Decoded Podcast Summary: "Don't Trust Your Gut: Instinct vs. Intuition"

Episode Release Date: June 23, 2025
Host: Bizzie Gold | Mental Health Innovator and Break Method Founder

Introduction

In this compelling episode of Decoded, Bizzie Gold delves deep into the intricate differences between instinct and intuition, challenging the conventional wisdom that encourages us to "trust our gut." Gold emphasizes the critical need for emotional healing before venturing into spiritual practices, cautioning listeners against the potential pitfalls of conflating instinctual reactions with genuine intuitive insights.

Understanding Instinct vs. Intuition

Instinct is characterized as an automatic, reactive, and innate response rooted in survival mechanisms. It operates swiftly, often accompanied by intense emotions such as fear, and is deeply tied to past traumatic experiences. For instance, the classic "fight or flight" response is a quintessential example of instinctual behavior designed to keep us safe from immediate physical threats.

In contrast, intuition is described as a slow-moving, nonlinear, and multidimensional process. It functions more like a meandering stream, guiding individuals toward truth and self-realization rather than mere survival. Intuition often leads us into unfamiliar or fear-inducing territories, challenging our established patterns and encouraging personal growth.

Bizzie Gold [15:45]: "Instinct is fast, loud. It's rooted in the past and projecting out to the future. It is your body pulling you from survival-based snapshots that are very much rooted into your trauma and your fear and your nervous system responses."

The Pitfalls of Conflating Instinct with Intuition

Gold warns that many individuals mistakenly interpret their instinctual fears as intuitive guidance, leading to self-sabotaging behaviors and reckless decisions. This confusion is exacerbated by unresolved emotional trauma, which fuels the automatic responses of the nervous system, making it challenging to discern genuine intuitive insights.

Bizzie Gold [25:30]: "If you're still using fear as a compass, you're going to call a lot of things danger, where intuition might guide you in a different direction."

The Role of Emotional Healing

A recurring theme in the episode is the necessity of emotional healing as a foundation for accessing true intuition. Gold asserts that without addressing and rewiring emotional trauma, individuals remain susceptible to misinterpreting instinctual fears as intuitive messages. This healing process involves understanding and dismantling the subconscious patterns that perpetuate destructive behaviors.

Bizzie Gold [50:10]: "When people just keep prioritizing awareness over action, eventually they just become a more aware act. We really don't need more aware assholes in the world. We need people who actually do things differently and are no longer so."

Practical Tools for Differentiation

To aid listeners in distinguishing between instinct and intuition, Gold outlines three actionable steps:

1. Check the Speed and Sensation:

   • Instinct: Fast, visceral, accompanied by physical sensations like a heart racing or a gut punch.
   • Intuition: Slower, steady, often inconvenient, and lacks the urgent physical cues.

2. Scan for Narrative:

   • Instinct: Tied to memories and past experiences, often rooted in fear and creating detailed narratives.
   • Intuition: Lacks a detailed narrative, presenting as fragmented or non-linear insights without emotional baggage.

3. Track the Trajectory:

   • Instinct: Pushes towards the familiar, avoiding discomfort and maintaining existing patterns.
   • Intuition: Leads into the unknown, encouraging growth and new experiences despite inherent discomfort.

Bizzie Gold [1:12:45]: "Intuition is slower, inconvenient, and it often doesn't offer safety. But it does offer truth. And that truth is almost never wrapped in comfort."

The Impact of Self-Trust

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the role of self-trust in accessing intuition. Gold explains that self-trust is often compromised by childhood experiences and societal conditioning, leading individuals to seek validation and decision-making from external sources rather than their inner wisdom.

Bizzie Gold [1:05:20]: "Self trust positive is to happen when you actually don't trust your primary caregivers and the child has to trust themselves over adults as a whole. So ironically, self trust is created by trusting yourself more than your primary caregivers."

Avoiding Spiritual Bypassing

Gold emphasizes the dangers of spiritual bypassing, where individuals prioritize spiritual pursuits over necessary emotional healing. She advises against engaging in spiritual practices like medicine ceremonies without first addressing and rewiring subconscious trauma patterns, as this can lead to further confusion and emotional instability.

Bizzie Gold [1:18:30]: "If you haven't addressed this language that's floating around in your thought bubble, you have to effectively rewire that language and get it to be quiet up there so that when something comes in, you're like, aha. This is different."

Conclusion and Call to Action

Wrapping up the episode, Gold reiterates the importance of rewiring emotional patterns to create a clear distinction between instinct and intuition. She encourages listeners to engage in practices that promote emotional regulation and presence, thereby fostering an environment where true intuition can flourish without being overshadowed by instinctual fears.

Bizzie Gold [1:24:55]: "Your gut is not a compass. It's actually a conflict zone. One voice says run. The other voice says lean in. And most of you do. You don't naturally know how to discern the difference."

Listeners are urged to prioritize emotional healing and self-trust to harness the power of intuition effectively, paving the way for intentional and meaningful life choices.

Notable Quotes

• Bizzie Gold [00:45]: "Your thoughts, relationships, addictions, and self-sabotaging behaviors aren’t random—they’re programmed patterns your brain has been running on autopilot."

• Bizzie Gold [1:10:15]: "Intuition often leads us into unfamiliar or fear-inducing territories, challenging our established patterns and encouraging personal growth."

• Bizzie Gold [1:23:00]: "Discernment becomes easier to do when your emotional wounds are completely rewritten. Wired."

Additional Resources

• Book: Your Brain is a Filthy Liar by Bizzie Gold – A comprehensive guide to understanding and rewiring deceptive brain patterns.
• Break Method: A systematic approach to mapping neurological patterns, decoding emotional distortions, and rewiring behavior efficiently.

Join Bizzie Gold on a transformative journey to reclaim your mind, break free from destructive patterns, and unlock the true potential of your intuition. Subscribe to Decoded and embark on a path of intentional living and self-discovery.