‘I’m suffering from a form of mental paralysis’: Sharyn Ghidella on why she can’t make a decision

I feel like I’ve been suffering from a form of paralysis – mental paralysis, writes Sharyn Ghidella.

It’s a self diagnosis I know, but recently I feel like I’ve been suffering from a form of paralysis – mental paralysis, to be precise. Now, I know my cerebral matter sometimes operates at the efficiency of an unplugged toaster, but lately, it just seems even less inclined to do its job.

And this became very apparent recently, when I ducked into the supermarket to grab a couple of things. You know those shops when you optimistically take in one shopping bag and you leave with a trolley FULL of groceries.

But, on this occasion, I really did only need two things – a packet of cereal and some AA batteries for the TV remote control (if and when you can actually find it).

Sounds easy enough, except when I hit the breakfast cereal aisle, that brain of mine was definitely … toast.

Houston, there really was a problem.

10 News First, Queensland - Sharyn Ghidella. Photo: Network 10.

There before me was a towering mountain of cereal packets; a breakfast bonanza, all promising the best start to the day you could ever want.

And it was all so confusing, I honestly didn’t know where to start.

There were cereals with protein, extra crunch, probiotics. Cereals that help your heart, your gut, are low-fat, low GI, contain antioxidants, boost your energy and your iron.

It was a wall of wellbeing, all rolled into a couple of crunchy flakes and oats and, short of having a university degree in serial cereal deciphering, I was stumped.

Remember the days when was it was as simple as Cornflakes v Weet-Bix, or if you were really bougie, a plate of bacon and eggs.

Maybe it was time to ditch the cereal for some bread, instead. At least I can toast that!

But after having to decide between low GI, gluten-free, thin/thick sliced, low carb, high-fibre, soy, rye, white, wholemeal or multigrain, it was easier to just give breakfast a miss altogether.

Get the batteries for the remote, watch something on the tele, and I’d probably forget I was hungry anyway. Ah, yes, the batteries. Now, which ones did I want? Alkaline, lithium-ion, rechargeable? Maximum energy, high performance, 12-year shelf life, 10-year shelf life, gold, silver?

Lucky me, I picked the bronze.

Not to worry, who needs a high-performance battery anyway when your remote resides down the back of the couch.

Crisis averted, although it did raise the question: wasn’t there once a time when shopping was simple? Why do we now live in an era of paralysis by choice.

Channel 10 Brisbane newsreader Sharyn Ghidella. Picture: David Kelly

Do we really need that many varieties of milk – full cream, low-fat, skim, A2, lactose-free, almond, soy, calcium enriched, omega-3 fortified? If I was a dairy cow, I’d feel like a failure.

What’s wrong with straight-up milk (unless, of course, you are lactose intolerant!)

Toothpaste is the same. There’s maximum cavity protection, whitening, triple action, tartare control, complete defence. No wonder there’s also “sensitive”. My standard toothpaste is clearly depressed, because all it does is clean my teeth. How very inadequate of it.

Cold and flu medications are equally confounding. There are so many combinations – ones that fight infection, offer relief, treat dry coughs, mucous coughs … by the time you’ve read all the information on the packets, the virus has disappeared. You’re cured. That cough has gone.

Even worse, you were so bamboozled, you bought anti-inflammatories … instead of antihistamines. Now, you’re still sneezing like a malfunctioning sprinkler but, thankfully, that crippling knee pain has finally gone. Well, at least you won’t need a bandage anymore or the 500 different types of
Band-Aids on the same shelf.

Who knew so many of us are randomly tripping over and grazing our knees. Well, maybe it’s just the ones with a spring in their step, after they bought the anti-inflammatories by mistake!

Yes, we seem to be a nation in need of sticking plaster. Waterproof, extra large, extra tough, yet still, none of them seem to stick. Or the grip is so tight, you need a chisel and a pain threshold of 500 – somewhere between stepping on a piece of Lego and childbirth – to rip the damn things off.

Yes, the choices these days are so overwhelming, it hurts just thinking about them. We are all drowning in choices for nearly every purchase we make, and when you are spoiled for choice, sometimes you just can’t make any choice at all.

The solution: maybe I just need a Bex and a good lie down. If only I knew which of the 300 different types of mattresses I’d be sleeping on.