Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

ADD and procrastination

27 November, 2012 - 5:26pm - ms

 

hi all

I am a lifelong procrastinator in many areas of life and have lost much through these behaviours. I have tried many organisational techniques, therapy with an emphasis on procrastination and now I am here (a space I appreciate very much). For the past few years I have wondered if I have ADD and whether medication might help with the distraction and procrastination. I am currently in the process of trying to get a diagnosis. Again. I am aware that I am investing a lot of hope in this. But there is a part of me that feels that this problem is such a harmful part of my life that I owe it to myself to try all avenues. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of ADD/ADHD in relation to procrastination that they might be willing to share with me? 

ms. x 

 

‹ Introduction Questions about starting on this path ›

Procrastination

sleepy - 28 Nov 2012 - 7:23am

 

Thanks for this topic, it is very useful for me.  I am quite new to this group, just a couple of weeks, but it has made a big difference in my days.  I now do in one day what I usually did in a week...

I have ADHD, PTSD, perhaps Borderline Personality Disorder, and some very rich and entertaining addictions.  For me, perfectionsism and self concept are front and centre, and what I have found with this group is that the support and structure take a big chunk out of the perfectionism.  Having seen myself become more productive has meant that I am quite shocked that some of the garbage I believed about being lazy and directionless is not true, and not as big of a problem as I once thougth.

Recently, I have noticed that when I repress emotions, that is when I begin to underfunction.  

I look forward to reading some of the materials suggested in this thread.  

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the
don'ts.  Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.  Listen to
the never haves, then listen close to me...  Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be"!

Shel Sliverstein

various causes of procrastination

jack - 28 Nov 2012 - 3:14am

I've tried three therapists in the past three years to try to get to the root of and deal with my procrastination.  The term OCPD was brought up at first, but for me I've discovered it has been more emotional stuff that I have been dealing with, a cause which is outlined in an article on the causes of procrastinationt here. Note this by no means definitive, you will see so many other articles and books in this area on on the causes in this website! And each person's journey in recovering from procrastination will be different.

Regarding concentration, here is an interesting article on this here. I have found the NowDoThis programme mentioned in this post really interesting to use. This flagson my computer screen one to-do task at a time, and it has been fascinating to see how my monkey mind jumps around, then a few minutes later I see the to-do task staring at me from the screen and me wondering what has just gone on and what on earth have I been doing!

There are quite a lot of tips and techniques on this website to explore, I've found Microbursts useful in getting started. If you check out the chat room you may see others using this tool.

I don't know how the situation is in your area, but dealing with age-old procrastination seems to be a still emerging field. The most current thinking seems to be in the book The Procrastination Equation.

In my sitiuation it is only my third therapist (who is trained in dealing with addictions) who in my case has been able to even start to deal with what is underlying my procrastination. Plus my journey working the 12-Steps which is a significant part of PA and dealing with addiction (which I am working through with a sponsor in another fellowship) has been very challenging but illuminating. But note viewing procrastination as an addiction seems to be a relatively new way of thinking and it depends on an individual's situation if this is useful or not.

All the best with your journey and with your diagnosis, and getting to the root of things. And do enjoy having a look around the PA website, take what you want and leave the rest! 

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ms - 28 Nov 2012 - 6:14am

 

Thanks Jack. I have been slowly reading The Procrastination Equation and find it helpful, full of revelations, though I am not sure how long they last for. The addiction model makes sense in so much as it feels like we must be getting some internal rewards for this outwardly destructive behaviour.

ms.x  

 

 

@ ms

Hooch - 6 Dec 2012 - 4:54am

>>as it feels like we must be getting some internal rewards for this outwardly destructive behaviour.

Of course we must. A Psychoanalyst (or their patient) would say - there is a reason behind any aparently self-destructive behaviour, which is that at one time this habit must have served a purpose.


I haven't read The Procrastination Equation yet (tho it is on my list), so I am writing from ignorance, but if we call something an Addiction, does that not just raise the question, what caused the addiction? Or what caused the susceptibility to Addiction?

v best of luck with your doctors and in getting a diagnosis,

Hooch

ADD and procrastination

Hamlet - 27 Nov 2012 - 10:11pm

Dear ms,

I agree with you that a connection exists between (adult) ADD and procraastination.  In fact, the many signs of procrastination are likely to be symptoms of ADD -- defined as impairement in executive functions regulated by our brain.  You may be interested in the studies by Thomas E Brown, a psychiatrist at Yale Univeristy who specializes in ADD and has developed a model of executive functions; and one of them is self-activation, the failure of which can cause us to procrastinate.  As a person with adult ADD, what I like about the Browm model is that it explains out struggle with procratination in terms of neural chemistry/brain development, not as moral failings. It is this understanding that finally freed me to take actions to deal with my procrastination by joining PA.

If you are interested, you can check out his web site at http://www.drthomasebrown.com/brown_model/index.html. or read his article on  Executive Function Impairment in High IQ Adults with ADD at http://www.drthomasebrown.com/pdfs/HighIQAdults.JADonlineversion.pdf

I would be interested in your views on this topic and wish you the very best with the ADD diagnostics you are undergoing.

 

Hamlet 

 

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ms - 28 Nov 2012 - 5:20am

 

Hamlet this is so interesting, thank you. the description of executive function impairment is particularly pertinent, particularly the short term memory part. 

 thanks and appreciation.

 ms.x 

 

Welcome ms x

andy_b - 27 Nov 2012 - 6:25pm

Welcome to the forum ms. x. I haven't had experience with the add / adhd, but I hope you will let us know what your exploration turns up.

Thanks for your share,

andy 

thanks andy, and hi to you

ms - 28 Nov 2012 - 5:14am

thanks andy, and hi to you too. 

 ms.x