there was lightning, flash flooding, and hail everywhere.
By the time we got back to camp there was lightning, flash flooding, and hail everywhere.
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32points
#12
Sat in a pub in London with my friend debating getting one more beer before heading back to my house, he really wanted to get a half but I had this unbelievably strong feeling that I had to leave right then, it was like a tangible flood of pure anxiety to the point where I thought this is really f*****g weird. I just said to my friend nah, I'm good, let's go. We caught the bus just outside the pub and went back no problem. Two days later he messages me, 'Holy s**t look at this article!' that same bus stop thirty minutes later a homeless man randomly attacked a woman waiting for the bus and stabbed her repeatedly to death. If we had that half it's almost a sure thing we would have been right there where that lady was at that time. Could we have prevented it if we were there? Would one of us have died instead? Was that why I had that weird feeling? I can't explain it but it chills me to the bone.
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30points
#13
I went to a house party in college with a group of 5 other friends…it was hosted in a lofted apartment and the whole drive there I kept saying we shouldn’t go because I just had this horrible gut feeling something bad was going to happen. An hour after arriving (mid beer pong game), there was a loud cracking noise and the floor gave out similar to the way the Titanic split in half. Myself and the group I went with all fell 12 feet to the concrete floor below along with the folding table and a bunch of glass bottles. The only people hurt? Myself and two of my friends. I remember looking up once I hit the floor and seeing the refrigerator about 2 feet from falling down on top of me. I think I said “I told you so” for the rest of the year haha.
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29points
#14
Woolsey Fire 2018. I evacuated our family at 7:45pm amidst heavy smoke and wind. Official evacuation order came at 2am, by which time fire was everywhere, power was out, and roads were gridlocked.
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25points
#15
Was camping at a national park with two friends - three of us in a tent. One of those spots that you drive up to and has a picnic table and a fire pit, so it’s not deep woods camping.
Middle of the night I have to pee. Go out to a nearby spot and do my business no problem. Walking back I stop to look at the stars and light a cig. I’m there maybe a minute or two when suddenly I had a wave of what I can only describe as primal instinct. My adrenaline sharpened everything as I listened. Nothing had changed, no sounds around, but I just knew something was there and was watching me.
I calmly put my cig out and walked back to the tent without any sudden movements. Got in the tent and waited, listening. There was nothing so I figured I must’ve spooked myself out. Went back to sleep without issue.
In the morning we found our camp spot absolutely destroyed. Some animal had come through looking for food I guess, but not messed with the tent thankfully. Even my friend’s old baseball hat that he had been sweating in all summer was ripped to shreds. We found pieces of it all over. (It had been sitting on the picnic table.)
I know to listen to my gut from now on.
Middle of the night I have to pee. Go out to a nearby spot and do my business no problem. Walking back I stop to look at the stars and light a cig. I’m there maybe a minute or two when suddenly I had a wave of what I can only describe as primal instinct. My adrenaline sharpened everything as I listened. Nothing had changed, no sounds around, but I just knew something was there and was watching me.
I calmly put my cig out and walked back to the tent without any sudden movements. Got in the tent and waited, listening. There was nothing so I figured I must’ve spooked myself out. Went back to sleep without issue.
In the morning we found our camp spot absolutely destroyed. Some animal had come through looking for food I guess, but not messed with the tent thankfully. Even my friend’s old baseball hat that he had been sweating in all summer was ripped to shreds. We found pieces of it all over. (It had been sitting on the picnic table.)
I know to listen to my gut from now on.
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24points
#16
This was four years ago, right after Covid. Went to a well known Cancun all inclusive resort on vacation. It was super early morning, just past dawn. Had the infinity pool to myself and took advantage. Wandered to the infinity edge, which looked out over the beach and ocean. I'm there at the edge enjoying the view when motion below me caught my eye. Two guys were below me, behind the hotel sign, digging in the sand. They pulled up a box, a little bigger than a shoebox. Something told me not to move but also not to look. I shifted my gaze, feeling oddly both calm and terrified, so that I was looking at the horizon, like I hadn't even noticed them. My peripheral vision confirmed they stopped digging and were looking up at me. Nobody moved for a few minutes, then they went back to their work. I slowly glided backward away from the edge, then out of the pool and swiftly back to our room. Later that morning as drinks and loud music got into full swing three police officers came and were investigating the spot that they had been digging. I am positive my ability to look like I was just a dumb tourist enjoying the view kept me from becoming concerning to them.
23points
#17
I was in an old apartment building visiting a friend. We were just sitting on the couch when we heard a sound like tearing fabric, only ten times louder. Then we saw a massive, horizontal crack instantly appear and run across the ceiling above us, showering us with dust. My friend just yelled 'Out! Now!' and we bolted. It turned out the main support beam above their unit had given way slightly. We stood outside shaking for an hour watching the emergency crew work.
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23points
#18
On a trail in the Great Smoky Mountains (I can’t recall the actual trail but something like Indian Grave) and out of nowhere we heard this noise that we thought could only be made by a large, severely injured cow. All three of our faces drained of colour and we booked it out of there. Later we were sitting in
a restaurant in Dollywood and via YouTube, we found the source of the noise…a baby bear. I’ve never heard that noise before or since but my heart missed a beat that day and something deep in my animal brain knew to leave that location immediately.
a restaurant in Dollywood and via YouTube, we found the source of the noise…a baby bear. I’ve never heard that noise before or since but my heart missed a beat that day and something deep in my animal brain knew to leave that location immediately.
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22points
#19
13 years ago. At the beach parking lot where everyone came to hang out as a young adults in the summer evenings.
Something just came over me. It wasn't dread or fear, but something just felt off. Overall, a bad feeling. I've never experienced anything like it before but my gut told my brain that it's time to go home.
Honestly, it wasn't strong enough of a feeling that I could have easily changed my mind due to my lack of fear. (Not sure why, I just have never been incredibly fearful person.) I said to my friend at the time, that I am leaving something feels off here.
I get home, and less than two hours later a gang shooting happened at the beach. Unfortunately, a few friends from my old high school were shot. Fortunately, they survived. They weren't the target, just wrong place, wrong time.
Luckily I left, because I was about 6 months pregnant at the time. Who knows what could have happened if I stayed.
Something just came over me. It wasn't dread or fear, but something just felt off. Overall, a bad feeling. I've never experienced anything like it before but my gut told my brain that it's time to go home.
Honestly, it wasn't strong enough of a feeling that I could have easily changed my mind due to my lack of fear. (Not sure why, I just have never been incredibly fearful person.) I said to my friend at the time, that I am leaving something feels off here.
I get home, and less than two hours later a gang shooting happened at the beach. Unfortunately, a few friends from my old high school were shot. Fortunately, they survived. They weren't the target, just wrong place, wrong time.
Luckily I left, because I was about 6 months pregnant at the time. Who knows what could have happened if I stayed.
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22points
#20
After COVID started my hubs and I would go to the lake more often, even in the cold/rain/snow etc. one day I was standing on the pier, like I did a million times, and there’s these metal bars that jut into the water (like stabilizing the concrete like a partial ladder without rungs). I’m staring straight down, into the water- there’s no barriers- nothing preventing cars or people from going off the edge- the concrete pier just ends and it’s completely black water. So I say, “don’t you wonder how many people have driven off here?”
Spouse laughs at me and was like, “no one,” Also “why would you say that.” I kind of back peddled because I didn’t want him to think I was being dark of paranoid. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
A day or two later, they were pulling the car of two missing people from the spot I was standing in- with said car pictured on the front page newspaper and a diver between the same bars I stood between.
There’s barriers there now.
Oh, and i had taken a picture. The calm black water, a bit of concrete pier, and the bars are all pictured but my feet are out of frame. I still have which idk if it’s creepy or just memorable, cuz I didn’t feel scared or have the “we should leave” feeling. I just felt strongly, something was down there. I’ve looked at the pic a million times and you truly can’t see anything, which makes it oddly more uncomfortable.
Spouse laughs at me and was like, “no one,” Also “why would you say that.” I kind of back peddled because I didn’t want him to think I was being dark of paranoid. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
A day or two later, they were pulling the car of two missing people from the spot I was standing in- with said car pictured on the front page newspaper and a diver between the same bars I stood between.
There’s barriers there now.
Oh, and i had taken a picture. The calm black water, a bit of concrete pier, and the bars are all pictured but my feet are out of frame. I still have which idk if it’s creepy or just memorable, cuz I didn’t feel scared or have the “we should leave” feeling. I just felt strongly, something was down there. I’ve looked at the pic a million times and you truly can’t see anything, which makes it oddly more uncomfortable.
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22points