You Struggle With Other Unexplained Symptoms
Aside from the emotional toll your so-called laziness seems to take on you, youve also noticed some other unexplained physiological symptoms, too. For example, maybe youre having trouble falling or staying asleep, or find yourself sleeping too much. Maybe youve lost your appetite or started overeating out of the blue. Other common examples include: sudden heart palpitations/racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and chronic pain and fatigue, even when doing nothing .
Lazy Vs Depression: More Ways Tell The Difference
Life with depression can leave you faced with emotional pain and paralyzed by fear, emptiness, and isolation. But, its different than being lazy or choosing to do nothing.
Depression creeps into your whole body and floods your veins with cold, dark, nothingness. For some, it hurts. The body tenses up, and the person struggles with body pain body pain that doesnt make sense to others. For others, it causes them to sleep. This can be mistaken for laziness but rest assured, this isnt.
The sleep that depression brings is like sleep that never satisfies the body. The body feels intense fatigue, and the eyes are so heavy. These feelings can be so intense and so strong that a person cant function. The pain and fatigue that depression brings is something I wouldnt wish on anyone, even my worst enemy. And while youre in pain, depression is fueling your inner narrative with self-doubt, self-hate, and toxic negativity.
Your Drinking/smoking Has Gotten Out Of Control
While recreational drinking and smoking are perfectly normal and harmless, when you reach the point where one glass of wine in the evening doesnt quite feel enough, chances are you might be dealing with more than just a bad day.
Just like emotional eating, alcohol and substance abuse can have a temporary soothing effect, keeping you disconnected from the painful aspects of your life.
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Its Causing Bigger Problems In Your Life
Often, depression causes serious problems in someones life. Their depression might cause them to call out sick and generally be unproductive, which leads to problems at work. Irritability can also be a symptom of depression, which can lead to problems in relationships. They may stop taking care of themselves in basic ways. If the fact that youre feeling like a couch potato is seriously disrupting your life, then you could be suffering from depression.
Am I Lazy Or Depressed
Depression and struggles with laziness both impact your energy levels, motivation and productivity. Thus, it may be tricky trying to decipher what you are experiencing. If you feel like something is off, take a step back and self-reflect. First, determine your baseline in other words what is normal or typical functioning for you. Only you know your own capabilities and how you feel, think, and act when you are in that sweet spot.
Here are some questions to consider to determine whether youre lazy or depressed:
- Can I accomplish the task/s at hand with will power and determination?
- Am I having trouble getting any task/activity started?
- Am I avoiding certain tasks because they seem too complicated?
- Am I more physically exhausted than usual?
- Am I feeling overwhelmed by having too much going at once?
- Have I lost interest in not just doing certain tasks, but also in things I enjoy?
- Am I finding it harder than usual to jump back into my responsibilities and/or getting back on track?
- Have I ever felt uninspired/under stimulated or like this in the past? If so, how did I cope?
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The Key Differences Between Depression And Laziness
Depression and laziness have a lot in common, which is why many people are mislabeled as lazy.
The reason the “L-word” often goes with depression is that it is a common symptom of depression and mental illness.
Depression and laziness both affect motivation, concentration, energy levels, and the quality of work produced.
The difference is that depression affects one’s mental health and mood, while lazy people are just unmotivated by things outside their control because they lack self-awareness or insight into what motivates them.
Why Depression And Laziness May Be The Same Thing
Lets get this out of the way first: laziness might very well be a myth.
We know you can hear a frustrated parent, teacher or boss in your ear right now saying otherwise, but consider some facts.
Most people understand laziness as a reluctance to do things, accomplish goals and exert effort. But typically, we see that in other people people who arent doing whats expected of them, or what we expect of them.
On the flip side, when we do see laziness in ourselves, were usually describing a lack of productivity or disinterest in the work and obligations in front of us.
But what causes laziness? Why are we lazy? Is it because were bad people? Unlikely thats societal stigma talking to you. Is it a mental illness? Well, maybe.
Laziness is popularly considered a character flaw, but like sneezing or going to sleep, it might be a sort of involuntary response.
Some experts consider it a form of self-care: we give ourselves space to do nothing because, frankly, its exhausting to do something all the time.
There are more pragmatic ways to understand laziness, though.
It could be a concern about the pain felt from movement due to medical conditions. Laziness has been linked to being overwhelmed with tasks, addictions to things like social media and controlled substances and more subtle unconscious things like problems with value linking.
Another word for laziness, however, is unmotivated, and this can happen for more serious reasons, like as a symptom of depression.
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Am I Lazy How To Tell
Am I lazy? One way to see if youre not lazy is to see if you can SMASH that social share button and post to your favorite social media! The articles take a very long time for me to write so if you could share the article for me, I would greatly appreciate it. In exchange, this article will bring value to you and your friends in curing laziness.
So with that said lets get into it and how you can tell if you are lazy.
Waiting Until Others Do It For You Due To Laziness
Are you waiting for something to get so bad because you know your friends will do it for you because of how bad it is? Things like taking out the trash, cleaning the room, and/or cleaning the restroom? You are lazy if you literally wait until it gets so bad for others to do it for you because they are uncomfortable.
Youre supposed to create good environments for your guests. Youre supposed to be a good host. Dont wait until others do it for you, youre supposed to do it yourself. Its your responsibility. Cleaning up the house for others to enjoy their stay lies solely within you.
Or if you lie around the house until your caring friends come to your aid to ask whats wrong. We all have days where we lean on others to feel happy. However, there comes a time when its too much. Sharing things and asking for input is fine but completely depending on someone else isnt.
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Look Around Your House For Clues
Are you asking am I lazy? Well take a look around your house. Right now. Do you have a lot of unorganized stuff laying around? Are there unfinished food lying on the table because you didnt throw it away? Ive been there before. However, the days where I intentionally leave my apartment messy is because Ive been so busy at work.
Its when I literally havent the time to actually clean around the house. When I get really busy, theres clothes lying around, laundry that havent been done in a month, and the whole nine yards. However, I always know that its a temporary situation, deep down inside. I always clean by the end of busy season.
You know deep down more than I do. Is it a temporary situation or is it a permanent situation thats been like that for months? You know you need to clean but youre just choosing not to because youre lazy? Only you can be the judge of that. Or it could be high time to start cleaning around the house.
What Is Causing Your Lack Of Motivation
People suffering with either laziness or depression are often unmotivated to do stuff. If you find yourself struggling with this, ask yourself why.
Do you lack motivation because youre sad and miserable or are you unmotivated because youd rather do something else?
Someone whos depressed will find it impossible to gather the energy to do anything, while a lazy person has the energy but is just unwilling to do it.
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You May Have Issues With Value Linking
I recently learned of the principles of value linking, and I wished I had learned them sooner. Value linking refers to whether you feel that a task aligns with your own values.
At work, were often assigned tasks that seem mindless or useless. If you get tripped up by value linking, you would probably have a hard time completing an important task for your bosseven if its a top priority and due tomorrowif you think the task has no value.
Most of us have the capability to suspend our thoughts around value linking enough to work on projects assigned to us by our superiors. However, some people find it nearly impossible to do work that has little perceived value.
If youre a value-linking person, its important to speak to your boss about this. Make sure you ask about why a project or task is so important.
Dig in deep until you can really align to the overarching value of a task so you can finally get it done. Otherwise, youll reject getting started and continue to procrastinate and earn the labellazy.
Am I Lazy Know The Difference
When youre asking am I lazy? you have to know the difference. Is it because of depression? Or is it because of burnout? You put out so much effort that theres not really anything leftover in your effort tank? There are many angles, perspectives, and reasons to find out the answers.
Understand the differences and the nuances because the solution for each of those feelings are uniquely different. The wrong solution will have you scratching your head for months when a simple solution could have been done. It may just be that you need to take some PTO for yourself and take a breather.
The pandemic forced so many workers to work overtime and overdrive to such unhealthy levels. That led to people prioritizing work above everything else. Companies became much more demanding. Theres a reason why companies are offering $20,000+ retention bonuses. Theyre losing people in droves.
Therefore, the answer to am I lazy may not be because of you. It may be because you literally dont have any more spare time to give. There are inherent differences to each reason. There are many tests like above to figure out if you are lazy or not. This may be one of the most important answers you have to figure out.
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Can You Treat Laziness
If its challenging to get motivated, but youre still able to get things done, it might be a great time to look for your passion. Working at a job you dont care about contributes to your lack of motivation. Instead, explore and find something that youre in love with. The job market is massive, and theres room for everyone, so dont be afraid to try.
If the lazy feeling is manageable and youre more or less lacking energy, Id recommend looking at your diet. Make sure youre getting enough protein, fiber, and water. If you find youre too busy for healthy cooking or perhaps you dont have confident cuisine skills, you can explore healthy smoothies, salads, and meal prep services. Proper nutrition and hydration can significantly affect mood and energy levels.
Are you finding that you feel lazy during the winter when its cold and cloudy? Try adding more light to your day. Are you feeling lazy at the end of a Friday work day? Well, thats pretty normal!
Telltale Signs Of Depression
From a cognitive perspective, depression fuels a negative outlook on things that overshadow any positive experience that life may surprise you with.
Furthermore, the negative thoughts and irrational interpretations associated with this condition are accompanied by sadness, irritability, emptiness, frustration, hopelessness, anxiety, indecision, guilt, and loss of self-confidence.
When you hold on to this perspective, you begin to lose all hope for a better future.
And if you think the future no longer presents opportunities, why bother trying?
But lets break these symptoms down and better understand how depression interferes with your personal and professional life.
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Focus On Resting And Recovering
The most important thing that you can do for yourself is to rest and focus on recovering, do not rush yourself to get better so that you can go back to school or go back to work.
Instead, take time to eat well, rest well, exercise, give time to yourself to think and engage in things you used to like doing before you started working- be it reading comics, or playing video games, or walking your pet.
Take effort to engage in things that you love doing, explore new activities if you feel like it and explore the world around you.
Depression And The Illusion Of Laziness
Part of the stigma around depression is that people living with it are lazy. Many of the symptoms of depression can give the illusion of laziness to those who dont understand depression. .
Depression makes it nearly impossible to start, engage in, and/or complete even simple tasks. Getting out of bed can be so exhausting that someone needs to fall right back into it. This means that working at any job can become impossible. Sometimes people with severe depression have to quit working and receive unemployment benefits. This isnt laziness. Its depression lethargy.
If you have any of these depression effects or symptoms and do not meet the criteria for laziness delineated above, you might be experiencing depression rather than laziness:
- Sleeping too much
- Low self-esteem
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Youre Drinking Or Doing Drugs
People with depression often self-medicate to ease the emotional pain. If, on your lazy days, you find yourself filling the time with drugs and alcohol, then that may be a sign that youre actually depressed. Are you using substances to try to feel less depressed? To give yourself more energy and focus? Because without them, you feel numb or apathetic? These are all signs that your drug and alcohol use may be getting out-of-hand. Depression and substance use disorder dont mix well, so if this describes your situation, then its important that you seek professional help right away.
How To Tell If I’m Depressed Or Just Lazy
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 15 million people in America suffer from clinical depression. It also causes disability in people between 15 and 44 years of age. Depression is quite common, but many people confuse its symptoms with other disorders. Similarly, some people are only lazy but they think they are depressed.
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You Have Physical Symptoms
Some people feel depression in their bodies we call these types of effects psychosomatic symptoms. Maybe youve started having headaches or stomachaches more frequently than usual. Maybe youve started eating more or less than usual, or youve experienced changes in your sex drive. If youre feeling physical symptoms, and your healthcare provider has checked you for other conditions, then the culprit may be depression. Just feeling lazy doesnt usually come with these symptoms.
Resting/taking A Lot Of Breaks
Rest. Literally sounds ridiculous that someone would tell me Im lazy because I choose to rest when Im depressed instead of throwing myself into the deep end that will make me more depressed. Resting helps me recharge faster, and because Ive done this more, my depression episodes dont last as long. Sloane S.
When I am not at work I take breaks in between tasks. I lie down with my heating pad and just rest. I set an alarm in case I fall asleep to make sure I am on time for my next task. I still get done what I have to, but conserve energy on my low days so I wont get overly tired and quit. I allowed my depression to get so bad once that my house was disgusting and my friends who helped me move saw it and I was so mortified for them to see it, but too exhausted to clean. I swore never again, so I force myself to clean even if it means lying down after each room. Charly B.
If you can relate, check out this list of 24 motivation tips to get through the day when youre depressed.
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One Of The Main Differences Between Depression And Laziness Is That Depression Is Felt More Consistently
As mentioned before, itâs normal to find yourself in short periods of sadness. These periods may last a couple of days, but what if the feelings donât go away after several weeks or months?
How long your depression lasts can depend on a few factors, such as if youâre receiving proper treatment or are making certain lifestyle changes. If youâre feeling intense feelings of sadness and loss of interest for more than two weeks, you should talk to your doctor or a mental health provider as soon as possible.
When someone is depressed, they may find themselves having dark thoughts or feelings. Sometimes they come at random with no warning and can feel overwhelming or confusing. It can also be very scary when they first start coming to mind.
Have you ever been going about your day and suddenly have an unwanted thought or image that you canât get out of your head? No matter how hard you try to put it aside, it keeps popping up in your mind.
These are called intrusive thoughts and can vary in nature. For example, they may be sexual, violent, paranoid, or negative, such as the feeling of not being good enough or worthy. Learn more about negative thinking patterns and how to manage, interpret, and reframe them.