Mailbag Installment 18: Decision Paralysis, Anxiety, and the Science of Choice

The Observable Unknown · Mar 12, 2026 · 4m

In this reflective Mailbag Installment of The Observable Unknown, Dr. Juan Carlos Rey responds to a deeply personal listener question about chronic indecision, fear of making the wrong choice, and the emotional toll that decision paralysis can take on relationships, career stability, and mental health. Drawing from contemporary behavioral science, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, this episode explores how modern environments overload the human nervous system with options, creating what researchers describe as decision fatigue, threat-mediated inhibition, and counterfactual anxiety…