How to tell the difference between laziness and mental illness

[sisyphus_]

Hello,

For a while I've been thinking about my life and my vices/lacks and how to basically fix myself and be the person I actually wanna be, and I started to wonder whether I am simply lazy or are my lacks are due to mental illness.
For context I am diagnozed with GAD and medicated, and I also suspect I have adult ADHD I just haven't brought it up with my psychiatrist yet.
As a self assessment of my competencies and discipline I tend to ponder between satisfaction and terrible self criticism and there's almost no in between, I see that I've accomplished many great things and in my domain of expertise I have good skills and I've had a lot of great feedback before, but at the same time I have impostor syndrome and I start to doubt myself heavily once I'm challenged by something or I encounter any level of difficulty/new are area that idk much about.
What do you think of this dilemma, where do you draw the line of simply being lazy and actually suffering from mental illness?
Also what are some ways of combatting laziness and or managing the mental illness and it's symptoms in order to have a fulfilling life?
Curious to hear your opinions!

 

[4everHeartBroken]

Laziness is a choice. Mental illness isn't.

 

[sisyphus_]

Laziness is a choice. Mental illness isn't.

We could also say mental illness will influence your choice and will power, that's what I'm wondering about

 

[4everHeartBroken]

We could also say mental illness will influence your choice and will power, that's what I'm wondering about

This is a great topic. I wish I had an answer. I'm curious to hear opinions of others.

 

[astr4]

i'm in the camp that believes laziness is a symptom of mental illness. humans naturally thrive and are at their best when they have purpose. very few people truly want to sit around and do absolutely nothing.

we also need to ask ourselves what "laziness" is, and if we're simply throwing the label onto people that for one reason or another do not want to, or cannot be, capitalist slaves. you can spend your entire life volunteering but people will call you "lazy" because you don't have a job.

 

[Toxic Positivity]

What a great question. I think it's a moral judgement, but also, laziness has a specific feeling in the body. You are settling for work (your work) that is subpar, and you can feel that. When I settle for whatever I can get out of myself at any given moment within the confines of mental illness, it feels like I'm making a responsible choice, you know?

Like, maybe I can't shower every day, but when my hair gets greasy, when I'm going to be in public, when I don't want to draw attention to myself by being unkempt, I can muster it, and showering every now and then is a compromise I reach with myself. And it doesn't feel bad, because I know I'm working within what feel like my limits. But laziness, if it is judged as such, is what you judge it to be. So if it feels lazy, maybe it is, and maybe you can do better.

 

[Life_and_Death]

im not sure laziness actually exists.

like someone previously mentioned, its an option (understanding your response to them as well). but how much of an option is it? some chemical mixture in your brain is feel making you feel eeeeeeeh. even someone maliciously lazy (a relationship where one party doesnt help with the cleaning 'on purpose'), something probably caused that reaction. stress, a poorly learned habit.
i cant think of a single case where ive heard of someone being honestly 'lazy', it typically comes back to something.

 

[pyx]

it's natural for human beings to want to maximise their profits while applying minimal effort. laziness consists in curbing your payoff when the effort required is minimal. but this could, of course, be the result of some chemical imbalance.
you are not expected to bat a home-run the first time you play baseball, despite the kind of reward it may bring. you are, however, expected to participate in the game. laziness is prescriptive by nature.

 

[sserafim]

Sloth is not a sin. I don't understand why normies are so against "laziness" and why there's this drive to be productive all the time. It's okay to rest and relax, and have a year of rest and relaxation. I guess it's due to Puritan culture