Decision fatigue, desire, willpower and ADD

[Anonymous]

Just read this article from the NY Times. It’s a long one, haven’t fully read it, but it brings up some interesting points about decision fatigue, willpower, desire, all things that plague ADDers. They suggest that glucose is one way to boost the brain’s energy in the area relating to willpower. What do you think?

I am trying to resist going on the internet early in the morning, but it seems that according to this article, if I don’t give in to this, that might cause me to be unable to resist wasting a LOT of time later on. And that a boost of glucose when I feel I’m mentally exhausted might help with the resistance.

Or maybe I should just have ice cream for breakfast and get my ice cream fantasy over with for the day!

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[nellie]

well isn’t it low glucose levels that cause the feeling of hunger pangs? I know if I’m hungry the only thing I have enough willpower to undertake is opening the pantry door Also one of the recommendations for ADD is proper nutrition so not having read the article (don’t want to get stuck on the internet this morning either!) I guess that’w what the bottom line really is. When my energy levels are feeling a bit depleted in the afternoon a yogurt or cookie can perk me up again.

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[quizzical]

I couldn’t find the link in your post; is this the article?

Mind over Mind? Decision Fatigue Saps Willpower — if We Let It

Interesting notion! But what if your main willpower challenge is about eating sweets?

Decision-making is one of my all-time WORST skills. It’s where I depart quite radically from the impulse-shopper picture that so many ADD’ers fit. I tend to get frozen very early on. The article suggests fatigue comes from making a large number of decisions, but I wonder if it’s possible to fatigue oneself over a single decision, if one agonizes over it long enough, as I do? It makes sense, if you think about the fact that to me, one decision has an infinite number of components; like dozens of little decisions that add up to the big one.

I do know that if I agonize long enough, the decision, if made, often still comes to a sort of “What-the-hell?” type response. I weigh all the facts, and then after a while I suppose I do get tired of that. Then I give up and just sort of go with my gut. Could have saved a lot of time just going there to begin with!

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[nellie]

qizzical, that is actually quite a typical trait you describe. While not the impulsive spur of the moment type it is in a sense still spontaneous. The “what the hell” response is in effect spontaneous in the end. Lots of ADD people have trouble making decisions – I guess the overwhelm of so much to think about manifests itself as procrastination and in the end the decision is often made in a push comes to shove kind of way. All the stuff I’m sorting that’s been stuffed into my basement for all these years is an attestation to this!

I think the Kate Kelly and Sari Solden books describe it. If I could find the books I’d look it up

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[Anonymous]

Typical! I didn’t post the link – here it is http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html

the article is long, but there are lots of examples cited. It’s not the “perk-me-up” aspect of food that they’re referring to, it’s the fatigue that is caused by making decisions and apparently glucose can alter that.

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[Anonymous]

Well, what the article says about the “what the hell” is that it’s one of the impulsive options we take when we’re fatigued with decision-making. The other option is doing nothing. Both can be troublesome – the latter because not doing something can lead to bigger problems down the road (like not opening bills to pay them on time).

So based on this article, a little boost of glucose later in the day when I’m fatigued but still have decisions to make can help. But I’d still like to have ice cream for breakfast!

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[Anonymous]

no way I’m getting through 7 pages of text right now! …goodnight med.. i have a horrible time making decisions!!! i just think about all the consequences or possible variables..and get very overwhelmed. I definitely relate to the paralysis do nothing or the ‘what the hell!’. very frustrating. and more frustrating that I tend to gravitate to high decision activities and occupations.. because I get bored without choices!! I’m the kind of person who demands the ice cream shop with the most choices..then almost starves trying to make a decision…chocolate…..

I’m addicted to sugar..but i don’t think it has much to do with decisional fatigue lol. more to do with compulsion. if there is chocolate in front of me, there is no decisional fatigue..already in my mouth!!!!

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[Anonymous]

it’s an interesting read if you can manage it, talks about how judges make different decisions during the day that are due to decision fatigue (since the facts in the cases are the same – in this case, inmates up for parole), also some interesting experiments where people were asked to make decisions in one group (the other was just asked to explore the options without decision) and then they tested their willpower afterwards, and the decision-makers consistently had less willpower. This was true even for people with so-called strong willpower. There were a few experiments documented in the article. So it’s the act of decision-making that is the trigger, but then, we do that all day long, I think!

It’s why candy is at the checkout at the supermarket, you have fatigued yourself with all the choices you made in the store and have less resistance (and glucose is what the brain needs).

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[nellie]

Well I skimmed the middle parts but it is indeed interesting. In particular to me the ramifications with dieting. I can see where this would work. Some years back on one of my more “successful” diets I had a routine where I worked in two cookies during the afternoon as well as a late night chocolate snack into the weight watcher points allotment. I swore at the time this kept me from going crazy before dinner as well as from late night snacking. So maybe it was the glucose spikes that helped me make better food decisions and not be tempted beyond my allotment for the day.

Also back to present day – in the midst of my basement project I do notice I’m better able to discard in the earlier part of the day. Later on I tend to repack the boxes and find a way to store them. So maybe today I’ll try the old cookie snack trick and see if it works.

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[Anonymous]

I sent the link to a friend of mine who is downsizing from a house to a tiny two bedroom loft, thinking it might help her understand why, at the end of the day, she has trouble getting rid of things.

I like your cookie snack strategy, nellie!

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[nellie]

Well I didn’t have any cookies on hand today so tried chocolate almonds I also made sure to eat lunch as well. I lasted till mid-afternoon then had to get away from the mess! Luckily I had lots of stuff in my car to take for donation so was able to use that as an excuse. All in all I was able to keep at it steadily all day with only a few breaks. At one point, as I was turning in circles, I had a light bulb moment and asked myself, what’s the worst thing that could happen if I made the wrong decision and what difference would it really make? That usually resulted in a purged item! So did the glucose treats make the difference? Not sure but it sure made it more fun WIll have to keep testing this theory to see if it works consistently.

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