Caesar Salad and the Art of Indecision

“Trust your gut,” my friend advises when confronted with a monumental decision. Huh? My gut is more concerned with lunching at Panera — than, let’s say, the career trajectory of civil service administrators. But trite jokes aside, this advice represents conventional wisdom when facing an excruciating decision. And on its surface, the advice seems sensible. Instinctively, we have a feeling — even an intuition — about a proper decision. And, slowly, we learn to trust our decision-making calculus — even if the process is more multiplication tables than, say, business calculus.   Trusting your gut is our de facto cheatsheet. But what happens when your gut spits out mischievous falsehoods and persuasive untruths? And then for dessert, it sprinkles disparaging self-assessments. My gut hurts — and it is from more than just a disagreeable lunch. As an OCD sufferer, decisions can, at times, feel catastrophic. I analyze, ruminate, and then analyze again. Soon, I am more twisted than a pretzel — and more bitter than that beer to wash it down. And, not surprisingly, indecision seems like the most prudent option. I will delay until I cannot delay — and then delay some more. With this paradoxical logic, my decision-making process and, I suspect, those of my fellow OCD sufferers veers into masochistic. We analyze — and then overanalyze — our decisions, torturing ourselves in the process. Family and friends are alternately mys...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anxiety and Panic Habits Happiness Health-related Mental Health and Wellness OCD Personal Anxious Thoughts Compulsions Decision Making Indecision indecisive Intrusive Thoughts Obsessions Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Procrast Source Type: blogs