We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Grocery shopping — we all have to do it. (I myself shop at a few different stores: I get the majority of my produce from Misfits Market, and always stock up on snacks and frozen dinners at Trader Joe’s.) But just because shopping for groceries is a necessary part of many people’s routines doesn’t mean that everyone enjoys it. 

For starters, there are a lot of decisions to make and countless aisles to go through. And let’s not even get started on grocery shopping while hungry. Turns out, your behavior around grocery shopping actually reveals more about you and your mental health than you might think. Experts at Manhattan Mental Health Counseling (MMHC) researched the topic, and the findings were pretty interesting. Let’s get into it. 

Why Makes Grocery Shopping So Telling 

Before we get into the shopping habits, what exactly is it about this seemingly mundane task that makes it a good indicator of a person’s mental state? “How individuals navigate the grocery store, from planning and pacing to decision-making under pressure, can offer a clear window into cognitive load, anxiety levels, and emotional regulation,” says Steven Buchwald, licensed therapist and mental health expert at MMHC. “What makes grocery shopping such a revealing experience is that it compresses a wide range of cognitive and emotional processes into a short period of time. People are planning, remembering, comparing, budgeting, and regulating their emotions all at once.”

The grocery store itself and the way it’s laid out forces you to make a million decisions at once — quite literally. “Across a typical day, adults make roughly 200 food-related decisions, many of which are compressed into a single shopping trip,” Buchwald says. Despite being in an environment that’s meant to offer lots of choice, you may end up feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or forced to make a decision — over and over again. Thus, any additional stressors from your personal life that have been piling might spill out into your average shopping trip. 

In essence, the brain may be going into overdrive, and the stimulation elevates your existing stress levels. Buchwald explains the science: “This combination of internal planning and external choice places sustained demand on executive function, the cognitive system responsible for attention, planning, and emotional regulation. As this system becomes overworked, decision quality and cognitive control begin to decline.” This sense of overload can lead people to make choices or purchases they otherwise wouldn’t. Not to mention, the endless choice and the sheer size of the grocery store can also make it difficult to prioritize or stick to the list you made. 

Even worse, this sense of exhaustion and mental fatigue can continue on far after the grocery shopping trip is done. “When cognitive resources are depleted, emotional regulation often follows. People may experience mental fatigue, irritability, anxiety, or frustration during or after shopping … while delayed decisions or avoidance behaviors can emerge when the task feels overwhelming.”

What Your Grocery Shopping Habits Reveal About You 

1. The “No List, No Plan” Shopper

If you go to the grocery store and just decide to wing it, odds are you’re already stressed out. “Walking in without a clear plan and feeling overwhelmed by options can point to executive function strain, where organizing, prioritizing, and filtering choices becomes mentally taxing.” If the thought of making a list seems like too much effort or yet another thing to add to your checklist, it might be a sign you need to take a step back elsewhere and assess what else is on your plate. 

Pick up an item, only to put it back or to come back to it? You just might be a perfectionist or have a fear of making the wrong decision. “Circling the same sections or repeatedly picking items up and putting them back may reflect indecision, rumination, or perfectionist tendencies.” 

Go through the entire store picking out items just to leave your cart near the exit? You might be at your wit’s end. “Leaving a full cart behind often signals a spike in [being] overwhelm[ed] or decision paralysis, where the cognitive load simply becomes too much to process.” 

4. The Off-Peak Strategist

Do you go to the grocery store first thing in the morning or after dinner near closing time? “Shopping only during quiet hours can be a way to manage overstimulation, often linked to social anxiety or sensitivity to crowded environments.” 

Do you always grab something right at the cash register when you’re getting ready to check out? “Loading up on snacks and impulse buys at the end of the trip is a classic sign of decision fatigue, when mental energy is depleted and self-control is at its lowest.” 

Tips for Managing Grocery Shopping Stress 

If you’re guilty of any of the above habits, don’t fear. Grocery shopping doesn’t have to be stressful. The experts at MMHC have rounded up some tips to make the experience more enjoyable.