Stress of “Too much”, too much choice especially

[Nymphali88]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone also experiences this. Everytime i go to a store or read about products clothes etc, i feel incredibly overwhelmed. I have a tendency to research everything and constantly wondering what is good and what not. I wonder if anyone else has this? and how do you deal with the stress of “too much choice”.

 

[Judge]

I like to think of this as an asset. Not relative to my autism, but more a matter of being taught to be a good consumer by my mother. To do that intense research. To weigh one product against many competitors, and take into consideration customer feedback.

And yes, at times it can be daunting given all the good and bad data out there.

How do I deal with all the stress such a process can create? I try to take solace in the fact that more often than not, all this "due diligence" pays off in the form of a good purchase. Knowing I made the right decision rather than simply nail a perceived bargain.

 

[Nymphali88]

I like to think of this as an asset. Not relative to my autism, but more a matter of being taught to be a good consumer by my mother. To do that intense research. To weigh one product against many competitors, and take into consideration customer feedback.

And yes, at times it can be daunting given all the good and bad data out there.

How do I deal with all the stress such a process can create? I try to take solace in the fact that more often than not, all this "due diligence" pays off in the form of a good purchase. Knowing I made the right decision rather than simply nail a perceived bargain.

Thank you for your reply ! i agree it is an asset but for me personally it can be very overwhelming. Maybe it is more that i am a perfectionist (so my purchases also have to be perfect) so i become fixated on finding perfection. That is hard to let go haha

You are right knowing that you make the right decision is great ! i will keep that in mind

 

[Anthracite]

I'm more of a stick-with-what-I-know person, but quite honestly I hate shopping so much I tend to just grab and run xD I only really have to check whether it's vegetarian, which is usually blatantly obvious (minus sweets).

 

[Judge]

Thank you for your reply ! i agree it is an asset but for me personally it can be very overwhelming. Maybe it is more that i am a perfectionist (so my purchases also have to be perfect) so i become fixated on finding perfection. That is hard to let go haha

You are right knowing that you make the right decision is great ! i will keep that in mind

I'm most definitely a perfectionist. And yes at times I drive myself crazy. Guilty as charged. Though in my case I suspect my OCD is a part of it. Where so many things in my immediate environment must be "just so".

 

[kay]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone also experiences this. Everytime i go to a store or read about products clothes etc, i feel incredibly overwhelmed. I have a tendency to research everything and constantly wondering what is good and what not. I wonder if anyone else has this? and how do you deal with the stress of “too much choice”.

I'm shopping for a mattress right now. Just trying to decide between get it in a box or from a store is stressing me out. Apparently it's caused decision fatigue.
Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?
From what I have read my life would be much better if I just pretty much eat the same thing all the time and have a uniform. Haven't made it to that place yet. Quoting the above article because I am too tired to look for more sources "The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain.." So obviously being confronted with a zillion different breakfast cereals is going to be stressful. I deal with that problem by just grabbing the same things every time. Wheat Chex if it is a regular shopping trip, flavored Cheerios for special occasions. Otherwise I have been known to stand in the cereal isle for 15 minutes looking like a hungry zombie.
(edit) Just want to apologize for grabbing the first article to pop up. I'm sure there are more and perhaps better but I still need to finish cleaning the bathroom.

 

[Judge]

The one time when shopping for something truly stressed me out was in looking for a new car with a manual transmission. Discovering that over the years the market has changed in the US. That most manufacturers keep less than five percent of their inventory with cars that have manual transmissions. And that dealer feedback confirmed it.

Making it very arduous just to find such a car. Not to mention new "innovations" that I loathe and sought to avoid, like "start-stop" technology.

 

[kay]

The one time when shopping for something truly stressed me out was in looking for a new car with a manual transmission. Discovering that over the years the market has changed in the US. That most manufacturers keep less than five percent of their inventory with cars that have manual transmissions. And that dealer feedback confirmed it. Making it very arduous just to find such a car.

Went through that a little over a year ago. Why don't more people drive manual? They are so much better for focus than automatic. At least they are for me.

 

[Gritches]

Back what when I was a gamer, we had a term for this that I think fits pretty well: "Option Shock"

You beat it by zero-ing in on one thing and then switching your attention to one other specific thing then another and so on, rather than trying to take it in all at once.

 

[Anthracite]

The one time when shopping for something truly stressed me out was in looking for a new car with a manual transmission. Discovering that over the years the market has changed in the US. That most manufacturers keep less than five percent of their inventory with cars that have manual transmissions. And that dealer feedback confirmed it.

Making it very arduous just to find such a car. Not to mention new "innovations" that I loathe and sought to avoid, like "start-stop" technology.

You Americans and your automatics

When I was looking for my first car I already knew I wanted a Saxo; the one who came home with me was the second one I met <3 My Beemer was originally my dad's. My third will be a '99/'00 Impreza WRX STi. It's the fourth that's causing me decision fatigue! Yes, all at the same time.

 

[Judge]

You Americans and your automatics

When I was looking for my first car I already knew I wanted a Saxo; the one who came home with me was the second one I met <3 My Beemer was originally my dad's. My third will be a '99/'00 Impreza WRX STi. It's the fourth that's causing me decision fatigue! Yes, all at the same time.

Their automatics- not mine.

Actually all five cars I've owned were all manual transmissions. I like actually driving my car.

It's a bit sad though. In this country a manual transmission is now considered one of the most reliable anti-theft devices you can have in a car. Few people know how to operate them.

I lost track of it all given my last stick shift lasted 17 years- a 2000 Toyota Celica GTS. Seventeen plus years on the same clutch. Quite impressive.

 

[Judge]

Went through that a little over a year ago. Why don't more people drive manual? They are so much better for focus than automatic. At least they are for me.

I was shocked. Didn't believe it at first. But sadly there are plenty of articles online about it. As I've posted elsewhere I tried in vain for several months to obtain a Hyundai Elantra Sport. But only the 6-speed manual. Two dealers completely failed in attempting to procure the very few cars available on this side of the Mississippi River. No dealer would give them up given their being in such short supply. That absurd five percent number turned out to be disturbingly true. But neither did I want to travel 1000 miles to find one in person and drive it all the way home. And I couldn't go another several months without a car.

Finally gave up and went to Mazda. Even the dealer thought it would be a cakewalk to get one in a matter of hours. But the deal made in just an hour fell through and it took more than a month to secure a Mazda 3 GT with a 6-speed manual transmission. However ultimately I believe I got a better car in the process.

I just couldn't break down and use those paddle shifters. Besides, most involved CVT or DCT technology and they both seem problematic given all my research. Gotta have that stick shift in the center console...and on the Mazda 3 the shift throw is almost as short as on any of the British sports cars I once owned.

I guess we're a dying breed of old schoolers. Go figure.

One thing for sure. I never did so much research this time around to find a car I liked. It's way more complicated these days. Discovering that not all technical innovations are necessarily good ones. Lots of choices but very few that were the best choices IMO.

 

[WereBear]

I live in a place with ice and snow and lots of hills with lights at the top. Automatic saves a lot of stress.

Commuting in stop and go traffic is nightmare enough, manual makes it worse.

 

[Sozdatelniza]

Oh, it happens so often. I feel that my brain is about to explode in that situations. I like to get so much information as possible about anything what interests me but there is a fine line over it. The possibility to get overdosed of information is very high.

 

[Sozdatelniza]

I live in a place with ice and snow and lots of hills with lights at the top. Automatic saves a lot of stress.

Commuting in stop and go traffic is nightmare enough, manual makes it worse.

Cold temperatures stop time and overpopulation.

 

[SusanLR]

I hate shopping for clothes.
So much to consider: Price, quality, fit and feel must be perfect. Trying on an armful of clothes and non feel just right is a nightmare.
Then figuring out the 30% or 20% off regular retail prices when it is so marked this way.
Then there are all the people around that I try to ignore but end up feeling they are thinking what an odd ball I am taking so much time with one item, etc.
Sometimes it is too overwhelming and I can't make a decision so I go home and come back the next day after
my mind has a chance to rest and I have lost things I decided I wanted because they are gone the next day.
Try to keep my wardrobe to a minimum, but when something I really like wears out, by then they have usually stopped making that particular style and the hunt is on again...

 

[Bella Pines]

I have a tendency to research everything and constantly wondering what is good and what not.

Snap. I can't "just shop". I have a specific item I need and I research it. If I want a dress then I will look at EVERY shop in EVERY accessible town centre and EVERY website that approximates what I want. I'll review all possible information before making a decision.

My husband finds this hilarious, he often asks why I can't just take the easy route and just BUY a dress. I do this with absolutely everything, from sofas to coats. If there are too many choices then it can take me 6 months to make one small decision.

But I think that's part of the aspie brain, we take in masses of facts, huge amounts of seemingly insignificant information, find the patterns and make the decision. It makes us more accurate but we also take longer. I don't think it is good or bad, it just is.

I deal with it now by limiting my parameters. I have 6 website and 4 chosen stores. I scan them all and make a choice. Tempting as it is, I ignore other variables unless I can't find it in my chosen 10.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I do this too, I spend way too much time shopping because I have to read all the labels and weigh up the pros and cons of each item. Shopping can be truly agonizing!

This reminds me of a documentary I once watched - it featured a lady who had brain trauma in an accident which took away her ability to feel emotion. One of the most disabling aspects of it, according to her, was that she found it extremely hard to make decisions. When most people make decisions, they use emotional thinking and select items based on their (often hidden) emotions. This lady was unable to do this, and was left only with analytical thinking, and that was hard for her because analytical, logical thinking wasn't intuitive to her. For me, however, though I may use emotions in my decision-making to some extent, logical thinking prevails and is intuitive to me. I don't use my emotions so much in decision making.

 

[Mary Lyn]

I used to spend too much time deciding on clothing, till I realised that buying natural materials especially if they are organic, would give me clothing that would feel wonderful to wear and last me ages. So I buy pure silk and wool as much as I can and absolutley love the things I buy. They need less washing and the best thing is the underwear - a vest and even pants that can be worn all winter without needing washed - honest its true! They used to wear such things in the past. You hang them up for a short while every few days and they just do not smell!

Cambridge Baby is a good company.

 

[xudo]

Even just choosing what to have at a restaurant is difficult for me. If it's somewhere I've never been before, I'll look at menus online and decide before I go. Places I've been before I just have the same thing I always have. It's a problem though if they don't have what I usually have, as then I feel overwhelmed at having to look through so many options and quickly choose something.