How Lindsay Rebounded From Depression by Overcoming Her Life-Long Procrastination

5 min read
Evidence based
Dainius Jakucionis, MD
By Dainius Jakucionis, MD Updated on 2024 Jan 23

Discover the secrets behind her happy and plentiful life.

At the age of 34, Lindsay has come a long way to feeling a tremendous sense of relief after life-long procrastination.

Spare yourself the pain she endured and overcome your procrastination before it takes the same toll on you as it did on her.

Although she managed to come out the other side a much happier and healthier person, the journey to get here was one she wouldn’t wish on anybody. Here’s why:

Lindsay was a procrastinator from an early age. In grade school, her teachers would warn her that the habit of waiting till the last minute to complete her tasks would come back to bite her someday.

“Needless to say, their guidance went in one ear and straight out the other,” she says.

It continued through college, but she still graduated without too much stress. Of course, she had to pull a few all-nighters, but that was just part of being a college student, as far as she knew.

“Besides, if I screwed up, I was the only one who would be hurt,” she told herself.

When she started a family of her own, all that changed.

Paying the Price

Does having responsibility come with a price? In the past, when Lindsay would manage to squeeze out a project despite her procrastination, she felt an enormous sense of relief. “Damn, I did it!”

But when procrastination started to affect her family directly – that feeling of getting one over on the world turned into a constant sense of anxiety.

“Suddenly, my procrastination made life more difficult for my loved ones.”

Putting everything off until the last minute when booking a doctor’s appointment for the kids meant they didn’t always get the best care they could have.

She knew that if she could just finally get ahead of things, everything would be simpler instead of constantly playing catch-up, and her family would be better off.

But she just couldn’t.

As her procrastination continued to worsen and cause her family problems, she began to spiral out of control, deeper and deeper into depression and anxiety.

“Not only did I feel like a massive disappointment for causing all of this, but my day-to-day mood also grew darker and darker.”

“I was not a nice person to be around.”

Naturally, Lindsay’s kids started to pick up on this – they would go out of their way to interact with their dad instead of her.

“That, in turn, made me feel like a horrible excuse for both a parent and a human being.”

The Final Straw

As Lindsay watched her kids grow up without participating in their lives, cheering on their successes, and helping them up when they stumbled, her marriage was on the brink of collapse.

Her husband Robert simply couldn’t do it all alone – especially when he had to spend his time and energy supporting her as well.

“So, he gave me an ultimatum. Fix this, or else.”

Even though he felt terrible for having to resort to this, he knew that was the only way to get through to her.

They looked for and eventually found a therapist to try and understand the cause of her procrastination and all the mental anguish that went along with it.

But that proved to be easier said than done.

While the therapist was able to help her document exactly how procrastination was associated with her depression, actually changing her behavior was a different story.

The first thing she tried was, naturally, an assortment of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication.

“After just six months of that, I felt even more disconnected from the world around me and uncertain about life,” says Lindsay.

Procrastination continued to be the way Lindsay dealt with just about everything. 

Eventually, she wanted to stop taking the medicine, but her husband and therapist were reluctant to replace them without having something else lined up.

Then, her husband found another solution.

Introducing Sensa – a personalized plan designed to eliminate procrastination, effectively manage time, harness more happiness and control, and have more energy each day.

One morning, Lindsay’s husband called her over and showed her the website.

It asked engaging questions regarding the nature of her procrastination and how it made her feel.

Based on her answers, the system, curated by psychologists and wellness professionals, created a personalized plan that would allow Lindsay to finally overcome her procrastination.

“My husband and I were both pretty skeptical – after all, nothing else had worked to that point.”

“For that very reason, and the fact that they were offering a significantly lower price, meant the program would be considerably cheaper than therapy – so we decided to give it a go.”

And they haven’t looked back since.

Naturally, things didn’t magically change overnight. 

But in the grand scheme of things, the month it took for Lindsay to start seeing results was a drop in the ocean compared to the months of stagnation and years of banging her head against the wall before that.

The results did come, and Lindsay’s entire outlook changed.

Up to Cloud 9

Essentially, what Sensa did was help Lindsay rewire her daily routine so that procrastination couldn’t and wouldn’t enter the picture.

“It simply made me see that it made no sense to wait to do something when I could do it right away,” says Lindsay.

That change of outlook broke her free from procrastination, and as she began to take a proactive strategy to life, her self-esteem began to grow exponentially.

“I no longer felt like a failure – I no longer felt like someone no one wanted to be around.

And that has made a massive difference in my life as a mother and as a professional.”

“Finally, I feel like I’m not continually playing catch-up, and I hope never to feel that way again.”

How amazing is it that all this started with a simple quiz?

Click below to take the Sensa quiz, and your custom anti-procrastination plan will be ready for you in a matter of minutes – it’s only a matter of choosing to give it a try.

After all, if your situation is anything like Lindsay’s, there’s so much to gain and almost nothing to lose by trying.

Best of luck on your journey!

Dainius Jakucionis, MD

Dainius is a renowned psychotherapist, holding a Master’s Degree in Medicine and additional training in Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy.