You Already Know

A love letter to every woman who’s ever been dismissed

There’s a moment in every woman’s life, sometimes quiet, sometimes gut-wrenchingly loud, when the world tells her she’s wrong, but something deep inside whispers “No. I’m not.”

Maybe it happens at a doctor’s office, when your baby has a rash that “doesn’t look serious.”

Maybe it’s the fever that keeps returning, even after they tell you it’s viral and to just ride it out.

Maybe it’s the way your child cries, and only you seem to notice it’s not their usual cry.

You don’t have the degree. You didn’t go to med school. But you just know.

You know because you’re their mother.

You know because intuition is not a magical extra, it’s a built in compass. And somewhere along the line, we were told to stop trusting it.

We were told to defer, to wait, to not make a fuss.

We learned to second guess the voice inside us, in favour of someone else’s credentials.

There’s a story I carry, one that shaped how I mother, how I advocate, how I trust myself.

When my first baby was just two weeks old, she started having seizures. I was a teen mom, already under the microscope. My mother-in-law was with me the first time it happened. She said I was overreacting. That I didn’t know what I was talking about. It was just reflexes.

But I knew.

I couldn’t explain how I knew. I just did. And I refused to let that dismissal override that voice inside me.

It turned out she was exactly where she needed to be. It got her help that has shaped the entire trajectory of her life.

That moment changed everything. Not just because it was terrifying, but because I realized how many women are trained to ignore the most powerful tool they have: their intuition.

On social media, we’re surrounded by “expert culture” people who claim to do it better than us:

The “right” way to eat.

The “perfect” morning routine.

The “gentle but firm” parenting method that leaves no room for your lived reality.

It’s no wonder we start to doubt ourselves.

But expert culture?

It isn’t it.

No one on the internet knows your child, your body, your life the way you do.

No one lives in your body, in your home, in your story.

You are the expert on your child. You are the expert of your life. You always were.

Because the truth is:

You already have everything you need. You were born with it.

Intuition isn’t woo. It’s wisdom.

It’s the quiet clarity beneath the noise.

It’s the nudge that says ask again. Speak louder. Don’t let this go.

It’s the force that leads you to answers when logic alone fails.

It’s the reason you knew something wasn’t right, even before anyone else could see it.

I’ve been writing a novel where the main character, Elle, is manipulated to doubt her intuition: gaslit by someone who calls it protection, love and guidance. But her real power? It’s in the moment she stops handing over her knowing and begins trusting herself again.

That’s what breaking free looks like.

It doesn’t always start with a roar. Sometimes it’s a whisper:

I trust myself.

I trust what I feel.

I trust what I know.

And when that voice is strong, no one can take it from you.

To the woman who’s been told she’s too sensitive, too emotional, too much:

You are not too anything.

You are a well of wisdom.

And it’s time you start listening to the voice that’s always been there.

Love Mel

XX

Photo by Anthony Tran