Laziness or Depression

[eddyeti]

I have always found myself to be a fairly lazy person and have difficulty motivating myself to do certain, every-day tasks.

Is this laziness or depression?

My doctor has advised me of a few different avenues to possibly explore but, before I do, I was wondering if anyone else had any advise about what helps them to motivate themselves.

[Mastradamus]

Pardon me for saying but I think you already have the answer since you've described yourself as fairly lazy. I too find it difficult executing every-day tasks especially household chores. 

Believe it or not, there's a big difference between being lazy and being depressed. It's fair to state that being depressed is when you're unable to feel excited or motivated at everything you do. I think your case is quiet different since you get lazy only around household chores, or so. However, one might think differently since you've gone as far as seeing a doctor. But since the doctor only adviced you on different avenues to explore and not prescribed drugs, then I can still assume your case is the usual lazy man's behavior. 

In my own case, I've been able to motivate myself by attaching meaning to everyday task. That brings me to point on mindset. I believe motivation has everything to do with mindset. If you're able to set your mind towards doing something, then there's a high possibility that no matter what avenue you've been advised to explore, it won't work because you still need motivating to indulge. I suggest you find a close friend who will be willing and is able to compel you into doing things. I find people to be the best of motivations. 

[Raja33]

I experienced some depression in the past, so I can resonate with your sense of having difficulty in motivating yourself. In my personal case, the lack of motivation was clearly depression. Now that I'm totally over my depression, I feel I can give you some personal suggestions about how to overcome that sense of laziness-depression. The first thing I would recommend is trying to watch your mind! Your thoughts are dragging you in a state of lethargy but deep inside you, there is plenty of motivation and strength. Our thoughts sometimes play a game of 'self-destruction', unconsciously telling us that 'we cannot do it' or 'we are not worthy' or again 'to do something won't change anything'. Everyone has got these thoughts but few of us are aware of them. If you start to notice them, you can oppose them! This is the trick. Every time you listen to the voice inside you saying that it is not worthy to do such and such, just oppose the voice doing it!
Secondly, I would suggest finding a good therapist just to talk about what you are getting through at the moment and see if there are deeper psychological reasons which are leading you to experience this state of apathy and drowsiness. 

[ReaperCat]

I think the difference between laziness and a lack of motivation caused by depression lies in whether you can push through it when necessary. In other words, a lazy person may keep a pretty messy house generally but can manage to tidy up when company is company. A depressed person might find themselves overwhelmed by the task and unable to tidy up. They may even end up telling their company that they need to cancel rather than start the task. If the inability to complete tasks is impacting your ability to function or casing you great stress, it may be time to talk to an outside professional.