When being productive becomes a symptom: how to tell the difference between motivation ...
When being productive becomes a symptom: how to tell the difference between motivation and anxious hyperactivity? We’re used to seeing productivity as a virtue. And indeed, the ability to act, plan, and achieve goals is a valuable resource. But the mind has a peculiar trait: it can turn even something beneficial into a defence mechanism. In such cases, activity isn’t driven by desire — it’s driven by the fear of stopping. ❓How does healthy activity differ from anxious hyperactivity? This was explained by Lada Ivanovna Lozhkina, a clinical psychologist, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology at SGMU, and Kirill Valeryevich Shelygin, a psychiatrist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology at SGMU. ✅ Healthy activity can be recognised by several signs: 🔹 It has an endpoint: you do a task and are able to finish it. 🔹 It brings satisfaction — not just the relief of “having managed to do it”, but genuine interest in the process or the result. 🔹 And most importantly: it doesn’t require constant external validation. You work because it matters to you, because you’re interested, because it’s your choice. Anxious hyperactivity works differently. In psychology, this is often described through the mechanism of deflection — a defensive “shifting” of attention away from an internal conflict. A person turns to external activity in order to avoid facing what’s happening inside. This isn’t a choice. It’s a compulsion. An escape. ❗ Work becomes a kind of anaesthesia. You’re not resting — you’re “switching tasks”. You’re not relaxing — you’re “finishing up”. You’re not living — you’re “keeping up”. Rest brings guilt. Stopping feels frightening. To‑do lists never end. And your sense of self‑worth becomes increasingly tied to how useful you are. In stress psychology, this is described as the “escape‑avoidance” coping strategy. The person avoids the problem instead of solving it. Anxious hyperactivity is precisely that kind of escape — not a physical one, but into activity. ❓ How to recognise that you’re running away? 🔹 First question: what do I feel when I stop? Try doing nothing for 15 minutes. Don’t check your email, don’t watch a “helpful” video — just sit still. What comes up? Anxiety? Boredom? Irritation? Guilt? If any of these appear, it’s a signal. 🔹 Second question: what will happen if I don’t do this today? Not “never”, but specifically today. If the answer is “nothing terrible will happen”, yet you still do it out of a sense of obligation, the issue is probably not about the result. It’s about the process, which serves as a distraction. 🔹 Third question: who am I doing this for? If the honest answer is “for myself”, that’s good. But if you hear inner voices saying “so they don’t think I’m lazy”, “to prove I can cope”, or “so no one sees that I’m struggling” — this isn’t motivation. It’s defence. 🔹 Fourth question: is there space in my life just to be? Not to be productive, useful, or needed. Just to be. If you can’t remember the last time you did nothing without feeling guilty, your activity is likely controlling you. ❓ What to do about it? Don’t drop everything, and don’t retreat into endless meditation — that, too, can become a form of avoidance. Start small: one evening a week without “tasks”. Not as a reward, but as an experiment. What do I feel? What comes up? What am I running away from? Caring for your mental health isn’t a weakness or a luxury. It’s the very condition that ensures your activity remains something you control, rather than something that controls you. True productivity doesn’t start with action. It starts with choice. And choice requires stillness. ✅ This publication was created as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.