Ego depletion, also known as willpower being exhausted, describes what happens after humans have to hold back repeatedly from something they want to do. Willpower is not infinite and being forced to hold back from something can make that person less likely to make beneficial choices and more likely to overindulge something.
Examples:
A person on a diet has to repeatedly say no to sweets around the office. When they get home, they don’t have the willpower to say no to a giant cake.
What it is not:
Is it not mental exhaustion from having to make repeated choices - that is decision fatigue.
