Decision Fatigue & FOMO

Keto? Paleo? Vegan? Collagen powder? Functional medicine or acupuncture? Reiki? Prebiotics? So many options.

The main reason I love functional medicine is because it works! Taking a holistic, treat-from-the-inside-out approach is always going to help heal you in a way Western Medicine simply falls flat.

Unlike Western Medicine, which has two prescriptions for almost everything (antibiotics or surgery), functional medicine understands that the root cause of your suffering will not be fixed that easily. Pills and operations may suppress it for a while, but your ailment is bound to come up again and again (perhaps showing up in different parts of your body), if you don’t address the underlying cause. 

But underlying causes can be complicated, multidimensional, and difficult to figure out, which is why there are so many approaches one could take in the healing process. This also accounts for why it can take longer (and why many people would rather just take a pill).

Addressing the root causes takes experimentation. You could try adjusting your diet first, maybe take out gluten, dairy, or sugar (or all of the above), and if you’re still not better, move on to specific diets. But which diet works best? Billy swears by Vegan and Johnny swears by Atkins.

It’s true, when it comes to figuring out what the best solution(s) to your ailment is, it’s not so simple. There are literally hundreds of diets, supplements, exercises, and treatments one can try, all of which hold promise, and none of which are guaranteed to work for you! And don’t forget the various options within each option. There are dozens of different types of meditation, dozens of breathing techniques, thousands of supplements and combinations of supplements.

So here comes the dreaded statement no one wants to hear: It takes trial and error. 

Some people are lucky. They have a clear sense of what causes their illness, and with the help of a good practitioner, can quickly find the perfect cocktail of diet and lifestyle to support their healing. One of my clients recently noticed that whenever she eats conventional meat, her skin breaks out. For her, it’s clear: Eliminate conventional meat, eliminate acne. Many people experience similar “clear-cut” connections when they eliminate known irritants like dairy, eggs, or sugar. Oh, if it were only that simple for the rest of us!

Too many options can drive anyone crazy!

Acne is one thing, but when you experience something more widespread than a breakout, such as hormonal imbalances, chronic illness, fatigue, or digestive dysfunction, there’s literally no limit to how many different things you might have to try before you figure out what works to restore balance. The options can be overwhelming. This can lead to decision fatigue.

So what to do? Try everything all at once? Probably not. It wouldn’t be wise to try new supplements, meditation, a new workout routine, physical therapy, and food eliminations all at the same time.

For one, that’s expensive! Two, that will likely confuse you, and although you may start to feel better, it’ll be difficult to pinpoint what’s helping and what isn’t.

But most importantly, it can overstimulate and exhaust you! It’s so hard to keep up with everything, and it can become emotionally draining, worrisome, and even fear-evoking if (God forbid) you miss a workout or forget to take your second dose of probiotics. Throwing everything at the problem all at once can work against you in the healing process.

Okay, let me pause here for a moment. Breathe.

It’s usually wise to start small, try one thing at a time, and really commit to that one thing. One supplement, or one routine, or one food elimination, and just see how that goes for a few weeks. Go low and slow. Wait until that one change becomes a more natural part of your daily routine, and from there, you can add in or try something else. 

While taking is slow will help with the decision fatigue and overwhelm, it can lead to healing FOMO (fear of missing out). Depending on the treatment, it can take several weeks or even months to see results from one lifestyle change. In the meantime, we may feel like there are OTHER things we could be trying that could make us healthier faster.

I, like the rest of you, do not particularly like feeling unwell. And if you’ve been feeling unwell for a while already, it’s only natural that you’d want to know right away what is going to work, and not “waste your time” trying other things. 

To combat decision fatigue, we need to narrow in on just one or two suggestions at a time, so how do we stay present with this decision and not get caught up in what we may be missing out on in the meantime?

Okay, deep breath again.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a perfect answer for this. But we can start by taking a few good first steps:

• Always rule out anything life-threatening as soon as possible.

• When deciding on a general path of healing, try to choose holistic, functional medicine so that more options are available to you. It’s a great starting point.

• Try not to get overwhelmed. Easier said than done, I know. Get a few opinions, and then try one thing at a time, and just see how it goes. Patience is your best friend.

• Try to not think about it so much and enjoy life outside of your illness. 

• Try not to worry about missing out. The truth is, you probably ARE missing out on SOMETHING. The trick is to be okay with that! It’s helpful to remember: There will always be time later to try new things, when/if you’re ready.

• When it comes to treatment options, you can always add, remove, and adjust according to your body’s needs. So unless you are severely ill, keep it simple at first.

• And, of course, you should feel comfortable talking with your doctor about your FOMO concerns and pacing of new treatments.