How to Stop Overthinking Decisions and Overcome Analysis Paralysis

When you get overwhelmed by making a choice, when you can’t decide between A and B, you often settle for C or you end up paralyzed, procrastinating, or making no decision at all. In this video you’ll learn the 3 underlying causes of decision paralysis, and 2 keys to overcoming it. And I'll give you a hint, it has to do with emotion regulation and executive functioning.
Frieda’s story is the epitome of decision paralysis. Decision paralysis is when you get overwhelmed with a complicated decision, or a simple one. Deciding “What should I major in at college?” or “Where should we eat tonight?” might make you freeze up, you might avoid it, overthink it, delay it, or constantly second guess your choice. This can lead to choice fatigue, you might feel exhausted or just give up on college or eating out that night.
Or you might procrastinate, instead of just picking the topic for that one huge assignment, you do a ton of little tasks that aren’t important. Or you spend time watching shows or on social media- anything you can to avoid dealing with that overwhelming decision.

00:00 What causes analysis paralysis?
00:37 Promo for The emotion processing course
00:58 Story about overthinking decisions
02:08 What is decision paralysis?
03:19 3 Causes of Overthinking Decisions
04:12 How to stop overthinking decisions
06:40 Learn to regulate the fear of making a decision
10:17 3 Mantras to overcome overthinking decisions
11:02 Back to Frieda's story about overcoming decision paralysis
11:40 Summary of how to stop overthinking decisions

Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

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[veryberry]

"Done is better than perfect" is what I repeated to myself over and over again, every week last year when I went back to school and finished my degree. It was only one class, but it's been almost 20 years and I felt like I wasn't doing a good job on my papers. So I had to tell myself that as long as I turned them in, I wouldn't fail and that was all that counted.

[frankq]

My wife of 51 years and I flip a quarter if we can't decide. Heads we do, tails we don't. Never fight over decisions. If it doesn't work out we blame the quarter.

[quarteracreadventures]

"If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice"
-Rush, 'Freewill'

[jumanji]

Your contents are really better than going to any psychologist and therapist. It's clear, crisp, to the point and without any drama. Thank you for your efforts to make us feel better.

[egreeno]

Hearing "you are resilient. You can handle an imperfect outcome" brought a tear to my eye. Thank you. I didn't even know I needed to hear that. ❤️

[nokronis]

I'm 33 and this has destroyed my life the past 10 years, I even went to a school therapist and they said I needed to see a career councilor... that didn't help. I wish I knew I needed help sooner, and that it could be fixed.

[Aceinine]

"Life will choose for you. if you don't" - sometimes these insightful harsh realities are what you need to hear, to start taking those decisive first steps. Beautiful content :)

[tawnykc]

This video could not have come at a more perfect time! I have been completely emotionally paralyzed which is starting to cause me to be physically paralyzed because I'm so overwhelmed about making decisions. Today, I could barely move and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I rarely take naps anymore because I suffer from insomnia (whole other issue). I thought the nap might reboot my brain, which it sometimes does, but the nap made me feel worse 😫 I feel like I've made the wrong decisions in the past so I'm terrified of making more bad decisions. Lately I have been procrastinating and giving my mind a "brain break" by watching shows that make me laugh. However, I've also been educating myself on the project I want to start. I have so many ideas in my head but I find it difficult to put those ideas into practice. I'm definitely an over thinker but I want to be a doer. I'm not lazy. I just want to do something that has meaning. But sometimes I can barely get out of bed and I'm not even 40 years old yet 😞 Thank you for making these videos to help me feel a little less alone.

[estheraraujo]

You always come in a perfect time of need. Thank you for your help. It always makes me feel better and confident🙏

[audreajohnson]

Thanks so much for this. As a single mom I struggle with this a lot and whether I am capable of making the best decisions for my daughter.

[alexandrakovacs]

Thank you! "Avoiding risk can mean that you end up disappointed and lonely" really, really hit me at the point! Thanks for your effort of explaining it! :)

[francescagreetham]

“There is no perfect decision” really hit me. That’s… so true.

[manarmahmood]

"A finished PhD is a good PhD", this is similar to the done is better than perfect mantra and is what got me through finishing my thesis. Thanks a lot for this. Cant wait to hear about executive functioning as I struggle with prioritization and identifying what is important during decision-making!

[mellowmeowsInc]

This video hit me right in the feels. I'm a chronic overthinker and this is just what I needed to hear. Thanks for the great content!

[insomniaccxx]

just woke up, so much things ramping on my mind, don't know where and when to start my day, and you pop up in my yt homepage. " imperfect decisions is greater than doing nothing" "its picking anything and being resilient of the outcome" ❤❤

[KelsonBurnsSenior]

Hi Emma, I saw this quote and thought of you.
"Just as the acorn contains the mighty oak tree, the Self has everything it needs to fulfill its destiny. When the inner conditions are right, it naturally emerges."

[hanjnk]

You have done more for me than any therapist has ever done. I hope you realise the power you have. Thankyou so much for saving my life on many occasions ♥️

[crystal]

I’ve watched this twice already. This video continues to be helpful. It makes me realize how spoiled we are. Trying to make a decision about what car to buy. Adding options adds a lot of money. I’m worried about silly things like well I regret every day if I don’t have a sunroof. If you’re going to pay tens of thousands of dollars for something you should get exactly what you want. But the price just keeps going up and the decision making has paralyzed me as always. This video definitely helps. Thanks!

[theologytherapist]

So good to remind ourselves that we are more capable and and smarter than we think! There's so much value in the habit of affirming yourself and being aware of how you function, so that you can support yourself as best as you can.

[nicholasousby]

I can’t tell you how much this video has helped me today!! I’ve been struggling with a decision for months about relocating my life, if I don’t try I’ll never know! ❤🎉🎉🎉