The Stress of Too Many Choices

Today I became completely overwhelmed (and quite stressed) by too many choices, and thus too many decisions to make. From 2010-2013, I was privileged to teach a class at Penn State called Action Methods for Stress Management (KINES082). One of the concepts we learn in this class is that in U.S. culture, we actually derive quite a bit of stress from having too many choices.

Think about it: we have a myriad of choices we can or need to make on a weekly, daily or potentially hourly basis. Some of which are very important, while others are very mundane: which bank should I choose? which doctor? which cereal? What sport should I encourage in my child? What club should I join at Penn State? What class should I take? and on and on. Having variety is one of the great advantages of living in an affluent and free society. Surprisingly, it can also be one of the drawbacks.

My husband was in the Peace Corps in Paraguay for two years and I lived there with him for 7 months. Rural Paraguay is NOT a place of abundant choices. Yet, I felt the most content and stress-free in my life while living there. With fewer consumer goods to care for, I had less to fix or clean. With limited options for entertainment, my choices were often made for me. With virtually no grocery store to roam in, the food available at the corner market and what we grew ourselves would suffice.

With too many choices to face, our brains become simply overloaded. What is the scientific recommendation? Literally take a mental vacation: read a novel or magazine, daydream, take a walk in the woods. It works. It gives our brains time to discharge all the frenzied mental activity and reset itself to a more restful place.

By mid-day I had become completely frazzled and had to take my own advice: I took a break and ventured off to my special spot at Shingletown Gap. One hour was all I had. Sitting next to the tumbling stream, with only the sound of the wind, the water, I could feel my own breathing.

The brief respite enabled me to recalibrate; to re-establish my own list of true priorities. I gathered the space I needed to later become truly vulnerable with my family and have a little breakdown of tears (which my husband calls a break-open). At the same time, my walk gave me a sense of gratitude for all the options that exist in this society. From a more grounded place, I can say no thank you to some, and gleefully accept others.