Laziness can occur periodically and is believed to be more of a mental state, deliberate act or personal choice. Some experts theorize that laziness is a personality trait or character deficit, while others believe laziness is a behavioral sign of an underlying concern.
Apparent laziness can also be a sign of avolition. Avolition is a severe lack of motivation that makes completing any type of task challenging or almost impossible. It's sometimes a sign of depression and other conditions such as schizophrenia.
Avolition can make it hard to get things done even if there will be consequences, like losing your job or falling behind on bills. Research shows that even when presented with an award, those living with conditions that present with avolition may not be able to complete a task.
Many times, laziness is a symptom of something bigger, such as depression or anxiety. If you're feeling lazy you typically procrastinate on important tasks, feel tired frequently, feel a lack of self-worth, and are distracted easily.
Mental laziness and lack of motivation can also be caused by one simple problem: not having enough exercise and nutrients in the body. One should consider eating healthy food high in protein, such as green, leafy vegetables, and fatty fish. Research also suggests eating berries and walnuts and drinking coffee or tea.
Anxiety Can Appear to be Laziness
When someone struggles with anxiety, they typically want to do well. For those of you who know someone who has difficulty with anxiety, you also know they often avoid what makes them anxious. The feelings of anxiety are so overwhelming, it shuts them down.
What causes laziness? Deeming behavior lazy is a matter of opinion, so it doesn't necessarily have a specific cause. There is research that suggests things like age, habitual behavior, environment, energy, willpower, personality, and level of distraction can make someone more likely to procrastinate or not.
But science demonstrates laziness and lack of motivation are often red flags pointing to chronic inflammation.
The term avolition describes a significant decrease in initiation, motivation, and goal-directed behavior. 1 It is not a specific medical health condition but rather a symptom experienced by people with conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.
In short, ADHD is a real mental health disorder. If left untreated by an ADHD treatment program, ADHD can have serious consequences that affect a person's professional life, social life, relationships, and overall quality of life. Laziness, on the other hand, is not a mental health disorder.
Laziness is not a personality disorder. It's just a habit. Lazy thinking and lazy behavior, like any other habits, can be broken.
Both manic and depressive episodes can make you feel less motivated, although in different ways. According to 2019 research, people with bipolar disorder have significantly lower motivation levels, especially at work.
While laziness can be a coping mechanism in depression and anxiety, it is very common beyond these medical disorders. Even the most motivated and hardworking people sometimes feel lazy. “For all these arguments against laziness, it is amazing we work so hard to achieve it,” writes Hal Cranmer in In Defense of Laziness.
Having an inactive lifestyle can be one of the causes of many chronic diseases. By not getting regular exercise, you raise your risk of: Obesity. Heart diseases, including coronary artery disease and heart attack.
Examples of red-flag symptoms in the older adult include but are not limited to pain following a fall or other trauma, fever, sudden unexplained weight loss, acute onset of severe pain, new-onset weakness or sensory loss, loss of bowel or bladder function, jaw claudication, new headaches, bone pain in a patient with a ...
When we are faced with too many options, we can actually start to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. This can make us feel lazy and unmotivated to make any decisions at all. It's important to simplify your life and focus on what's most important to you.
Sometimes it gets obvious, and you can tell when someone is being lazy at work. Maybe they're always slouching, slumped over, have their feet up on the desk, look generally uninterested or bored… They're not “bodily” focused, so to speak, and they walk around, are always on their phone, and go to the bathroom a lot.
There are several reasons for a lack of motivation. Unrealistic goals, feeling overwhelmed or tired, and depression are a few of the common reasons.
The fear of failure can cause people to become stagnant and not take any action. This fear can make people seem lazy because they don't want to do anything in case they fail. It can also cause a lot of anxiety, which can further hinder someone's ability to take action.
“An individual with high-functioning anxiety may appear calm on the outside but feel very anxious internally,” explains Dr. Borland. “These individuals may try to mask their symptoms by taking control of the situation.”