Decision Fatigue Therapy in Ontario
You've built your career on good judgment. That's not the problem. The problem is that by 3pm, even small choices feel like too much. What to eat. Whether to reply to that email now. Which project to tackle first. This isn't laziness or weakness—it's a system running on empty.
ACT-Based Approach
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to unhook from overthinking spirals and build values-based decision making.
For High Performers
Designed for executives, founders, and professionals who make hundreds of decisions daily.
Practical from Day One
Leave every session with tools you can use immediately—not months of "insight" before action.
Virtual Across Ontario
One less decision: no commute, no parking, no waiting rooms. Therapy from wherever you are.
What Is Decision Fatigue?
Decision fatigue is the deterioration of decision-making quality that occurs after a prolonged period of making choices, leading to impaired judgment, avoidance, or impulsive decisions. Research shows humans make approximately 35,000 decisions daily, and each one depletes finite cognitive resources. Unlike physical fatigue, decision fatigue often goes unrecognized—people attribute poor choices to character flaws rather than depleted mental capacity. Evidence-based therapy using ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) helps professionals develop sustainable decision-making systems and "unhook" from overthinking patterns.
Decision Fatigue: The Research
Sources: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Harvard Business Review, Baumeister & Tierney research
Who Experiences Decision Fatigue?
Executives & Senior Leaders
Making hundreds of high-stakes decisions daily about strategy, personnel, budgets, and direction—with outcomes affecting thousands.
Founders & Entrepreneurs
Wearing multiple hats means every aspect of the business requires your judgment, from product to marketing to operations.
Healthcare Professionals
Physicians and nurses face constant clinical decisions, often life-or-death, with inadequate time to recover between choices.
Working Parents
Managing a career AND a household doubles the decision load—work demands plus meal planning, childcare logistics, and family coordination.
Related: Therapy for executive stress and leadership pressure
Signs of Decision Fatigue
Overthinking Small Choices
Spending 20 minutes deciding what to eat for lunch. Agonizing over email wording. Unable to pick between nearly identical options.
Avoidance & Procrastination
Postponing decisions that need to be made. Letting emails pile up. Defaulting to "I'll think about it later" on everything.
Impulsive Choices
Making rash decisions to "just get it done." Buying things you don't need. Agreeing to commitments you later regret.
Irritability & Short Fuse
Snapping at family over minor questions. Frustration when asked to make another choice. "I don't care, you decide!"
Mental Exhaustion
Brain fog by afternoon. Difficulty concentrating. Feeling drained despite not doing "physical" work.
Self-Control Lapses
Decision fatigue depletes the same resources as willpower. Late-day comfort eating, skipping workouts, numbing with screens.
Exhausted from Constant Decisions?
A 15-minute consultation to discuss how therapy can help you build sustainable decision-making systems.
How ACT Therapy Helps Decision Fatigue
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is particularly effective for decision fatigue because it addresses both the overthinking patterns and the underlying anxiety about making "wrong" choices.
Unhooking from Overanalysis
Learn cognitive defusion techniques to step back from spiraling "what-if" thoughts without needing to resolve them all before deciding.
Values-Based Decisions
Clarify what actually matters to you, creating a decision-making framework that simplifies choices aligned with your core values.
Accepting Uncertainty
Build psychological flexibility to make good-enough decisions without requiring complete certainty. Perfectionism is decision fatigue's fuel.
System Design
Create practical systems that reduce daily decision load: routines, defaults, and delegation strategies that protect cognitive resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is decision fatigue?
Here's what I've seen: decision fatigue shows up when your brain has made so many choices that even simple ones feel impossible. You're not losing your edge—you're depleted. Research shows we make roughly 35,000 decisions daily, and by late afternoon, most people are running on fumes. The avoidance, the irritability, the impulsive choices you regret—that's not a character flaw.
How does therapy help with decision fatigue?
We work on two things: first, unhooking from the overthinking spiral—that loop where you analyze every angle but still can't pull the trigger. Second, figuring out what actually matters to you so decisions get simpler. When you're clear on your values, you don't need to weigh every option. You already know.
Is decision fatigue the same as burnout?
They're related but different. Decision fatigue is specific—your brain's capacity for choices is tapped out. Burnout is broader—emotional exhaustion, detachment, the whole thing. A lot of people have both. What I've seen is that addressing decision fatigue early can prevent the slide into full burnout.
How long does therapy for decision fatigue take?
Here's what I've seen: most people start noticing shifts within a few sessions—not because the problems vanish, but because you're relating to them differently. Deeper changes usually take 8-12 sessions. We start practical from session one. Sessions are $175 with insurance receipts.
Do you offer virtual therapy for decision fatigue?
Yes, everything is virtual across Ontario. For people dealing with decision fatigue, that matters—no deciding where to park, when to leave, what to wear. One less thing. You show up from wherever you are.
Ready to Simplify Your Mental Load?
You don't have to white-knuckle through every decision. Therapy can help you build systems that work with your brain, not against it.
Virtual sessions available evenings & weekends. CRPO #10979.