Is Procrastination a Mental Disorder? Everything You Need to Know.
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Procrastination can become a chronic and pervasive habit that causes significant distress and problems in your life. It is sometimes legitimate to wonder whether procrastination is a mental disorder, just like depression or OCD.
No, procrastination is not considered a mental disorder. It is not listed as such, neither by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), nor by the World Health Organization in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
However, procrastination, especially chronic procrastination, has been associated with a wide range of mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD.
But bear in mind that even if procrastination is not considered a mental illness, it can severely impact quality of life and even contribute to or worsen other existing mental problems.
Let’s learn more about the reasons why procrastination is not considered a mental disorder and how it is nevertheless connected to other mental health conditions.
You’ll find out more about the peculiar interaction between procrastination and mental health and get better insight into your own situation.
You’ll also get a quiz to assess the level and severity of your procrastination.
Keep reading.
Table of Contents
Does Procrastination Fit into The Criteria of a Mental Disorder?
Research reveals that 20–25% of adults are chronic procrastinators, and about 50% admit they procrastinate occasionally.
Despite being a maladaptive behavior, chronic procrastination is not considered a mental disorder.
To understand why chronic procrastination is not classified as a mental illness, we need to dive a little bit into the definition of mental disorders.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “a mental disorder is characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior and is usually associated with impairment in important areas of functioning”.
The definition of mental disorder by the DMS-5 is also quite similar to that of the WHO.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
However, there is no widely accepted definition of mental disorders, and there is still debate about what exactly constitutes mental illness.
Understanding of mental health is still evolving, and the DSM-5, which classifies mental disorders, is in its 5th update.
To give you an insight, there were 182 mental disorders listed in the DSM-2. This number climbed to almost 300 mental disorders in the DSM-5.
There is some controversy about the criteria used by the DSM to include new disorders, and that shows that mental health is not a black-and-white area.
Let’s analyze how procrastination can, or cannot, fit into the classification of mental disorders.
It is widely agreed that mental disorders have two major criteria:
1. Significant disturbance in thinking, emotion, and/or behavior.
Mental illness affects the way you think, feel, and behave.
If you have depression, you usually experience negative ways of thinking and perceiving yourself and the world (thinking disturbance).
You may feel sad, hopeless, angry, irritated, and unmotivated (emotional disturbance).
You lose interest in normal activities; you stay in bed all day; you engage in self-harm; you experience insomnia and a loss of appetite. (behavioral disturbance).
Research has found a clear connection between procrastination and negative thoughts, emotional dysregulation, and avoidant behavior.
Procrastination is in fact associated with many maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, such as perfectionism, fear of failure, task aversiveness, risk-taking tendency, impulsivity, lack of motivation, and low self-esteem.
2. Distress in many areas, such as social, work, or family activities.
Mental illness affects almost all areas of your life in a negative way.
If you have depression, you start missing deadlines, being late for work, being inattentive, and making mistakes. This can cause you to lose your job.
Your relationship with family and friends will also suffer; you will lose interest in doing social activities, miss important events, withdraw from family, etc.
We can all agree that chronic procrastination can cause a lot of trouble in many parts of your life, depending on how bad it is.
Studies have clearly shown that procrastination has negative consequences on several aspects of one’s life, whether social, work, university, health, finance, family, etc.
A 2014 study done on 777 undergraduate students found that procrastination affects academic achievement, as procrastinators have overall lower grades than non-procrastinators.
Another study concluded that procrastinators tend to earn lower income than non-procrastinators.
Why Is Procrastination Not Considered a Mental Disorder?
It seems at first glance that procrastination has all the hallmarks of a mental disorder, as it seems to fit both criteria.
However, there is some discussion over whether procrastination is the primary cause of these mood and behavioral disturbances, or is it just a symptom or byproduct of other mental disorders?
For instance, a student who postpones his school assignments and prefers spending his day watching TV may be suffering from depression. So, procrastination can be viewed as a sign or symptom of depression.
So, if procrastination is a symptom of something else, it can’t be considered a mental illness per se but rather a sign of other mental health problems.
Some also argue that procrastination is a personality trait, just like sociability and openness, so it should not be associated with mental disorders.
In fact, there is a term for that “trait procrastination”, that describes this stable and deep-rooted tendency among some people to postpone tasks and always be late on assignments. Research has given some credit to this theory.
Answering all these questions needs further investigation.
Will procrastination be included in the next edition of the DSM? Well, mental health studies are still evolving, and future research may further clarify this question.
Further read on procrastination and personality traits.
Procrastination And Other Mental Health Conditions
There is growing evidence that procrastination is associated with a wide range of mental health problems and psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
Procrastination and mental health conditions seem to interact in a loop. Mental disorders can cause you to procrastinate; in turn, procrastination can worsen the symptoms of mental disorders.
Let’s go over different mental disorders and their relation to procrastination.
1. Procrastination And Depression:
Evidence suggests that there is a close relationship between procrastination and depression. The two seem to interact in a vicious loop that feeds off itself, although the true nature of this interaction deserves further research.
A 2016 study showed that procrastination is associated with psychological distress and depression among undergraduate students. Researchers believe that procrastinators may be more vulnerable to depression.
Procrastination can also be a warning sign of depression. That’s because symptoms of depression tend to contribute to procrastination and idleness.
Depressed people prefer staying home and watching TV rather than heading to the gym for a workout. When you are depressed, you also tend to lose energy and interest in doing day to-day activities, and you also experience trouble thinking and concentrating. All these symptoms hinder your ability to get things done.
On the other hand, procrastination can also worsen depression. This is because avoiding daily activities and being inactive make you more depressed, which feeds into the cycle of Depression-Procrastination.
In my case, depression was one of the major causes of my procrastination and general lack of motivation. I had to deal with my depression first, and when I got better, I found myself more motivated to get things done and more proactive about achieving my goals.
If you think that depression may be causing you to procrastinate, you need to assess the severity of your depression with this TEST.
Check this article for a more in-depth explanation about depression and procrastination.
2. Procrastination And OCD
Studies have found that some symptoms of OCD, such as intolerance of uncertainty and perfectionism, are closely associated with procrastination.
A 2010 study confirmed that obsessive-compulsive symptoms are linked to high levels of academic procrastination.
Here is how OCD can contribute to your procrastination.
OCD symptoms include intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). There is also a great deal of anxiety, doubt, and fear of uncertainty among OCD patients.
All of these symptoms make you more likely to avoid certain activities and postpone important tasks.
Say you have an unreasonable fear of contracting an illness, which is a common subtype of OCD.
What will you do?
➠ You get obsessive thoughts about catching germs in public places, so you start avoiding activities that involve contact with other people (stop going to the gym, avoid shaking hands, use public bathrooms). You’ll start procrastinating on basic tasks.
➠ You also develop compulsions, like excessive hand washing and house cleaning. These activities can drain your energy and prevent you from engaging in more important activities.
➠ You will also experience doubts regarding certain situations and fear of uncertainty. You will avoid situations that can potentially trigger those fears, whether attending a meeting, shaking hands with a colleague, or getting intimate with your partner.
All these aspects of OCD lead to compulsive avoidance, which in turn hinders your ability to lead a productive life.
More on this subject in this article, “Is procrastination linked to OCD?”
3. Procrastination and ADHD
Studies showed that people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to experience procrastination. They found that the trait “inattention” in ADHD is a major contributing factor to procrastination.
People with ADHD tend to suffer from more severe and chronic forms of procrastination compared to people without ADHD.
ADHD causes you to procrastinate mainly because the symptoms of ADHD fuel procrastination behavior.
Some of these symptoms include:
- Trouble focusing
- Being easily distracted
- Problem with organizing activities and prioritizing tasks
- Avoiding tasks that require mental effort
- Forgetting to do important activities and chores
You can obviously see how all these symptoms can hurt productivity and promote task avoidance.
In addition, ADHD has been associated with anxiety and depression, which are both known to impair your motivation to get things done.
More in-depth analysis of ADHD and procrastination here.
4. Procrastination and PTSD
Procrastination can be a coping mechanism that people suffering from past trauma and PTSD often use to deal with painful emotions.
Traumatic events can affect you in several ways:
- PTSD is usually associated with intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts about past trauma (flashbacks).
- You may avoid places and circumstances that remind you of your traumatic event (avoidance).
- You also experience negative emotions, such as depression, anxiety, and anger (mood disturbance).
- You overreact physically and emotionally to trauma by being easily irritable, having difficulty concentrating, being hypervigilant, and having sleep problems (hyperarousal).
As with other mental disorders, PTSD can cause you to avoid uncomfortable and unpleasant activities that trigger negative memories and emotions. E.g., someone who got assaulted may avoid crowdy places and postpone activities in public places.
Besides, the psychological and physiological effects of PTSD can also contribute to procrastination behavior. Some of these negative effects include anxiety, low mood, fatigue, sleeplessness, loss of interest in normal activities, and low motivation.
Trauma can impact your ability to regulate your emotions and exert self-control. Research has demonstrated a significant association between PTSD and impulsive behaviors like binge eating and substance abuse. Poor self-regulation is known to be one of the root causes of procrastination.
Finally, studies have shown that traumatic events can have a devastating impact on your belief system and how you view yourself, others, and the world in general.
If your core belief is “I am a failure” you will start avoiding activities because of the fear of failure.
For more on this subject, check out this article: Is Procrastination A Trauma Response? Uncovering The Hidden Link
5. Procrastination and Anxiety
I believe this is the most obvious one: procrastination and anxiety usually go hand in hand. Procrastination can, in fact, cause major stress and anxiety in your life.
Scientific research has found that procrastination and anxiety interact in a loop. Studies done on academic procrastination among students revealed that procrastination increases the level of anxiety. In turn, high levels of anxiety cause more procrastination.
Anxious people tend to worry excessively, sometimes unreasonably, about most things. You may worry about missing a deadline, failing your exams, or giving a presentation.
You then start postponing tasks that trigger these worries. For example, you postpone studying for your exam because studying reminds you of your fear of failing that same exam. This situation seems paradoxical, but it does occur.
Anxiety can also create other problems, such as poor concentration, insomnia, physical pain, and low mood. All these mental and physical problems can affect your ability to perform and get things done.
On the other hand, procrastination causes you to delay important tasks and activities, and as time goes on, your responsibilities pile up and it gets harder to accomplish them. This creates a sense of overwhelm, hopelessness, and helplessness. Which can cause further anxiety and stress.
And the loop keeps feeding off itself.
What Should You Do If You Have Symptoms of a Mental Disorder?
We all feel sad and anxious from time to time! We can get obsessive about certain things and sometimes behave in an unreasonable way. There is nothing wrong with that.
However, if you experience symptoms of a mental illness that last for weeks and are severe enough that they start interfering with your daily functioning, it may be time to seek some help.
This is because you can’t just get over depression or anxiety by yourself; you need professional help. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way.
Once you get your mental health in check and your mood stabilizes, your procrastination will eventually get better.
If you have a problem with your mental health but are hesitant to ask for help in person, there is specialized online therapy available with licensed therapists.
According to the American Psychological Association, teletherapy is just as effective as in-person sessions for treating a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders.
One of the leading online therapy platforms you can try is Talk Space, which includes a wide network of licensed providers covering a broad range of mental health specialties.
Important Note:
Procrastination and mental disorders usually interact in complex and peculiar ways. These interactions do not apply in all situations, every person is unique. This means that not everyone who suffers from a mental disorder automatically procrastinates, and not all procrastinators have mental disorders.
The type of procrastination referred to in this article is mainly chronic procrastination, which tends to be persistent, pervasive and problematic.
See my article on chronic procrastination.
Take this quiz to assess your level of procrastination.
Takeaways
Even though procrastination isn’t technically a mental disorder, it has some of the same symptoms, such as mood and behavior disturbances and problems in many areas of life.
There is some debate on the true nature of procrastination; whether is it a mental disorder, a symptom of other mental disorders, or is it just a personality trait.
Chronic procrastination is associated with a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD and PTSD.
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About the author
My name is Sam David. I am the founder of "Proactivity Lab," a website that provides comprehensive strategies and resources for understanding and overcoming procrastination.
The website's resources are the culmination of more than 20 years of research and experience, during which I embarked on a long and gruelling journey of study and self-discovery.
Being a former procrastinator myself, it took me years of investigation and numerous trials and errors to gain a clear understanding of the underlying causes of procrastination and the most effective and scientifically supported strategies to permanently conquer the vicious cycle of procrastination.
I would like to share my knowledge with you, for free.
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