The Harm of Procrastinating on Mental Health

What is your idea of procrastination?

“Don’t procrastinate on your homework!” - something instructors and parents alike frequently tell us, students. But if we look at procrastination from a deeper perspective, the majority of us will start to realize that, as students, we associate this term with our academics. Procrastination should not be limited to just schoolwork and homework assignments. The societal idea of procrastination has been merely restricted to educational chores. Procrastination is defined as: “to put off intentionally and habitually.” Due to the standards held by significant people around us, we tend to overlook the fact that we occasionally neglect our own mental health.

Mental Health and Procrastination

Mental health, as we all know, is a major topic discussed/mentioned practically everywhere. Even with all the modern help and current assistance regarding people’s mental stability and wellness, we still have a tendency to disregard our own emotional requirements. As a result, we end up procrastinating our mental health, which can be quite harmful to us over time.

What are we looking at here?

Between the ages of 10 and 30, mental health problems are constantly experienced by children, teenagers, and young adults. The majority of these issues stem from putting off self-care activities and pushing ourselves past our emotional breaking points. Due to this, the prevalence of mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression, has significantly increased. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), students aged 12 to 17 had high rates of anxiety, which were swiftly followed by high rates of both depression and behavioral disorders. Being able to recognize our needs and make time for ourselves is beneficial to us, especially during the busy semesters of school.

The Harm: Anxiety and Depression

Whether a diagnosis has been given or not, many people still day-to-day struggle with anxiety and depression. However, there is a distinction between experiencing anxiety or depression and struggling with an anxiety or depressive disorder. The sensations of panic and anxiousness centering around anxiety cause these feelings to become quickly challenging to regulate. Meanwhile, depression is characterized by depressive and unmotivating feelings which have a strong impact on our actions, thoughts, and emotions.

Maintaining Mental Health

Accepting that we could be overly harsh on ourselves is not always simple, especially under pressure. It’s crucial to understand that we must speak up for our emotional demands. If we don’t, we will have long-term effects that will negatively impact and affect us in the future.

Sources:

• “Procrastinate Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/procrastinate.

• “Mental Health.” Mental-Health Noun - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/mental-health.

• “Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 June 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html.