Apathy or laziness. Activity at zero

My grandmother died when she was 87 years old. Four months before her death, the cheerful old woman suddenly lost interest in everything in the world. She was no longer interested in the program about the court, each episode of which she enthusiastically retold.

She didn't feel like eating and refused to take pills. It felt like she was getting lazy. So it seemed to me then. Then I learned that this state of laziness is apathy, which happens in older people before death.

In fact, this is a refusal to live while still alive.

Laziness or apathy, that is the question?

When apathy and laziness overtakes an elderly person, this is probably understandable. But apathy and laziness are also characteristic of very young people. Who hasn't had this happen? You wake up in the morning and don’t want anything. Nothing at all. No getting up, no going anywhere, not even taking a shower or eating.

This condition is evidenced by 16-year-old teenagers, 25-year-old young professionals, and 40-year-old successful, accomplished people. But old age is far away - where then does this condition come from? And why does overcoming laziness and apathy at such an early age seem difficult and sometimes unrealistic?

Moreover, this condition is no less powerful than that of the 87-year-old woman before her death. At least that's how it feels to a person. There is no strength for anything, the world seems like gray cardboard, and it seems there is no way to force yourself to do something, to overcome such apathy and laziness.

Or maybe the whole reason is vitamin deficiency?

Psychology of laziness

We often talk about laziness and fight it, but at the same time we limit ourselves to a superficial understanding of this phenomenon itself. In the article you will get acquainted with various approaches to understanding laziness: laziness as a weak volitional sphere, as intuition, as an infantile state, fear of responsibility, defensive reaction, etc.

This psychological analysis of the concept of laziness in all its diversity will help you better understand yourself and the people around you. Understanding the nature of laziness will also help in the fight against it. Although it is not always necessary to fight it. Why? Now you'll find out.

Laziness as a low level of motivation for something

Laziness can be viewed not as an unwillingness to do something, but as a desire not to do something. There may be several reasons:

Unconscious resistance . Laziness is a kind of indicator that a person is going in the wrong direction. Inside himself, he feels that he is not doing what he needs, so he begins to resist and boycott this activity - to be lazy.
No negative stimulus . This is typical of a situation where a person's work is done by someone else. Then he understands that if he starts being lazy and doesn’t do anything, then there won’t be any problem. This can often be observed in children for whom their parents perform all household duties.
No personal gain . Most people who are self-interested are usually not lazy.

Laziness as a weak-willed sphere

This is the most common approach to understanding laziness. Strong willpower is required for successful activities. And laziness is the result of their absence.

To overcome laziness in this understanding, it is necessary to develop self-discipline. After all, no matter how tempting the goal is, you still have to use willpower.

Laziness as an individual style of activity

Laziness is part of “an individually unique system of psychological means to which a person consciously or spontaneously resorts in order to best balance his individuality with the objective, external conditions of activity.”

Some people need to do nothing (be lazy) for some time in order to reach the required level of psychological stress and subsequently perform any work efficiently.

Laziness as intuition

I think every person has encountered a funny situation when he was lazy and didn’t do something, and then it turned out that he didn’t need to do it at all. In this sense, it would be quite fair to talk about laziness from the position of intuition.

That is, laziness is an inner voice that can help you save time and effort in certain cases. But, of course, it can let you down.

Laziness as an infantile state

Laziness leads a person to a state of infantile inactivity: his voluntary actions are blocked. By the way, a person is laziest in the morning, immediately after sleep, that is, when his state is somatically close to that of the womb.

Laziness as a desire for pleasure

Laziness can also be seen as a way to enjoy the process and not wait for the result. For example, if a person has to work a lot in order to get pleasure far from soon, then he will prefer to do nothing and get pleasure now. In other words, laziness is caused by the remoteness of goals that bring pleasure.

Laziness is also a way to avoid displeasure. Already the ancient Greeks realized that for pleasure it is enough to avoid suffering. And modern man is lazy so as not to experience displeasure from his work or its result.

Laziness as a fear of responsibility

If you do nothing, you are not responsible for anything. Some people (especially those who were overprotected in childhood) are afraid to take responsibility. They initially regard the situation related to responsibility as traumatic and threatening. Laziness helps them avoid it.

Laziness as a defensive reaction

Laziness does not always have a negative connotation. Sometimes this is a sign that a person is subject to overload (whether physical or mental). Therefore, if you work a lot, but lately you are increasingly prone to laziness, which you are trying with all your might to overcome, it’s time for you to rest. It is better to regain strength and get down to business with all the enthusiasm than to exhaust yourself and work at half strength.

Laziness also has psychological protective functions. For example, with acquired helplessness, a person feels that he cannot take control of the situation, it is beyond his control, and then he organizes something like a “lying strike.”

Or another situation: let’s say a person is overweight. He wants to get rid of it, but he's too lazy. Why? Because along with excess weight, he will lose the “eternal” reason for his failures. He will have to look for the true causes of his problems, and this is a painful process.

Laziness as a resource state

Laziness manifests itself when a person feels a lack of strength for the upcoming work. Or he has completely exhausted his energy reserves. In this case, nothing good will come of it anyway - so the person is lazy.

Laziness as an engine of progress

Often a person was too lazy to do something, and he looked for a way to simplify his work. Even a hundred years ago people had to do a lot more housework and the like. In a sense, laziness pushes humanity towards more and more new inventions that make our lives easier.

An interesting fact: if a person does not start a task, but thinks about how to complete it with the least effort, then from the outside he looks like a lazy person who does nothing. And after they tell him about it, he will most likely believe it himself and stop thinking about it!

Laziness as an activity

Laziness is the desire to do what is not the most important and relevant at the current moment. After all, what we call laziness is not doing absolutely nothing. Laziness is also an activity, only less significant in a given situation.

For example, reading a book is undoubtedly an activity. But if a person needs to write a report at this time, reading is regarded as laziness. Thus, laziness is not a lack of activity, but a low-priority activity.

As you can see, even such an ordinary concept as laziness can be so complex and multi-valued. I hope this encourages you to further explore seemingly familiar everyday phenomena. Sometimes familiar things are more interesting than we think.

I wish you success!

The article was written based on the scientific work of V.V. Vorobyova and I.S. Yakimanskaya “Psychology of laziness: statement of the problem”

Author: Igor Boltovnin

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Myth #4: Depression always has a psychological cause.

Actually not always. Indeed, depression often occurs against the background of a negative event in life. However, it also happens that the reason is physiological in nature. Depression can occur against the background of reduced immunity, health problems, or hormonal imbalances. Also at risk are people who adhere to a strict diet for a long time, because there are no antidepressant foods in their diet.

Myth No. 9: Depression occurs due to vitamin deficiency and lack of sun

In fact, depression does not depend on the time of year. It can also occur on a hot summer day, everything is very individual. During vitamin deficiency and lack of sun, drowsiness appears, it is difficult to wake up, there is no desire to work, and fatigue occurs. These are signs of decreased tone, but not illness.

Periodic blues are normal, but, unlike depression, this condition passes quickly. Sometimes it is enough for the sun to appear on the street or for the feeling of the approaching New Year to arise. During depression, a person’s condition will not improve due to holiday turmoil or cheerful guests.

Are apathy and loss of strength a warning sign?

Reluctance to do anything is periodically observed in all people. And that's okay. But only until such reluctance develops into indifference to everything. In this case, you lose interest in what is happening, you don’t want to go outside, sometimes you don’t even want to get out of bed. Doctors call this condition apathy. What problems and diseases are associated with this loss of strength? And are the causes of apathy always harmless?

Why is apathy dangerous? Loss of strength is often perceived by others as simple laziness. However, this is a rather difficult condition, which serves as the first signal of the development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Most often, apathy is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle or psychological problems. But sometimes it can serve as a sign of pathologies developing in the body.

The following symptoms are typical for loss of strength:

increased drowsiness; tinnitus; excessive irritability; flickering of flies before the eyes; loss of appetite; weakness, body aches; headache; sensitivity to cold; insomnia; excessive freezing of extremities; pressure surges (both increases and decreases can be observed); pale skin; attacks of dizziness. Signs of apathy are always individual. Therefore, some of the symptoms listed above may be absent. Instead, completely different signs may be observed (for example, an increase in temperature).

Apathy can lead to chronic fatigue

The person is constantly in a bad mood. This affects not only everyday activities (getting out of bed, going to the store), but also at work or school. Intellectual abilities decrease, labor productivity drops. Work or study becomes torture. Powerlessness appears and depression develops. This often leads to suicidal thoughts.

Loss of strength in children is very dangerous. If children or teenagers remain in this state for a long time, then they get used to it. In the future, they may completely lose their zest for life. Doctors call this pathology asthenia.

Most often, apathy is caused by excessive stress on a person, both moral and physical. For a long time, the unfortunate person tries to cope with such tasks. And when the burden of worries becomes unbearable, apathy begins to develop. So, the following moments can cause a breakdown.

High workload Work, household chores, problems of relatives, a lot of additional information and the constant desire to “get everything done” greatly exhaust a person. This routine simply drains energy from the body. There is a need to make up for it. But instead of the required rest, a person “pulls himself together” and continues to do work, housework, and children.

Chronic lack of sleep Regular lack of sleep may not make itself felt for a long time. But gradually the body becomes exhausted. A night's sleep is not only about rest. This is an opportunity to restore the body, replenish energy reserves and “reboot” the brain. Lack or reduction of sleep leads to total fatigue. Such a loss of strength is always accompanied by increased drowsiness.

Poor nutrition Vitamin deficiency can seriously disrupt a person’s normal life. The body reacts especially acutely to a lack of B vitamins. Such substances ensure the transport of nutrients and oxygen to all internal organs. Against the background of hypovitaminosis, tissue hypoxia develops (oxygen starvation).

A deficiency of nutrients can result in anemia. The human body begins to function in an economical mode so as not to waste the remaining energy. Visually, this mode manifests itself as apathy. Taking medications Some medications can cause apathy. Therefore, carefully read the instructions for all medications you take.

Some antihistamines, hypertension medications (beta blockers), antidepressants, hormonal medications, and oral contraceptives have side effects such as loss of energy.

Causes of apathy: 4 psychological factors If all your thoughts are occupied with some kind of experiences, conflicts or problems, then even a long rest is not able to replenish your energy supply. The following psychological factors can lead to the development of apathy.

Not Accepted by the Group A person who is constantly ignored by the people around him becomes an outcast. His self-esteem is low and his motivation is lost. Apathy begins to grow. People rejected by society eventually stop taking care of themselves. Their priorities in life change. A craving for sweets or alcohol or drugs may develop.

Myth No. 6: A depressed person is always inert and sad.

In reality, a person suffering from depression can work successfully, have fun with friends and smile constantly. Sometimes this happens to him out of inertia. At the same time, he may be in despair, struggling with thoughts of suicide and trying to maintain the appearance of a happy life. It is difficult to recognize the disease in such people, because only those closest to them know about their true condition.

Myth No. 11: Positive emotions will always help you get out of depression.

Positive emotions are really important when treating depression, but they alone will not help. Sometimes severe stress can bring a person out of illness. This occurs due to the release of adrenaline, which causes the opposite state of depression in the brain. Extreme situations force a person to mobilize to overcome the problem. It happens that after experiencing stress a person actually comes out of a depressive state. However, it should be remembered that stress causes great harm to health.

Myth #8: Depression is not a disease

Yes, the symptoms are often difficult to recognize. Yes, there is no single and correct treatment for all patients. But you should always remember that depression is a serious illness. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with depression have physical changes in the brain. During illness, an imbalance of neurotransmitters and hormones occurs in the body. Depression, like many other illnesses, affects your mood, thoughts and physical well-being.

Myth #3: Depression can be inherited

According to research, there is indeed a genetic predisposition to depression, but the risk for relatively healthy people increases by only 10%. It was previously believed that depression was hereditary, but new research casts doubt on this. Families with relatives who have had the disease are more aware of the symptoms, but this only means they are more likely to see a doctor when needed.