Tess Brigham, or known as the “millennial therapist,” explains the complaint she hears the most from her patients which is that they have too many choices and cannot decide what to do.
Nintey percent of her patients are between the ages of 23 and 38 and are so worried about making the wrong choice.
And according to a recent survey from heycar, making decisions can actually affect our mental health.
Dr. Arun Thiyagarajan, Bupa Health Clinics’ Medical Director, shared with UNILAD how stress can affect our judgement making decisions.
“As we go through life, big decisions – such as buying a house, changing jobs and retirement – may cause us to feel stressed. High impact decisions can alter the course of our lives and it can feel like a lot of pressure to make sure we’re getting things right. Stress can narrow our attention and impede our judgment, so, if we’re about to make a big decision and could do with some clarity of thought, stress may make it more difficult for us to choose which direction to go in.”
“Everyone reacts differently to stress – some people cope with it well, whereas others feel it can take a toll on their wellbeing. Stress can affect your mental wellbeing in several ways, including making you feel moody; aggressive; overwhelmed; depressed or anxious.”
And having too many decisions in a day can cause you to experience exhaustaion known as “decision fatigue,” a syndrome coined by social psychologist Dr. Roy F. Baumeiste.
One way to avoid this syndrome is to get rid of a few minor decisions you have to make every day. For example: what to wear. While it may be not as fun to wear the same combinations every other day — it could leave you with more energy to make bigger decisions.