How Stress and Anxiety Change Your Decision-Making

Have you ever wondered why it's harder to make decisions when your head isn't clear? Feeling emotional or physical tension around you, as well as in you: That's the simple definition of stress. Stress is a word that's commonly used on an hourly basis. Whether it's anxiety or overthinking, it all connects to some kind of stress. It affects our physical and mental health. It is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. This applies to people daily, that they might not even be aware of. But don't worry, studies have shown that stress is not necessarily a bad thing, but a little bit is actually good and can help us perform daily activities. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. Coping styles and symptoms of stress vary from person to person. Most people have a push-through mentality when it comes to stressful situations. Trying to force yourself to move on, forget about it, or even trying to be bigger than the problem. Research shows that stress exposure influences biased decision-making. Whether it's simple day to day choices or the spur of the moment, stress impacts decisions in many ways.

Stress could be known as the nonspecific response of the body for any source of change. One way stress can affect your decisions is by adapting to change. For example, a 2012 study found that participants who were subjected to the stress of preparing for a medical selection exam tended to make decisions out of habit, whereas participants who were not under the same stress were able to make new decisions, adapting them to the situation at hand and the perceived consequences.  Psychologists explain how decision making is divided into two brain pathways: an emotional one controlled by the amygdala and a rational one controlled by the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is especially active during tough decisions with emotional consequences. It can affect you mentally, making it harder to cope with your current situation or what you have to do in the future. Chronic stress can even alter your brain chemistry, leading to poor decision-making. It's difficult to assess benefits and costs. Although some stress is unavoidable, chronic stress deserves greater attention and may lead to a possible disruption of our decision-making processes. A 2012 study leans into the neurological basis of stress-inspired decision making. Chronic stress changes the writing of our brain, preferring habitual decisions over goal-oriented ones.

This is all connects back to our brain sensing anxiety, causing our brain to go into defense mode. Anxiety has a negative impact, disrupting executive brain functions. This heightened state can lead to distorted thinking and impair rational decision-making. People become too overwhelmed to make a decision. As a survival instinct, our brain developed a stress response system that can cause impulse decisions. This can lead to an irrational thought process or even an emotionally charged decision. However, when anxiety is not controlled, it can cause your body to change into more negative stress, which has an opposite effect in comparison to a positive stress rate. In the human brain, there is a nerve system called the parasympathetic, which is a portion of the autonomic nerve system that interferes with stress, causing relaxation instead. This may be a good thing until a sudden increase in stress hormone levels, the parasympathetic nervous system could fail to operate. This can cause a person to feel emotionally unstable, impacting their decision-making. For further context, anxiety influences your decision in other ways as well. It can weaken the ability of high-level thinking, also known as executive function. Anxiety may shut down the ability to reflect and understand internal mental processing, also known as the reflective functions. The brain can make up imaginary situations or scenarios instead as an objective to making incorrect decisions. Individuals may start denying their decision-making as certain aspects of a problem can provoke their anxiety. Instead, there is a decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which promotes lower cognitive functioning and sends the brain into a chaotic state. With this state, your brain is not functioning properly, making it unable to access the information it needs to make better, more logical decisions. In stressful situations, your brain can limit your decision-making. For example, in tougher moments we can refer to more immature answers rather than opening our minds to better options.

Even though stress has a big impact on your decision-making, we have the ability to manage it and change the consequences. For starters, embracing your stress and practicing mindfulness can be a big help, maybe even life-changing. One other important thing that would help is to reduce your load. Too many options sometimes can overwhelm you, causing you to become anxious and stressed out. This can lead you to freak out about picking the best possible decision. So limiting the options you have, even if it's small, can reduce your load, giving you space to think freely. Another thing that could help is setting clear priorities. If you dwell only on the crux of the issue, it will help shorten the stress of making the greater decision. Priority helps push out a lot of noise and really focus on what matters. Be easy on yourself. Learn to accept that perfection is not the goal. This type of acceptance towards yourself can be very impactful and kind, reducing your anxiety related to decision-making. The most important thing when it comes to being mindful about your decision-making is to realize when you're stressed out so you can slow down and re-evaluate the decision you are about to make. Seek support or help. It helps to share your problems with those you care about. A positive impact from them can lessen the stress. Even listening to others' opinions can give you a better perspective on the decision you have to make. Overall, managing your stress levels or anxiety in decision-making can help you develop important skills. The more you practice different techniques, the less stressful or overwhelming decision-making will seem.

Camari Warren - Secretary