50 Of The Wildest “We Need To Leave Right Now” Experiences

Many of us have been there. We're in a place and something just feels "off." We can't see any immediate threat or danger. But somehow, we can feel it. We're uneasy. Or weirdly afraid. Or, maybe we can't even place what it is our mind is trying to tell us. But we instinctively know it's a warning.

That feeling is often not just paranoia... it’s a survival mechanism built into our ancestors, millions of years ago.

Once upon a time, there were no phones, alarm systems, sirens, televisions, radios or even cities with emergency personnel or police. People relied on their senses and intuition to stay alive. They were constantly scanning their surroundings to pick up any sign of danger. Maybe a wild animal, or an angry person was about to pounce from the shadows. If something didn’t feel right, our ancestors fled. Or risked being eaten alive. There was, of course, also the option of fighting. Hence the phrase "fight or flight."

According to VeryWellMind, intuition is the "innate ability to know something without having to consciously think about it." Some people are better at listening to their gut, or trusting their instinct, than others. Experts say it's not necessarily a skill we learn from scratch. But it is one we can hone.

It begins with self-awareness, explains psychotherapist Keanne Owens. "Being self-aware allows an individual to know and understand their mannerisms, thoughts, and emotions. Once you are self-aware, you can identify those ‘gut feelings’ clearer.”

When something feels "off," often a little part of our brain called the amygdala is at work. Think of it as a threat detector, or a silent alarm. When the amygdala senses something strange or scary, it sends a signal to our body to either prepare to fight or, as the people on this list did, flee. Our heart might beat a bit faster, our breathing is different, our muscles could become tense and our adrenaline spikes. All we can think is "we need to leave right now."

There are usually subtle clues that we subconsciously pick up just before our fight or flight mode kicks in. It could be a person acting out of character, a sound that shouldn't be there, someone's tone of voice, a flickering shadow, a glance from a stranger or an eerie silence.

Your brain is working in the background, piecing the bits together, before it tells you it's time to go. Ignore it at your own peril...