@kristenanniebell

I can’t believe I JUST learned (thanks to @realzachthinkshare ) about decision fatigue and mental load. For years I struggled to articulate this “feeling” I had, as if my brain needed a nap. Not my body, just my mind. I’d become practically paralyzed with brain fatigue when I had to make the teeniest most inconsequential decisions. Even fun ones! I used the word “overwhelmed” to describe this, but it wasn’t specific enough.  Prior to my discovery of @realzachthinkshare , when someone in my house asked me where the ketchup was, I wanted to scream (at the very top of my lungs)… “YOU HAVE EYES! USE THEM!” …Which, logically I know is a bit intense. But I reeeaallly felt like doing it. Watching Zach explain mental load and decision fatigue had me feeling SO SEEN! I realized that important decision making, like … whether and when to get the flu shot, mentally adjusting my whole day to allow for a sick child staying home, how to make a quirky family schedule work (so we still had a lot of time to snuggle together)… was taking A LOT out of me. I struggled with “overthinking”… but I was doing the right amount of thinking, because they were important, right? I’d then find myself no longer having the capacity to think about some of the smaller things. I wanted someone to make some decisions for ME. Queue mental load and decision fatigue! Once I understood this, it made SUCH a difference in my ability to be kind to myself when I’m overloaded, and not wonder if I’m unhinged and inadequate for being stressed about one too many choices.  I was then able to identify and put into words (🤯) to those around me how I was feeling and WHY, and it got a whole lot better!… If you are the default caregiver, or ANYONE who makes a lot of choices each day, please know hitting a capacity point is totally normal and YOU are absolutely normal.  Check out @realzachthinkshare for alternate ways to talk about mental load, decision fatigue, and the invisible domestic labor in our homes.

January 26, 2024