Depression doesn’t just affect your mood – it fundamentally changes how your brain processes motivation and decision-making, as well as how you see the world around you.1 Assessing whether or not there’s a connection between procrastination and depression can help you seek out professional help when it’s needed.
If you’re experiencing procrastination alongside the symptoms of depression, a mental health professional can provide support and guidance. This page can also help, as it explores the potential relationship between procrastination and depression, along with:
How to recognize the signs of depression in your daily life
Procrastination can be emotional as well as behavioral. For example, you might feel guilty about avoiding tasks on your to-do list and feel anxious about the consequences, getting frustrated with yourself for not persevering and getting things done. This self-criticism can intensify the negative feelings associated with what you’re putting off, making it even harder to begin next time.
For some, procrastination can be improved by breaking tasks into more manageable parts or by asking for help. However, others might experience procrastination as a result of an underlying mental health condition such as depression.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental health condition that affects how you move through everyday life.3 It affects how people think, making everyday tasks seem pointless or overwhelming. Even the simplest of tasks, such as cleaning up or paying a bill, can feel like scaling a mountain. The delay isn’t a result of laziness, but rather a reflection of how deeply a major depressive episode can affect your ability to act.
Further, living with MDD can cause you to lose enjoyment in activities and tire you out – making even the simplest decisions feel excruciating.
These symptoms can last for weeks or even months, creating difficulties in maintaining your work, relationships, and self-care practices.3
Losing interest in activities, hobbies, and pursuits that you used to enjoy
All of these symptoms can also directly contribute to procrastination. They can create a cycle where you feel as if you’re falling further behind and struggle with the motivation and energy to accomplish the things you’d like to do.
Studies show that people who experience depression also struggle with motivation, focus, and self-regulation, all of which are factors that can contribute to chronic procrastination.5
When your mood is low, it’s much harder to initiate a task or sustain a high level of effort, especially with things that feel demanding. Over time, avoiding these responsibilities can intensify feelings of guilt and self-blame – which can also deepen depressive symptoms.
Research also suggests that procrastination can often be an emotional regulation issue. When you delay something, you’re often trying to avoid discomfort associated with the fear of failure, anxiety, or self-criticism.2 For someone living with depression, this avoidance may offer temporary relief, but it also reinforces a cycle of negative beliefs that can keep you feeling “stuck.”
Everyone puts things off from time to time, but procrastination being constant or paralyzing can be a sign that something deeper is going on.
If you find yourself unable to start things you know to be important, or if even simple responsibilities feel impossible, this may point to underlying depression or another serious mental health concern.
When procrastinating behaviors are interfering with work, straining your relationships, and making your daily routine difficult, it’s likely worth reaching out for support. A professional can help you identify what’s driving your avoidance and teach you new strategies in a compassionate and sustainable way.
If several depression symptoms feel familiar and have lasted more than a week or two, it might be time to reach out for more support. Depression is treatable, and getting help can provide the boost you need to start feeling better.
AMFM is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Treatment for depressive symptoms combines the best evidence-based therapies, psychiatric care, and other wellness activities to help you break the neurochemical imbalances and behavioral patterns that keep you stuck. We discuss some of these approaches in the following sections.
Antidepressant medications can help you overcome depression-related procrastination. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are commonly prescribed antidepressants that increase the availability of neurotransmitters in the brain to help lift ongoing feelings of heaviness.
While medication can be a powerful ally in the recovery journey, it always works best when combined with psychotherapy and other interventions rather than being used alone.
Group therapy sessions can be used to help provide structured times to help you understand that you are not alone in your struggles, that your peers are also walking through these challenges, while also providing guidance, suggestions and communications from psychologists with specialized backgrounds. These groups can span a variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to art therapy, somatic therapy, and narrative therapy.
CBT helps you recognize and change the negative thinking patterns that make tasks feel overwhelming. For instance, thoughts like I can’t do this can be devastating to your motivation. Therefore, CBT helps you replace them with more realistic perspectives and learn new coping strategies for depressive symptoms.
DBT provides you with skills for managing the intense lows that are a hallmark of depression, increasing your resilience and hope for the future. DBT can be particularly valuable for adults whose depression often creates paralysis around decision-making and getting tasks started, giving you more ability to tolerate distress and persevere.
EMDR might be appropriate for those who are struggling with trauma alongside depression. This is because previous trauma can contribute to depression and accelerate the avoidance behaviors that drive procrastination.
EMDR helps you to process these difficult memories, potentially reducing their impact on your current functioning.
Led by a trained clinician, group therapy offers unique benefits for depression. Connecting with others and learning more about the effects of depression can help reduce shame and isolation, providing accountability and practical strategies around avoidance behaviors.
Mental health treatment offers several different levels of care that provide the right support and interventions for your unique situation. These levels include:
Intensive outpatient programs provide a specialized balance of inpatient and outpatient structure, offering three to five days of therapy sessions and supportive programming several days per week. You still live at home and might continue working, but you’ll also receive much more clinical contact than standard outpatient services provide.
PHPs offer full-day treatment several days per week while still allowing you to return home in the evening. This level of care also provides intensive therapeutic support for depression and mental health challenges for those experiencing difficulty functioning due to symptoms, but don’t require hospitalization or residential care.
Inpatient treatment for depression helps those whose mental health has been severely impacted by depression and procrastination. It combines psychiatric care, daily therapy, and other supportive services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Residential care usually lasts for at least 30 days, helping you to stabilize any severe symptoms. It also allows you to work according to a comprehensive plan to begin the healing process and treat your depressive symptoms long-term.
If your procrastination seems like much more than a bad habit, it may be time to reach out for help.
A Mission for Michael provides confidential, effective, and compassionate care that’s designed to address your unique needs in three states across the U.S.
Don’t let depression steal away your potential in life – contact AMFM today and let us help you rediscover your potential. We’ll verify your insurance benefits, perform a comprehensive assessment to understand your struggles, and create a personalized treatment plan to help you rebuild your self-confidence and daily functioning.
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