Latest / Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry / Parkinson’s and Decision Fatigue: Why Small Choices Feel Overwhelming

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Parkinson’s and Decision Fatigue: Why Small Choices Feel Overwhelming · Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry

• 0:01
  They told him he had five good years left.
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  That was 15 years ago. He's still standing, still
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  speaking, still living. This is living with Parkinson's,
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  The good, the bad, and the reality.
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  A podcast about what happens when life throws you something
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  incurable and you fight back anyway.
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  Hosted by Bryce Perry, diagnosed at 4015.
• 0:25
  Years into the battle, This is the truth behind the tremor.
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  Let's begin. What should I eat?
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  When should I take my meds? Do I rest now?
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  Do I rest later? With Parkinson's, even small
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  choices can feel like an Olympic level decisions.
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  Welcome back everyone. A big shout out to my inner
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  circle, private community and channel members.
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  Hey, you know what? Your support means the world to
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  me. And if you're new here, my name
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  is Bryce and this is living with Parkinson's.
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  The good, the bad and the reality.
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  And you know, it's all about Parkinson's really.
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  And if you're living with it or someone you love is living with
• 1:00
  it, or you're just trying to understand it better, you're in
• 1:02
  the right place. Today's episode, Parkinson's and
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  decision fatigue. While even small choices can
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  make like climbing can feel like climbing Mount Everest.
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  And it's going to be a power punched episode.
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  So let's talk about it. Decision fatigue.
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  It happens when your brain just gets tired of making choices.
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  And with Parkinson's that turns the dial up to like 11.
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  We're not just deciding what to do, we're calculating meds.
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  We're calculating symptoms, timings, energy levels, side
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  effects, and whether we can physically pull it all off.
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  So simple stuff like what to wear, when to eat.
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  It suddenly feels like you're solving a math equation in the
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  middle of a tornado right at spoiler alert, I suck at math.
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  So I'll be honest, you know? Some mornings the thought of
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  making any decision makes me want to crawl back right into
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  bed, you know? Do I go for a walk or do I wait
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  until after my meds kick in? Do I feel now or wait till I can
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  smile properly without looking like a wax figure at, you know,
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  at the museum, right? Even replying to messages can
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  feel overwhelming for me. Not because I don't care, but
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  because my brain is in a slow motion and my motivation is
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  somewhere under the couch with the TV, with the lost remote
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  control. So let's talk about solutions.
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  Like not magic ones, the behind that make you climb feel a
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  little bit more manageable. So first of all, you need to
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  reduce the number of choices. I mean, sounds pretty simple,
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  right? Well, how do you do that?
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  Well, for me, I set a routine so I don't think so I don't have to
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  think. I just do, right?
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  Same breakfast, same meds, same cup of coffee.
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  Boring, maybe. Life saving, Absolutely right.
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  You just have to set yourself up for success.
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  Another really big thing that I do, and I've been doing this
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  most of my life, but it's even, it's greater importance now with
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  Parkinson's, is I make important decisions really early, right?
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  I try to tackle anything major in the morning before my brain
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  starts to buffer. Now, I don't mean first thing in
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  the morning. I mean I need my meds to kick
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  in, but I need to get to that really optimal place where my
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  brain is working, what I feel is the absolute smoothest.
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  And to be honest with you, if I don't do those big decisions in
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  the morning, I'm going to get really overwhelmed because I'm
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  going to be thinking about them all through the day.
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  No matter what I'm doing. I'm doing small tasks.
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  I'm trying to ignore it. I'm, you know, trying to
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  procrastinate. I'm trying to put it on the back
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  on the back shelf just for now, but it's it's there and it's
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  just weighing on me, Weighing on me.
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  And you know how many have been like me?
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  Have you ever procrastinated right until the next day, right?
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  I mean, that happens, it happens all the time.
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  So I, I read a book years and years and years and years and
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  years ago and I can't remember even who wrote it, but I think
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  what they called it was eat the frog.
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  Eat that frog, right? You know, this the big decision
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  of the day. So the quicker you eat that
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  frog, the quicker it's over. You don't have to think about it
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  anymore. So make your decisions and big
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  decisions and like calculate like do them at your prime when
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  you're the Primus, when you're most alert, most awake, most
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  every meds are kicking in. And for me, that's I got 2
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  choices that's like rated early in the morning.
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  It'd be probably an hour after I took my first dose of meds.
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  It's probably a really good time for me.
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  My optimum time is after my second dose, about 30 minutes
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  after my second dose. So probably about, you know, six
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  hours into my day, that's my optimum time.
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  So that's where I try to schedule my big decisions or
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  think about my big decisions or decide right in those moments.
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  And it's a very, very smart thing to do.
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  So think about that. Figured out what?
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  Figure out what what it is for you.
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  And yeah. And I'd like to know.
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  Let's start a conversation, I mean, in the comments, you know,
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  when do you make big decisions? Are you like me or actually not?
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  Even when you make big decisions, when do you feel that
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  you're most alert in the day? When is that time?
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  Is it, you know, before your second dose, before your third
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  dose, before or whenever? But when is that that optimum
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  time? You really need to think about
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  it because if you don't know, then start thinking about it,
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  right? But if you do know, that's when
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  you should schedule yourself for your biggest task of the day or
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  your biggest decisions of the day.
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  So when is your best time? I'd love to know.
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  Let's start a conversation in the comments.
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  OK, so tip #3 is use tools, right?
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  I use reminders, timers, and even digital sticky notes.
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  Because if I have, if I have to remember one more thing on my
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  own, my head might explode. I mean, how many things can your
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  brain remember? Now pre Parkinson's, I could
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  multitask like crazy. I mean, I could handle multitude
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  of things at the same time, make tons of decisions, you know,
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  left, right and center. And since Parkinson's and you
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  know, and you, if you don't know, then know this, that with
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  Parkinson's multitasking is very difficult.
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  It's extremely difficult for me. It's almost impossible.
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  I have to focus in on one thing at a time and that's why I have
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  to write everything down and have my to do notes on my to do
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  lists and everything to remind me to and I check them off.
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  That was done, move on. That was done, move on.
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  Trying to balance remembering one thing and trying to do
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  another thing. It just doesn't work anymore.
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  And you need to accept that, right?
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  It's not maybe not the same as it used to be for you.
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  You need to accept that and you need to just work within that.
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  You need to work with what you have to the best that you can,
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  right? So work with what you have to
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  the best degree that you can. And to me, that's scheduling
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  out, writing things down and knowing when those prime times
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  are to really get into things. And then what do you need to do?
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  Here's another tip. This is, this is a big tip,
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  right? And this is hard.
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  This one's really hard for me as well, but here it is.
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  Let go of perfection. Not every choice has to be the
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  best 1. You know, sometimes the OK
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  choice is the win. Parkinson's already, Parkinson's
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  already takes enough and we don't need to beat ourselves up
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  over pizza or salad. What am I going to have for
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  dinner? You know, is it really going to
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  impact you that much? Right.
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  And, and you know what? What's the worst thing you do
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  when you're trying to make a decision or you're trying to, to
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  formulate what you know of the plan or the best way to run in
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  this decision? You know, you think about this,
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  what's the worst that's going to happen?
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  So you make the wrong decision, right?
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  Pivot, move on, start again, try again.
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  You know you're not going to get to the answer unless you make
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  some mistakes. That's all the way that that's
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  the only way there is to it. And you know, here's what,
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  here's what people don't always get.
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  Decision fatigues. It isn't just mental, it's
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  emotional. It makes you feel lazy,
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  indecisive, procrastinative. It makes you even feel ashamed.
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  But here's your reminder. This is your reminder today.
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  This is for you today. This is why you made it this far
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  in the in the in the podcast. And if you're still here right
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  now in the podcast, could you give me a like, please, maybe
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  before there's somebody that you, that you, that you know,
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  might need this today. But don't worry, like I mean,
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  after right, right now, let's focus on you.
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  Here's your reminder, OK, You're doing your best.
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  You're making choices while your brain and body are fighting a
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  battle behind the scenes. Think about that.
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  You're making choices. You chose to listen or watch
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  this podcast. That was a choice you made and
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  you know what? That was the best decision you
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  made today. And I, I say that humbly, but it
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  was the best decision you made today.
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  Why? You're investing in yourself,
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  right? You're trying to learn, you're
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  trying to grow, you're trying to live, you're trying to do your
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  best and making decisions that are adding things into your life
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  and positivity into your life and maybe some encouragement
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  into your life and maybe something to reach for and
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  stretch for and maybe you learn something that's an amazing
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  accomplishment for you today. So remember, you're doing your
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  best, you're making choices and the whole time, right?
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  If you have Parkinson's or your loved one has Parkinson's, that
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  entire time you're making those choices while your brain and
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  your body are fighting a battle behind the scenes.
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  Imagine that. Just think about that, and if
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  you choose to shower today, you won.
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  If you choose to rest today, you won.
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  If you decided anything, you're doing better than you think, and
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  that's the bottom line. So you've been staring at the
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  fridge for 20 minutes trying to choose between soup or toast.
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  You're not alone. You're not alone.