Too Much Choice Gives Me A Headache

So it's Saturday night and I'm in the mood for an authentic Italian meal. I decide that I want to go out to eat at a good Italian restaurant: choice number one made. 

But I don't know where to go.

I log onto the Internet and type Montreal restaurants and suddenly I am faced with hundreds of different Montreal food sites like Question De Gout, Resto Montreal, Fodors, and the list goes on and on. After hours of searching for the right restaurant I give up, my appetite has diminished and I decided to eat leftovers instead: choice number two made.

I've gone through the above scenario over a dozen times because unfortunately for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, God has bestowed me with an over analytical temperament and an indecisive mind so you can imagine what happens when I am given an infinite amount of options to choose from: Massive headaches and probably a wrong decision due to over thinking.

Essentially, my argument is that we, the western world, are being bombarded with an abundance of choices from every spectrum of life from what to study, to what to read, to what to wear, to what to eat and these overwhelming amounts of choices are producing a reverse effect; We are becoming increasingly confused as a society and consequently unhappy. 

Barry Schwartz so eloquently refers to my restaurant choice crisis as the "paralyzing effect" suggesting that "infinite choice is paralyzing and exhausting to the human psyche." 

The article "Spoilt for Choice" examines the negative affect of having too much choice and comes up with a simple solution: Don't think too much. Instead, simply choose what your gut feeling is telling you. Sure. I wish it were so easy. I wish I could control my mind and say: "Hey you, Mind. Stop driving me crazy with your philandering thoughts and just choose what you wanted initially!"  

The article also says that too much choice leads to depression. That's interesting. Why is it that our society, meaning North America, suffers from anxiety, depression, OCD, and ADD more than any other nation on earth? Approximately 26% of the American population suffers form some sort of mental illness (NIMH website).

Yes it may be due to the fact that as a nation we overwork ourselves. It may also be due to the fact that we are given too many options and during the decision making process we make choices in which we wander so far away from our initial goal that we loose our main purpose.

We are privileged with so much yet we are psychologically drowned due to all the choices available to us. Most of the mental illnesses prevalent in western nations are virtually non-existent in eastern countries because they do not have as many choices available to them.

In "The Line Between Clarity and Chaos" Liz Danziko interviews Barry Schwartz in an attempt to answer the question: Are we doomed to indecision? I believe we are. We are given so much variety that we can no longer decide what we want to do and this can be detrimental to our society in the long run. 

My solution for those like me who suffer from the Paralyzing Syndrome is this: Prior to making a choice, make sure to come up with a clear idea of what you are looking for, stay focused and keep away from places that offer to much choices such as mega grocery stores that offer 30,000 different products.

If that doesn't help than may God be with you...