Laziness/lack of motivation.

[Mystic]

I've been told when it comes to schizophrenia, laziness is not really laziness, because it's not us just not wanting to do something but a symptom of the illness which makes us have lack of will or motivation that makes it harder to do things.

But it awfully feels like laziness, but a type that is very hard to overcome.

Every time there is an episode, negative symptoms get worse.

It's never been this bad for me. I feel so lazy. I just don't know how to overcome it.

I've had 6 episodes, and I think the last one really did it for me it terms of damage. I never been this lazy in my life. (I know we're not suppose to call it laziness, but it feels like laziness).


I wish I was motivated and was doing things. But I waste my days barely doing anything.

What does the medical field say on how to overcome this?

[c172]

I don't have schizophrenia or anything a commoner would recognize as a mental illness, but I have suffred depression throughout my life, including, likely, these days. I have a massive problem trying to get motivated if I am under stress, particularly about my physical state that day or even having too many choices and/or obligations and not knowing where to start.

But I do find that if I just get started with something---especially if it involves going out somewhere in the neighborhood---I have a lot more motivation than if I didn't.

But I'm not a doctor.

[Mystic]

I'm thinking about going back to the recovery unit/hospital, because I was more active then...and get on a regular schedule...then come out when I feel really motivated. I left on a low motivation feeling, that semester I wasn't doing my homework...

I think I might go back...I'm not sure.

[AtheistMom]

Do you have close friends? My husband has some of these problems because of chronic pain related depression. Spend time with people who really care about you. Whether it be friends or family try to surround yourself with good and caring people. If they can help you in any way I'm sure that they will and once you lift yourself up a bit it may help with your 'Laziness' problems.

If you don't have people like this then I'm sure that there are many people on here who would love to be there for you. Feel free to message me to talk anytime! *hugs*

[Mystic]

Do you have close friends? My husband has some of these problems because of chronic pain related depression. Spend time with people who really care about you. Whether it be friends or family try to surround yourself with good and caring people. If they can help you in any way I'm sure that they will and once you lift yourself up a bit it may help with your 'Laziness' problems.

If you don't have people like this then I'm sure that there are many people on here who would love to be there for you. Feel free to message me to talk anytime! *hugs*

I do hang out with friends and family, but, what I really want is to finish my degree in university and go the gym often. I was auditing courses I already taken last semester but I didn't end up studying well. I want to learn well the courses I've taken so far that have to do with my program (computer science). I don't know how friends and family can get me to do that. My dad does nag me to go the gym, but I still don't go often (I go once or twice a week).

[Regina]

I've not had schizophrenia, but I have had mild depression. As a side-product of that, I have had severe procrastination issues before. So in this regard I can sort of relate to what you are saying. I can't give medical advice but I can talk from my experience. I'm still overcoming it myself and it's a journey I'm learning as I go along, but I'm definitely improving my attitude.

The first step really is to recognise you have the problem, which I think you have already done by making this thread. Being in denial that it's a problem means you can't address her the way she needs addressing. Also don't feel guilty or beat yourself up, many people go through this and you have to be easy with yourself. Making yourself feel bad is only going to put pressure on you.

I'm going to say take it a step at a time. You have goals, in that you want to go finish your degree and hit the gym. I think society has this way of only showing us the finished product - which in your case would be a ripped men's health model on his graduation day. It leaves you not knowing where to start, when really what you need to do is break down the goal into a series of manageable chunks that you can work towards individually.

Start with the small stuff you can change immediately, that isn't too intimidating. This will help you claw back some feeling of control, and improve your confidence for the big stuff. If there's anything you know you can study for your degree, even if you haven't signed up again yet, hit the internet and have a read, you will gain confidence in the knowledge you'll find and hopefully this will make you feel more ready to go back. Just do 15 minutes to begin with, you may get really into it and carry on working, or you might slump. Everyone does that occasionally, it's nothing to feel ashamed about.

Also going to the gym once or twice a week isn't bad at all. I manage 4 times on a good week, I find actually having a contract/membership with the gym makes me more motivated to go, since I'm losing money if I don't.

[robvalue]

Sorry to hear that Mystic. I'm afraid I don't know much about schizophrenia so I'll leave that to the others. But I also have very little motivation and energy, I spend so much time fighting my illnesses. My mind tells me I am lazy too, it's a terrible mental trap to get caught in. But the fact is, when you're ill, you have to give yourself allowance for that and not expect more than you know you're capable of. It's easy for me to say I know, I try and put it into practice and succeed only some of the time.

[bennyboy]

I don't have the same condition as you, so I'm not really qualified to comment. All I can say from my own experience with depression is that it seems to follow the principle of inertia: An object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. So each time I've managed to get out of a depression, it's because I took baby steps to get the ball rolling a little: at the worst, I literally made it my goal just to get out of bed by a certain time; then, to make the bed, eat breakfast and take a shower by a certain time, etc.

I've found by keeping a steady "acceleration"-- that is, by trying to do a little more and more each day, I can sometimes go from full-blown depression to a motivated, productive lifestyle. I've also learned that positive momentum will carry through until either I "reward" myself with a break from my success, or I get ill.

So my advice is just to find little things you can do that make you feel good about yourself-- cleaning your room, whatever, and just baby-step it up until you're running on all cylinders again.

[Creed of Heresy]

I've been told when it comes to schizophrenia, laziness is not really laziness, because it's not us just not wanting to do something but a symptom of the illness which makes us have lack of will or motivation that makes it harder to do things.

But it awfully feels like laziness, but a type that is very hard to overcome.

Every time there is an episode, negative symptoms get worse.

It's never been this bad for me. I feel so lazy. I just don't know how to overcome it.

I've had 6 episodes, and I think the last one really did it for me it terms of damage. I never been this lazy in my life. (I know we're not suppose to call it laziness, but it feels like laziness).


I wish I was motivated and was doing things. But I waste my days barely doing anything.

What does the medical field say on how to overcome this?

As someone with borderline personality disorder and type 2 bipolar personality disorder, trust me, it's not really laziness.

It's hard to be motivated when you don't feel things like other people do. What seems like routine daily activities become disconnected from your drive to perform the tasks.

Only thing people like you and me can do is go through therapy and medication to treat the issues as best we can, and then go from there. Tell you this much, though; you won't be able to overcome this on your own. This isn't some Hollywood feel-good movie where determination and strength and blah blah blah is all it takes to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to become millionaires; we're fighting against ourselves. And we need help. No shame in seeking it, just as there's no shame in a cancer patient seeking chemotherapy, or a diabetic seeking insulin injections, or someone with pneumonia seeking antibiotics.

Disease is disease, be it viral or mental. Only way to treat it is with medical help.

[Mystic]

Thank you all. I know little steps are the most important thing, but I have a hard time getting started on homework. I guess I got to learn just to do it.

I'm going to be changing my medications soon to a medication that is suppose to help with the motivation (Abilify), so that may help.