Youth Incorporated Magazine

“Stop being lazy!”, “Get yourself up and do some work”, “you are too lazy for your age”. These are some common phrases that people with signs of depression may hear. What people believe to be mere laziness, could actually be depressed behavior. People suffering from depression are often labeled as lazy, and it can be a horrible feeling for the person who’s fighting the battle. If you too feel the following symptoms of being ‘lazy’, it might be your undiagnosed depression, and you may need to seek help from a professional.

You have a pile of incomplete chores

If you are a working individual, there might be an increase in your inability to meet your goals and objectives, and thus you can get the tag of being inefficient, or even unprofessional. Also, if you pile up your chores and be negligent about it, it can come across to people as laziness. But what you consider to be your laziness and uninterest, can be a serious sign of depression.

You are always low on energy

If you notice yourself always being low on energy, even at your happiest moments, it is time for you to take a deeper look into the problem. Inactive social life, isolating yourself, preferring to be alone all the time, and finding a comfort zone and sticking to it are some of the symptoms of depression. Such behavior can make you look arrogant and lazy.

You have developed unhealthy eating habits

Needless to say, our mental health can significantly affect our appetite. Depressed people have abnormal eating patterns, like eating too much or too less. While many people take on to overeating, some might lose their appetite completely and stop eating, as eating can be a big task for them.

You take frequent breaks

You find it difficult to concentrate on a particular work for a long period of time, and hence, end up taking frequent breaks in between. You prefer resting for long hours and it is extremely difficult to get out of bed since you feel more exhausted and tired. You take these breaks to hide away from your comfort zone.

Neglecting your personal hygiene

You are not in the right mind to groom yourself. You don’t give your body the care and love it needs, and hence become negligent about your personal hygiene and appearance. Though these things might be considered lazy and sluggish, it might also indicate that you are depressed.

Fatigue

You might feel extremely tired to work, performing your daily tasks, or see friends and meeting people. Depression causes fatigue which affects your ability to perform these tasks. This behavior can easily be confused with laziness. But what many people conveniently forget is that fatigue is not a choice. It is a health condition that is preventing a person from finding the energy and interest to do any kind of work.

After reading this, you might have realized that general laziness and a lack of willpower and intention are two different things. While the former is a type of behavioral characteristic, the latter is caused due to depression. Lack of motivation is a common symptom of depression, which causes a person to come across as lazy. Hence, before labeling yourself or others as ‘lazy’ remember that it might be linked to a deeper problem that needs immediate attention and help.