Episode 113: Trauma, Protective Parts & How They Impact Your Intuition

You know that feeling when everyone tells you to "just trust your intuition"—but you're not actually sure what voice you're hearing?

In this final episode of the Intuition Series, we're exploring one of the biggest reasons intuitive people struggle to trust themselves: protective parts and trauma.

Because anxiety isn't intuition.
Urgency isn't intuition.
Hypervigilance isn't intuition.

They're often intelligent protective strategies that developed to keep us safe.

Drawing from Internal Family Systems (IFS), Human Design, and my own experiences with grief, trauma, and healing, we explore how protective parts can become louder than our intuitive knowing—and what it takes to reconnect with the quiet wisdom underneath.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why trauma can disconnect us from our bodies and intuitive knowing
• The role protective parts play in decision-making
• Common protective parts like the perfectionist, overworker, caretaker, avoider, and researcher
• How to distinguish intuition from anxiety, fear, and protective strategies
• Why intuition often feels quiet, clear, and grounded
• How grief, motherhood, stress, and major life transitions can impact self-trust
• Signs you're rebuilding a stronger relationship with your intuition
• The connection between Human Design, body awareness, and intuitive decision-making

You'll hear reflections on:

• My own journey rebuilding trust in my instincts after years of overriding them
• How old wounds can continue influencing present-day decisions
• The difference between seeking certainty and practicing self-trust
• Why reconnecting with intuition often requires more safety—not more information

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 110: Why Highly Intuitive People Stop Trusting Themselves
• Episode 111: The Therapist Edge with Natalie Deering
• Episode 112: What Human Design Says About Your Intuition
• Episode 89: What has to go? Discernment: A Virgo Season Virtue We All Need Right Now
• work with caitlan here

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

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That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.