Paradox of Choice - Video Transcript

Hey everyone, I'm Kristen, the anxiety therapist and today I'm going to be talking about a psychological concept called the paradox of choice and this is the idea that the more options or choices we have, the less satisfied we tend to be with what we choose. And this comes from being afraid of missing out on the choices that we forfeited and constantly thinking about whether there's something better out there or you know, whether something else would have been a better fit or were more suitable for us and with the internet nowadays, I mean that can become such a black hole where you know, we're shopping online for something and there are ads and then one link leads to another link and all of a sudden we spend four hours shopping for a lamp.

And so while this might not be a huge inconvenience to most people, if you are someone who struggles with anxiety, this could actually be quite impactful for you because chances are your anxiety is driving you to want certainty and perfection and success and sort of identifying what the right choice is and the reality is that a lot of times it's just based on preference and there is no right or wrong choice and there's no way to know what choice is going to be better than the other.

So what happens is that we sort of end up with either decision paralysis where we get so overwhelmed by all of our options that we can't make a decision at all right, we get paralyzed or decision fatigue where we're constantly kind of weighing the pros and cons of each option and what would be better and kind of constantly spinning our wheels thinking it through that again, we end up not making a decision because we're just too fatigued and exhausted to commit to something.

So if this happens, helpful approach is to narrow your options down to two or three. So narrow it down, maybe set it aside for a day or a few days and come back and just choose from those two or three. And if you still have trouble with that, set a deadline at which point you need to commit to a decision because if you don't, your anxiety will sort of take hold and it will, it will make you feel like you're, you're being productive and sort of weighing out all of your options when in reality you're just again, kind of spinning your wheels like, like a hamster on a wheel, you know, you're just going around and round without actually committing without making a decision without getting off of the wheel. So try this next time, you're having a hard time making a decision.

And I think the biggest thing to remember is that we tend to be happier with less because ultimately that leads to less second guessing and less doubt. So just keep that in mind for the future and you know, when you are confronted with another decision that that needs to be made, I i wanted to um to do a video on this topic today because I actually just had a client that I saw this morning who was picking out the seating place cards for her wedding and was telling me that she just, she could not make a decision.

And she was, you know, kind of between these two and got so hung up on what type of script it was, and, you know, ultimately just kind of had to pull the trigger and commit to something, but it was plaguing her, you know, and she's someone who struggles with anxiety and um, ultimately doesn't really matter, right. Her guests are not going to care about what type of writing is on her place cards, but it's just an example of how these things can just consume more time and energy and attention for those of us who struggle with anxiety than for those who don't.

So anyway, I hope you found this video helpful. Um, stay tuned next week for more comment, drop a comment or a question um, below the video if you want. And I'll see you guys next week. Take care.