Overthinking and Decision Paralysis

The Overthinking Trap

Most of us have experienced moments of overthinking — replaying conversations, second-guessing a choice, or feeling stuck in uncertainty. While it’s normal to want to make thoughtful decisions, overthinking can become a trap that makes decision making feel exhausting, stressful, and sometimes impossible.

If you often feel paralyzed by decisions — big or small — you’re not alone. Let’s explore why overthinking happens, how it affects decision making, and what you can do to break free from decision paralysis.

Overthinking happens when thoughts spiral in circles — worrying about what could go wrong, replaying past mistakes, or obsessing over making the “right” choice. While it can feel like problem-solving, overthinking rarely leads to clarity.

Instead, it often creates:

• Mental fatigue

• Self-doubt

• Increased anxiety

• Avoidance of action

You might feel like you’re doing something helpful by thinking things through — but overthinking often leads to feeling more stuck and overwhelmed.

Difficulty with decision making and decision paralysis

Perfectionism and decision making

Perfectionism is a common driver of overthinking. If you feel like there is one perfect choice — and anything less is a failure — decision making can become almost impossible.

Perfectionism fuels fears like:

• “What if I make the wrong decision?”

• “What will people think of me?”

• “I’ll regret this forever if I get it wrong.”

This creates pressure that turns even small decisions into high-stakes situations, making it difficult to take action. In reality, all decisions have advantages and disadvantages and rarely is there a ‘perfect’ option. Additionally, when making a decision, there are variables that are unknown. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20-20, that is, we cannot know presently what we will end up learning in the future. 

The role of overthinking on decision fatigue

Decision fatigue happens when your brain becomes overwhelmed by too many choices or too much analysis. We are constantly making decisions; some studies suggest that the average person makes around 35,000 decisions in a single day. These choices range from more minor decisions such as what to eat, what to wear, or what route to take to work to more complex decisions such as staying at a current job, moving, and decisions around relationships.

The more time spent evaluating every detail or worrying about outcomes, the more drained you feel. Overthinking consumes mental energy that could be used for taking action, problem-solving, or creativity.

This often shows up as:

• Feeling exhausted or burnt out from thinking

• Procrastinating or avoiding decisions

• Making impulsive choices just to relieve discomfort

• Struggling with focus or concentration

Overthinking and decision paralysis

When overthinking and decision fatigue collide, you may experience decision paralysis — feeling so stuck in your thoughts that you can’t move forward. You may spend an excessive amount of time going over the same decision without resolution.

Signs of decision paralysis include:

• Constantly seeking reassurance from others

• Putting off decisions for days, weeks, or longer

• Over-researching without feeling any closer to a decision

• Feeling anxious, frustrated, or powerless

This pattern often reinforces itself — the longer you delay a decision, the more anxious and overwhelmed you feel.