Anxiety, Decision Fatigue, and Overthinking
Stress and Anxiety are words that we hear constantly. We have all felt stress and anxiety at one time or another. However, decision fatigue can lead to or exacerbate existing anxiety. We lead extremely busy lives. We are multitasking more than ever and our separation from who we are and what we need to do are nonexistent. Many of us struggle with work-life balance and prioritizing what we need to do right now or next week.
Decision Fatigue and Overthinking
When we are bogged down with too many choices, our ability to make the best decision suffers, just like with multitasking. While you may feel like you can do multiple tasks at once, it generally takes longer, or the quality of work suffers. This is how decision fatigue works. The more decisions that you have to make, the less confident you become. By constantly having to make choices, we become exhausted and second-guess everything.
How Overthinking Leads to Anxiety
We have all been counseled or advised by others to “go with our gut” or stick to that first choice. Generally, our initial instinct is the best course of action. However, if we make thousands of decisions a day, we are bound to lose focus on what we want.
Even if we make a decision that we feel is best, it may play out differently. All of this can lead to anxiety around making any decision, even small or necessary ones.
How to Minimize Decision Fatigue
These are a few takeaways to work through your day to prevent decision fatigue and anxiety
- Make Decisions in Advance: Things will pop up that are unexpected, but our days can be fairly predictable. Each night, or each weekend, go over what’s going on the next day or week. By making any decisions before they happen, you can prevent those “in the moment” decisions. This can look like meal planning or laying out clothes for the week. It could be selecting a day each week to focus on finance-related items. This can prevent letting that statement in your mailbox dictate making a choice of when to pay.
- Is This a Necessary Decision? Ask yourself, am I the only person who can make this decision? If the answer is yes, try and plan for it. If the answer is no, then let someone else take the reins. Again, most decisions, even if they seem urgent in the moment, are not. Take time when you can focus and think about these choices. Having a clear head will lead to more confident decisions.
- Self-Care: Self-care alone will not solve your problems if you can’t quiet the background noise of life. You will never be able to make sound decisions. Meditating or relaxing in a quiet place will help you slow down the pace of your thoughts.
If you find yourself crippled by decision fatigue, our therapy team at Renewed Wellness can help you identify the root of your anxiety. Please reach out for a free consultation.
