20 Years Later, Publix Still Runs Westchase. Why Do We Crave Sameness?

Psychiatry | WellMinded Health

I’ll admit something. I could walk the Publix on Linebaugh with my eyes closed. Produce on the right, deli in the back corner, the same checkout lane if it’s open.

That store has been part of Westchase life for about two decades. Neighborhoods have grown up around it. Kids who rode in the cart now drive themselves there. And even as new options arrive (Sprouts on Sheldon Road just added a Buddy Brew café inside the store in June 2026), a lot of us keep going back to the same aisles.

As a psychiatric provider, I find that interesting. Why do we hold on so tightly to the familiar?

Your brain loves a sure thing

Every new decision costs energy. Where’s the parking? Which aisle? Is this brand the same? A familiar store removes dozens of tiny choices, and your brain appreciates the savings. Predictable routines lower mental load, which leaves more room for the things that actually need your attention.

That’s why routine shows up so often in treatment plans. Regular sleep and wake times help mood. Scheduled activities help people climb out of depression. Consistency is protective.

Routine is medicine. Avoidance just wears its clothes.

When sameness stops helping

Here’s the question I ask patients: is this routine serving you, or protecting you from something?

Sameness helps when it frees up energy. It hurts when it becomes a way to avoid discomfort. A few examples I hear in practice:

• Shopping only at 6 a.m. because a crowded store makes your heart race

• Never trying the new place because “what if I don’t like it” feels unbearable

• Turning down invitations because anything outside the usual loop feels exhausting

Each of those can look like preference. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s anxiety quietly shrinking your world.

A simple test

Ask yourself two things.

First, if the routine were interrupted tomorrow, would you feel mildly inconvenienced, or genuinely distressed?

Second, have your routines gotten narrower over the past year?

Mild inconvenience is normal. Real distress, or a world that keeps getting smaller, is worth talking about with someone.

Try one small change this week

Pick something low-stakes. A different checkout lane. A new coffee order. A different route home on Countryway. Notice what your body does. If it’s a shrug, great. If it’s a spike of dread out of proportion to the change, that’s useful information.

Serving the neighborhood we shop in

WellMinded Health cares for adults across Westchase, Citrus Park, Keystone and Oldsmar. We treat anxiety, depression, ADHD and stress-related conditions, in person at our Westchase office or by secure video anywhere in Florida.