Chronic Procrastination As A Mental Disorder
What does it take for something to count as a mental disorder?
There are no bright-line criteria, but here are some common characteristics:
An abnormal cognitive or emotional pattern
That causes distress or impairment of everyday functioning and
Persists for an extended period
So what should we call it when someone regularly delays their work because they’re exceptionally impulsive or distractible—and this leads them to have worse career prospects and a worse sense of self-worth. The term “mental disorder” seems to fit.
Why does this label matter?
Because the labels we use affect how we respond to a problem.
Most people, I suspect, treat their procrastination as just another thing to tolerate. They think everyone has the same issues from time to time, so there’s nothing to worry about. Just carry on, and everything will sort itself out.
And maybe for most people that kind of attitude is perfectly reasonable. Their procrastination isn’t so severe that they have to worry about it.
For other people though, it can be a big deal. They lose hours of their life scrolling through an endless sea of engagement bait. They show up late to appointments. They put off major decisions until the last minute panic kicks in.
For these people, it can be helpful to think of this as a disorder. It’s not the type of thing that you just wait to go away or push past with more willpower. Instead, professional help is necessary to identify and fix the underlying issue.
Recognizing chronic procrastination as a mental disorder may be valuable at an institutional level too. At present, there is no clinical attention to the issue, there’s very little research funding, and health services don’t cover treatment. So despite it’s prevalence, it seems there’s been a neglect towards addressing this issue.
So yes, chronic procrastination plausibly meets the criteria for a mental disorder. And recognizing this is an important step towards addressing it more effectively.