A woman who has struggled with procrastination her whole life long wonders if it’s connected to her posttraumatic stress; and if there are any resources we can suggest that can help her with it…
Question:
Belleruth,
First, I want to tell you that I listened to the CD on posttraumatic stress, and it's really great. My therapist approves, too.
My question is this: I have been a procrastinator all my life. Do you think that's related to the PTSD? If not, do you have anything that would help me with it?
Thanks.
Paula
Dear Paula,
I don't think procrastination is especially related to the PTS - it usually has quite a life of its own, which can produce a certain amount of misery, for sure, but not like the misery of PTS – that, as you know, has a particular deep distress and anguish, that tends to be more intense and more painful than the agitation and worry that typically characterize procrastination.
Procrastination is generally related to anxiety; to tendencies toward perfectionism, a fear of finishing things, and often a harsh running commentary going on inside your head that basically says mean things that go anywhere from “not good enough” to “shameful and ridiculous”.
David Illig has an audio program with subliminal messages for procrastination - I generally don’t go for subliminal programs, but I trust David’s work. He produces high quality resources, which is why we carry so many of his titles.
I looked around a bit and I found a program where I like the guy’s voice quite a bit – less so the music and his narrative – but you may want to check it out, because it does target procrastination and it’s free. You can find it here.
In addition, I recommend that you try one of the meridian tapping protocols for this – it could save you some time and make your efforts pay off more effectively. TFT (Thought Field Therapy) or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), for instance, are two popular examples. There’s a tapping protocol for procrastination here.
Mary Sise’s excellent DVD can also accommodate you with its ‘fill-in-the-blank’ tapping protocol as well.
That's all I could find to suggest at this time. We may end up creating imagery for this if we can't find something we like well enough - we certainly get enough requests for this topic. Thanks for the reminder. And if any of you know of something we should check out, please don’t hold back!
All best,
Belleruth
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Hi Belleruth, just a word about "tapping away", which I find an unfortunate expression. This especially because it may feed into the tendency to fight against these painful experiences, which tends to make it all so much worse... Mindfulness-related approaches aer IMO not about "making things go away", but about creating conditions where we can exmbrace experiences that before were overwhelming and unmanageable. And I think that tapping can be a great help, for that. AAll the best, Maarten
... written by Lynn Jericho,
October 16, 2012
Thanks for the great resources. Very valuable. I do want to point you to a very illuminating book: The Haunted Self Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Tramatization. Based on the work of Pierre Janet, it is a powerful book for therapists and healers and confirms that procrastination and difficulty initiating and completing tasks and projects is often a result of chronic trauma.
... written by Susan B. Landry,
October 16, 2012
Avoidance of potential trauma is the brain's protective mechanism to prevent further harm, and we need to honor our brain's innate ability to protect us. Cortisol is secreted from the amygdala, which causes us to avoid what makes us feel uncomfortable. Understanding what the factors are that are contributing to these feelings are how we strengthen our neuronal connections and work through these issues. This causes more neuronal synapses from the hippocampus to the rest of the brain, and the release of serotonin, the feel good hormone, which neutralizes cortisol, which causes the initial anxiety! Aren't our brains brilliant?
... written by Annette,
October 16, 2012
Just wanted to comment my experience. I was never a procastinator (at least I don't think so); but during and after marriage to an abusive, vindictive, cruel, psychopath I had and have symptoms of Complex PTSD. I find myself procrastinating a lot about everything. It's part of my patterns of not functioning very well.
... written by Irene,
October 16, 2012
I have a therapist that worked with me with the tapping (EFT) just recently before an operation. I did find the tapping and the mantra that went along with it helpful in changing my feelings of doubt to hope. I am a procrastinator and what you wrote regarding the reasons for it make sense in my case. I would like to sample the tapping protocol for procrastination but when you click on the "here" the website is empty. Any other resources you know if? Thanks, Irene
... written by HealthJourneys,
October 16, 2012
The website is functional in our tests so perhaps it is overloaded with traffic - you might try again later. Here is the full link: http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/guided-meditation-overcoming-procrastination/
... written by Jody,
October 22, 2012
I went to the link curious about the work there and was startled (then laughed) then cringed, at the name of the imagery...Sort of LOL and sort of not...Should come with a warning in case anyone expects the type of gentle and deeply discerning work and titling of said work that you (and many of us) offer...Personally, I think titling something Procrastination Killer holds so many problems on so many levels of pragmatic, energetic, metaphoric and symbolic (I'll stop myself here) sure the point is made. Jody
A woman who has struggled with procrastination her whole life long wonders if it’s connected to her posttraumatic stress; and if there are any resources we can suggest that can help her with it… 
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Mindfulness-related approaches aer IMO not about "making things go away", but about creating conditions where we can exmbrace experiences that before were overwhelming and unmanageable. And I think that tapping can be a great help, for that.
AAll the best,
Maarten