The Many Faces of Indecisiveness

In Chinese medicine, we associate the ability to make decisions with the Gallbladder, part of the Wood element.

The gallbladder is a brilliant organ. It stores bile produced by the liver, and manages the ideal amount of bile distribution for digesting each type of food. It must plan ahead to have the bile ready when needed. The gallbladder must be decisive about how much to allocate. It must have the ability to foresee future needs, create a solution for those needs, and help the body move forward with digestion.

Recently a young woman came in with crippling indecisiveness. Simple choices, like which coffee to order at Starbuck's, derailed her and never found resolution.

As we talked about her experience of indecision, we both realized how nuanced this can be. Everyone experiences indecision in their own way.