When it is not laziness: what can lie behind procrastination
Author: The Narcis editorial team · updated: August 24, 2026
Clinical review: a practising psychotherapist
There is plenty to do, the deadline is close, and you cannot begin. It is easy to call this laziness, but the same behaviour can have different causes. Sometimes a person is avoiding an unpleasant task, sometimes they are overloaded, afraid of making a mistake, or unsure where to start. Sleep, anxiety, low mood, attention deficit disorder, and other conditions also affect the ability to act.
Where does freeze come into it?
Freeze is one of the body’s possible defensive responses to threat. It can involve a sense of going still, a sharp narrowing of attention, or difficulty acting. But the mere fact that you are putting off a report and scrolling your phone does not prove that this is freeze.
What can help
Shrink the first step: not “write the report” but “open the file and write three sentences”. Remove extra stimuli, set a short timer, arrange with someone to be an external anchor.
If you are highly tense, a short break, movement, slow comfortable breathing, or another simple action that brings your attention back to the present can help.
And it matters to drop the label “I am lazy”. Shame rarely makes a difficult task easier. A better question is: “What exactly is stopping me from starting right now?”
When to seek help
If difficulty starting things, apathy, or exhaustion last for weeks and noticeably interfere with work, study, or daily life, it is worth assessing the causes together with a professional. It may be stress, anxiety, a depressive state, ADHD, sleep problems, or something else — and the approach to helping will differ in each case.
If this topic resonated — you do not have to sit with it alone.
Find a therapist for this topic →If there is an immediate threat to your life, thoughts of self-harm, or a sharp worsening of your state, do not wait for a scheduled session — seek emergency help. Where to turn →
This article is for information only and is not a substitute for an individual consultation with a specialist.