Let's Get Real | Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

It’s hard, sometimes, when nothing’s stopping you, to know what’s stopping you. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Are you stressed in your rush to meet a goal before the year ends? I haven’t decided if I am or not. Sure, I’m stressed, but it’s not the same stress I experienced the last two years of rushing to get books out before the year ended. It’s not stress of meeting any goals before this year ends. It isn’t illness, though I’ve had my share of doctor appointments in 2022.

This Year it’s Personal Stress

My oldest son learned of a major eye condition. I came close to hopping on a jet bound for California. He’s going through treatment which includes shots in his eye. After the specified number of shots, they’ll determine if he needs more treatment.

A very ill close friend I’ve know for years is having a difficult time with her health and is losing everything she has including her cat because she can no longer care for herself. Giving up her cat at this stage isn’t good for her mental health. Of all times, she needs her cat. She’s devastated.

Another friend and I communicated with one of her family members, as we bounced ideas off of each other to find the best place for our friend to live. Her family member found a place two days ago. She’s moving in today. Through her illness, I’ve learned a lesson about doing a better job of caring for myself so this doesn’t happen to me.

Whoever this new me is, has had a lazy year. It isn’t like I haven’t been writing, but four partially written books later, not one of them is ready to publish. It’s no different with reading books with none finished. The year started out in a new apartment, so for the next ten months, I “waited” to see where I’d be at the end of the year and dreaded making a decision on moving or staying. It’s good to know this is no longer a stressor.

Back to the First Paragraph Above

Maybe I am in a rush to see a new year arrive, but can it change me back to me? Since COVID came to my state, I’ve lived as if I’m waiting for something. Know what I mean?

Next, it’s procrastination that has me stressed and the fact I can’t find a way to move on from it. Have you heard of Decision Fatigue? I think I’m experiencing this. Combining this with procrastination seems like a losing battle. Again, this has been common in people since COVID too.

One of my best friends is a psychologist. The other day on the way to the hospital to visit our ill friend, I asked her about Decision Fatigue. She wasn’t familiar with the term. As I described the definition, she said she wasn’t surprised that it exists and was familiar with the symptoms. Have you heard of it?

Here’s some info:

“Decision fatigue is “the idea that after making many decisions, your ability to make more and more decisions over the course of a day becomes worse,” said Dr. MacLean, a psychiatrist. “The more decisions you have to make, the more fatigue you develop and the more difficult it can become.”
Lisa MacLean, MD via Sara Berg, MS
Senior News Writer at AMA.

Distraction

For the last half of this year, I’ve turned my TV on earlier and earlier in the day. To my credit, this doesn’t happen every day. This is odd for me, since I’ve never been a Daytime TV watcher since watching soap operas with my mom. It doesn’t help though I’m grateful – but my cable provider gives us the Premium Peacock streaming app as part of the package. Now, it has the Hallmark Channel on the app and free to me. Admittedly, it’s a nice distraction.

It took two years to make the decision on when and where to get my hair cut since my regular person retired. It’s been six months now since the haircut, and I’m procrastinating and questioning where to go this time. It’s a simple haircut! Ekk.

Here’s another article with a quiz:

“Decision fatigue is a new term based on studies finding that the more decisions we make, the worse our judgement gets as we become increasingly worn out from, yes, the very process of decision making.”
Ellie Hughes via Women’s Health

The article in Women’s Heath was written in 2013, so I guess Decision Fatigue isn’t as new as I thought. I know I’m not the only one going through this. It’s too personal of a question for me to ask, but I wonder if any of you are experiencing anything similar. Maybe it is time to set goals for next year so this doesn’t happen in 2023. Then again, I’ll need to do more than look at a goal list.

Thanks for reading. Many of you are taking a blogging break for the holidays. Wishing all who celebrate a Happy Holiday season.

Don’t forget to take care of you, my friends.