Chronic laziness - i bet you havent heard worse than this! I need a miracle

[hatred]

Hi everyone,

 

I am really confused as to what is causing my severe laziness and what to do about it. Nothing works - ive tried many things suggested by doctors, friends and forums. It just doesnt make a difference or change my mindset. Im really miserable, wasting my life and potential. I care so much and i day dream about how much i need to do things and how much i will regret wasting my youth when im older, wasting my potential. Yet i still cant do anything. I cant explain it.

 

I will arrive at college for a class, within the first minute all i can think about is how i can get out of there. I cant bare to be in class for longer than a few minutes. It is the same with class field trips. All i do is dread the fact i have to go. Its a nightmare and painful, even if we are doing something really fun. I just think about how long i have left, and how i need to leave somehow. I cannot stand it.

 

To be honest, all i can tolerate doing is sitting in my room on the computer. If anything or anyone requests my time doing something other than that, all i feel is annoyance and anger.

 

Im on a good medication that is overall great, for depression and anxiety - ive tried a few and this one is fine. Even without any medication i still have the chronic laziness problem.

I have set realistic goals. I have plenty of things to do - such as college work and my countless interests. I am so interested deeply in so many things. But in theory not in practice. I do have many passions, but i simply cant do any of them because my mind wont allow me. I have alot of work due next week, but am i going to do it now? Nope. Im just going to find distractions and procrastinate.

 

I dont feel sad or anxious or anything bad when the laziness takes over. I just simply cannot do anything. I think "ok do it now" and then my mind just says "nah too lazy" in a split second.

 

I love entertaining the ideas of how i will do these things - in the plans and goals i make. But whenever it comes to the time to do them, even after ive told myself everyday its time to do this certain thing, ill just sit there and say "i couldnt be bothered" - which makes me feel highly annoyed and i then continue to be even lazier to spite myself for being so lazy, to get myself back and wallow in the fact i cant escape this lazy curse. I then feel quite depressed and really irritable.

 

I will have a 4000 word assignment due for college, ive had 3 months to do it. During that whole three months i just only want to sit on my backside on the computer. Ill set a date to start in my planner. "Ok you will start tomorrow and follow this structure" its easy, its simple. But when the time comes, in a split second, my mind will say "nah, who cares, too much effort, i just simply dont want to do it so i wont". The months slip by, and i look back and cannot remember a single thing ive done for that whole period. Come to think of it, what have i done in the last 10 years???

 

The night before the assignment is due, then i start. At about midnight. Because i just cannot do it until the very last extreme possible time. Im so lazy i just delay it and push the boundaries as far as i can.

Ill do a half a$$ed job of the assignment, knowing ill just pass or just fail. And im fine with that, but still annoyed and slightly angry.

 

I day dream in my mind, cranes and assistants pulling my arms and legs for me to make me actually do things, and move. Ill sit there and get lost in those thoughts for a while, thinking thats exactly what i need. Someone to move my arms and legs for me so i dont have to lift a finger.

 

This chronic laziness was not present in highschool, until about my second last year in which i then left. Ever since then, ive developed extreme laziness and i cannot figure out how, what and why.

 

I needed to study for a few days straight for an exam. I wrote it down in my planner. The time came and just said "i really just cant, i need more time to relax" - even though ive been relaxing for the last ten years. Then i just continued to sit on the computer doing absolutely nothing for the whole three day period. I simply just cannot do anything. I do this with everything, ensuring a poor result in anything i am literally forced to do - the bare minimum to get by.

 

I would seriously marry the person who can help me, i am so so sick of my miserable pathetic existence due to laziness. I am confused and irritated. Please, someone be my miracle.

 

Thank you so much.

[camus154]

We can give you all sorts of tips on how to become more efficient or make better use of your time, but no one can do the hard part for you--actually having the self-discipline to get off your computer and start doing stuff.

 

Here's my tip--set your alarm for 6 am tomorrow morning. When you wake up, immediately put on some running gear and go for a 20 or 30 minute jog. Come back, shower, eat breakfast, and open your planner and take a look at your entire day. If you have time before your first class, get some school work in. Don't touch your computer. Your email, FB, and all the other BS distractions we've surrounded ourselves with in the digital age can wait. When you're finished with classes, eat dinner and then spend however many hours is necessary to keep current on your course work. Only after you've finished everything do you turn on your computer. Then you relax.

[sidehop]

Have you always had this problem since you were a child? Doing simple tasks that your parents asked you or in elementary school you just had no motivation if not couldn't do the simplest tasks?

 

Also you said you saw doctors; have you seen a therapist? There could be number of things with this type of chronic laziness such as ADD/ADHD but also executive functioning disorder that's related but is a severe form of unable to start a task or have problems making decisions.

 

Don't ever think or say to yourself that you're pathetic. You're a person. I personally have ADD and can somewhat relate. Overwhelming tasks including hobbies I like, I need to break it down into pieces. There are number of methods out there will work including chunking, having someone pressure/support you the entire time and also set a reward system. If your work is daunting, break it down to the smallest piece possible to get it done but reward yourself and repeat. It may take longer than someone that can accomplish a huge task in one day you have a different method.

 

Sometimes they do say anxiety is a cause for ADD/ADHD and vice versa. If you haven't spoken to any counselor about cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), I would highly encourage it.

[LillyLooWho]

It's a struggle for sure. On one side of the brain is the organized, motivated person and on the other side the lazy procrastinator. Some people never give in to the lazy procrastinator in them while others (me included) sometimes do. But I find that the older I get the better I am at doing things I'm supposed to do. Not all the time but more often than not. I think as you get older it will get better but I know that's not much help for right now. You might have to fail at a few things before your brain realizes that you have to put in effort to succeed.

[becomingkate]

I think you have a common problem. I found this article on how to overcome inertia:

 

link removed

 

The writer had difficulty getting assignments in when he was in school, and found a few different ways of dealing with it. I have similar issues, and the one piece of advice I have to get up earlier. That gives me the time I need to procrastinate, lol.

[EQIQ]

I started being like that when I started my second year of university. I just hated a lot of the course work, and couldn't be bothered to do it. I would wake up late, and sometimes miss class. Some classes that I hated, I would just fall asleep in them, and others I just wouldn't bother going to. I would always just do enough to pass, or slightly better. In third year things got worse, I actually had to drop some courses, and failed another.

 

At around that time I also went through a break-up and it screwed me up pretty bad, I was even less able to focus on work.

 

Fourth and 5th year were no better. Actually 5th, was somewhat better.

 

I still struggle with getting moving, and getting stuff done, but I am much better than I used to be. I find that I need to get involved with things that don't give me an option. I simply HAVE to do the work. I can't procrastinate, because if I do, I AM ******.

[LillyLooWho]

the one piece of advice I have to get up earlier. That gives me the time I need to procrastinate, lol.

 

Amen to that! I get up at 6 am to get to work at 9 am because I know I'm going to be slow and then I don't have to worry about being late!

[blueidealist24]

Do you have some physical problem that could be making you severely lazy? I had a friend who acted like this, and she was extremely overweight. I'm not suggesting you are, I'm just wondering. Anyway, she slept and ate all the time and put off all her assignments until she eventually failed out of school. Btw, she was on anti-depressants too. If you hadn't been like this for quite awhile, I'd say the anti-depressants were MAKING you lazy (sometimes they can remove the type of worry/urgency that actually creates productivity - I tried them for a couple of weeks and did poorly in school), but you say you have been like this for years. Hmm.