Gut feelings

I read a book called The Gift of Fear years ago, it was about learning how to tap into our gut feelings and how it helps us recognise behavioural patterns from others that could be potentially controlling or manipulative. It was really interesting how our inherent “gut feelings” are a way that the brain alerts us to potential danger.

I always listen to my gut when it triggers those wee warning signals now.

“Your last sentence is open to misinterpretation Lolo!

Lucca! Sometimes very instantly.

I am led by my feelings all the time and they usually serve me well. Not that I over analyse the situation, it just seems very apparent. I'd never considered the "danger" signal response but I can see what you mean Lolo, especially in the days of being chatted up!

They don’t call the gut the second brain for no reason.

Interesting question.
I think it depends what our gut instincts derive from.
It seems to me that rather than deriving from a valuable inborn knowledge, they may well have derived from stereotyping and learned prejudice.
Years ago I watched a TV programme about the treatment of facial deformity.
It showed a woman whose face had been horribly disfigured by an untreated spreading infection from a tooth. It filmed her walking down the street and people’s reaction to her.
A brief glance, followed by diverting their steps away from her.

Give me a rational response every time.

No I don’t really
I have likes or dislikes on first meeting but I have definitely been proved wrong many times

I’m more a ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’ type.

I always take heed of my gut instincts, have been proved to be right on more than one occasion.
I always remember a chap someone I knew got to meet via the internet, he came out to meet everyone one evening and straight away I thought to myself that he was not someone to trust. Everyone else saying that they liked him, but there was just something there. Proved to be right, he stole from the place he worked and dumped her.

I make decisions, about people and situations from intuition which starts in both the mind and the gut.
Often accurate too.
Your TV prog. account is sad jane.

I'm definitely a " gut feeling" person, always have been. D is the same and what's more, more often than not we've been right.

Urmston, my dad was a " never judge a book by its cover " man.

Bluebelle
I’m afraid my gut instinct is invariably wrong.
One of my best and dearest friends, I thought was horrible when I first met her.
My days of choosing bad boys is happily over, but on several occasions I was cautioned by my friends, who turned out to be right, I could see no wrong.
I’ve had several girl friends who I thought were great, only to be stolen from, put upon, and lead into bad situations.
No, I do not trust my gut instinct.

It’s not what people wear, never that . More their apparent sincerity or something like that. I used to have to interview people for jobs quite often at work and, despite a funny feeling on my part, I allowed myself to be overruled in taking on a very plausible and nice seeming new staff member. Boy was that a mistake and after that I listened to myself more and became more assertive in choosing people. Better safe than sorry because it is not fair on the rest of the staff to get a pain in the backside.

I do tend to make snap judgements about people and have been proved wrong on more than one occasion. I try to get to know someone a little now before I decide how I feel about them.

Nanna
I have interviewed a lot of people for jobs over the years, I now excuse myself from that job, because time and time again I’ve pushed for the wrong candidate.

Puzzler actually a lot of good came from the programme. It was presented by Professor Iain Hutchison, a consultant in Oral and Maxillo-facial surgery. It raised awareness of the discrimination & anguish suffered by people disfigured by congenital abnormality, trauma or cancer.
Prof Hutchison then went on to found the Facial Surgery Research Foundation which researches which surgical methods lead to the best outcomes for patients. There is an associated charity Saving Faces which raises money to fund the research and to provide support for patients.
If you google Prof Hutchison and Saving Faces there is lots of info.

Nanna8 Better safe than sorry because it is not fair on the rest of the staff to get a pain in the backside

Nor is it fair to deny someone a job opportunity just because your ‘gut instinct’ tells you something adverse about them.

Far better to employ someone on temporary probationary terms and give them a chance, and then make your judgement about their character and performance based on sound observations!

I agree with nanna, much better to avoid the situation if you can, in a small company like ours, it can be very disruptive.

Another point Nanna8 - I’m not familiar with employment law in Australia, but in the UK, if you deny someone a job without good reason, ie just because you don’t like them, or are prejudiced against them, you could well find yourself facing a charge of unlawful discrimination.

I was brought up being told never judge a book by its cover. I am not a person who can easily hide my feelings either I like someone or I don’t there is no middle ground. I have learnt to be more tolerant because in life you have to work with people etc whether you like them or not.

I don't usually judge a book by it's cover but sometimes I get an overwhelming feeling about someone if they're 'not right'. I don't know why/how it happens but I've not been wrong yet. Perhaps it's some subtle body language that the subconscious picks up on.

I always go with gut feelings,we wouldn`t have them if we are meant to ignore them.
And tbh mine have been 99% accurate.

A good way to think about these feelings is 'speeded up intuition'. As janeainsworth says, they may result from stereotypes, and one has to be wary of that.
When children are taught Protective Behaviours, they are taught to think about their gut instincts, and I think this can be helpful.
There may be an ancient instinct to be more favourable to people who look like ourselves, or keep away from people who might be carrying disease. Those are the feelings we need to be aware of and not allow ourselves to be prejudiced about people who are 'different'.

I always go with my gut feelings.... and they are almost aways right. Strange, isn't it.

Good post Nannarose
I like the expression "always walk towards the sound of gunfire" meaning (I think) that if you think something is wrong it probably is, so don't deny it. It works very well when I'm worried about my adult children.