The state of being unable to act because of excessive analysis—overthinking every angle, anticipating every outcome, calculating every risk until decision becomes impossible. Hyper-analytic paralysis is what happens when the analytic mind, instead of serving action, replaces it. The sufferer doesn't make decisions; they make analyses of analyses, recursively trapped in thought without end. This condition is endemic among intellectuals, perfectionists, and anyone who has ever spent two hours choosing a restaurant on a food delivery app. The cure is not more analysis but the recognition that some decisions don't warrant it. Not every choice is life-or-death; some are just lunch.
Hyper-Analytic Paralysis xample: "He spent a month analyzing whether to ask her out—calculating probabilities, rehearsing scenarios, weighing outcomes. Hyper-analytic paralysis had him completely. By the time he decided to act, she was dating someone else. Analysis had cost him the very thing he was analyzing."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 17, 2026
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