What happens in the brain when we procrastinate
Research shows that delaying important tasks is often driven by how the brain processes stress and threat—not by poor time management or lack of discipline.
The deadline has been on your calendar for weeks. But the night before, the work still isn’t done. You may have underestimated how long it would take, overthought how to get it right, or worried about how it would be received.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be experiencing a form of self-sabotage, a pattern “that we do to ourselves, often unconsciously, that kind of derails our lives or our plans or our goals,” says Charlie Heriot-Maitland, a clinical psychologist and author of the upcoming book Controlled Explosions in Mental Health.
Rather than a failure of motivation or discipline, self-sabotage may stem from how the brain responds to perceived threats. Heriot-Maitland argues that it may “stem from evolutionary survival mechanisms.” Trauma, fear, and learned patterns can further reinforce the response.
The result is a quiet loop: behaviors that feel protective in the moment—delay, avoidance, self-criticism—can prevent people from reaching the goals they care about most, often without their awareness. “A lot of these fear cycles just keep them stuck or even moving backward,” Heriot-Maitland adds.
Understanding why self-sabotage happens, researchers say, is the first step toward interrupting it. Here’s what scientists know about why the brain does this—and what can help change the pattern.
What is self-sabotage?
Self-sabotage refers to thoughts and feelings that undermine your long-term goals, says Tim Pychyl, a psychologist who studies procrastination and author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle. Most people experience some form of self-sabotage at times, researchers say, though for some it remains occasional, while for others it becomes persistent and disruptive.
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It can take many forms, including procrastination, overeating, overspending, gambling, self-handicapping, or addiction, says Pychyl. Perfectionism, pessimism, self-criticism, or self-harm are others, Heriot-Maitland adds.
Self-sabotagers are often incorrectly perceived as lazy or lacking self-discipline, Pychyl says, but there’s a difference. With procrastination, for example, you’re willing to complete a task, but emotional or psychological factors get in the way; with laziness, there’s an “unwillingness to make an effort,” he says.
Why do we self-sabotage?
Self-sabotage likely has multiple causes, and more research is needed to understand it fully, says Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel, a senior lecturer of psychology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, who studies the psychobiology of decision-making and behavior.
One key mechanism is the fight-or-flight, or stress, response, Pychyl says. This automatic, survival response is activated in the amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates emotions and memories. From an evolutionary perspective, the response is designed to protect you from threats that were life-or-death for early humans.
Modern threats—such as deadlines or criticism—can still activate this response, even though they are not physically dangerous, Pychyl says.
When that happens, people may default to behaviors that reduce discomfort or feel safe in the moment, such as skipping deadlines, making rash decisions, or being self-critical, even when those choices often have consequences, says Heriot-Maitland. In this way, self-sabotage becomes a self-protective mechanism.
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For instance, if you don’t finish your presentation, you may be protecting yourself from underlying fears of failure or judgment: “I’m going to create this small harm now to prevent this bigger harm,” says Heriot-Maitland.
That relief can feel rewarding in the short term, Pychyl adds, “but it comes back to bite us on the butt.”
Some people may be biologically more prone to these patterns than others. A 2018 study published in the journal Psychological Science found a link between larger amygdala volume and “state orientation,” or a tendency to hesitate and delay starting actions, which may hinder “goal-directed behavior.” Even further, under stress, activity in the brain’s prefrontal cortex—responsible for planning and self-control—can be reduced, making it harder to override avoidance impulses driven by the amygdala.
Self-sabotaging can also be learned and habitual. For instance, growing up surrounded by harsh criticism may activate your threat system in any instance where you’ll receive feedback, Heriot-Maitland says.
Research suggests that procrastinators, specifically, often engage in self-preservation behavior. An older study published in the Journal of Research in Personality found that procrastinators often create external obstacles—such as waiting until the last minute—and then attribute poor performance to those obstacles, which can help preserve self-esteem.
Early experiences may matter as well. Some research suggests that people with emotionally immature parents or who experienced parental emotional neglect may be more likely to self-sabotage.
Fear of failure is another common driver, says Hal Hershfield, a marketing and behavioral decision-making professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author ofYour Future Self. “Ironically, the fear of failing pushes me away from doing something, and so then I end up failing.”
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People also tend to overweight the present and discount the future, leading to procrastination, Hershfield says. Many people are also “just really bad at linking actions with outcomes,” adds Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel.
Can you learn to stop self-sabotaging?
Self-sabotaging isn’t always under “conscious control, but there's a learned pattern that you can unlearn,” Heriot-Maitland says.
Here are some approaches researchers say can help:
Practice mindfulness
Becoming aware of your internal responses—such as fear of failure or the urge to procrastinate—is an important first step, says Pychyl. The goal isn’t to eliminate those feelings, but to recognize that you don’t have to act on them, which is often easier said than done.
“People aren’t always fully aware of how their behavior is undermining goal pursuits,” says Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel.
One way to build insight is to take stock of how you typically handle tasks or situations and what those responses tend to produce, he says. If that’s difficult, ask a trusted friend or relative about how they view your self-sabotaging.
Develop self-compassion
Once those patterns are clearer, Heriot-Maitland says, the next step is to respond with self-compassion rather than self-criticism.
Creating distance between your past behavior and what you hope for the future is also important, says Hershfield. Research suggests that self-forgiveness, acknowledging past missteps without dwelling on them, can help some avoid repeating the pattern.
He adds that when you’re tempted to procrastinate or be overly self-critical, consider how you’ll feel tomorrow or next week because of it.
“We can't control those things that make the future feel uncertain, but what we can control is the responses we have to the threats right now,” Hershfield says. “One way to do that is to handle the behaviors, handle the sort of situations that could make things worse for us.”
Seek therapy
For some people, professional support is essential. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of talk therapy that helps individuals identify and change patterns and behaviors that are interfering with their well-being, is often recommended for people struggling with self-sabotage, says Pychyl.
Addressing underlying fears or past trauma is often necessary, adds Heriot-Maitland. “We try to work through what are these fears that are driving these patterns for you? There’s a lot we can do about it, but it does take time, and there aren’t quick fixes.”
Over time, learning to interrupt self-sabotaging patterns can make it easier to pursue long-term goals, Pychyl says—not by forcing change, but by understanding what’s driving the behavior in the first place.
