Why is Procrastination so Common in Addiction Recovery?

If you can wrap your brain around the fact that addiction recovery does not entail only the act of staying sober it may be easier to understand why procrastination is such a common problem among recovering addicts. Since a major part of addiction recovery is about healing the addictive thinking mind it kind of makes sense that procrastination as a character flaw would be so prevalent among recovering addicts.

What Is Procrastination

Procrastination is classified as a type of avoidance behavior. The reason for this avoidance behavior is thought to be a mechanism for dealing with anxiety. This avoidance behavior is one that back fires. In a procrastinators attempt to avoid stress and anxiety they are actually causing themselves more stress and anxiety than what was originally there.

A small degree of procrastination is thought to be normal. It is when procrastination starts to impede normal functioning that it becomes a problem. Procrastination should not be confused with laziness. It generally surrounds issues of anxiety, a sense of low self-worth and a self defeating mentality. It is also very common in procrastinators to see and impulse control problem as well as the need for instant gratification. This is the link between procrastination and addiction.

The Addictive Personality

Those who operate with an addictive belief system tend to develop an addictive personality. This personality develops as an impulse of protecting oneself against the pain and suffering caused by not measuring up to what they believe they, others and the world around them should be.

There are many traits that the addictive personality will possess. So although the every addict does not have an identical personality, they do share identical traits. It is their reaction to these traits that makes for different personality profiles.

Of these different addictive personality traits you will find many that fit right into the understanding we have of procrastination. The need for instant gratification could explain why a procrastinator will put off something pretty important to indulge in something that will make him or her feel good for the time being. Being afraid of taking appropriate risks fits into the underlying fear that causes procrastination. All of these things feed into an addicts avoidance behavior which results in procrastination.

Recovering From Procrastination

We have the understanding that entering into addiction recovery is about more than just quitting whatever action or substance we use compulsively. It is about working towards healing our addictive thinking patterns. You will hear many addicts talk about procrastination when they are sharing with a group. It is a common theme in addicts for the reasons that I have listed above as well as it is a common speed bump that people hit along their road of recovery.

The first step to overcoming a tendency for procrastination is by acknowledging that it is there. If you don't accept the fact that you use procrastination as an avoidance behavior, you will not be able to work towards correcting it. Once you acknowledge that this is something you do often, you need to be on the look out for it.

As you go through your daily routines, be conscious of anytime you seem to be procrastinating. More than just being aware of it, you need to take into consideration WHAT is making you react the way you are. Once you identify the feelings that are causing you to want to use avoidance behavior, you will be able to see if you are being irrational about these feelings.

Here is the big key to getting over your tendency to procrastinate: once you have realized you are doing it, thought about why you are doing it...don't do it. Force yourself to do whatever the task is that you are trying to put off to a later date. By doing this you will be avoiding any of the guilt and anxiety that you would have felt by not doing the task. This reduction of guilt and anxiety will have an impact on your urge to exhibit avoidance behavior in the future.