MacBook Pro’s odd behavior

Delete NordVPN, unless you really need it.

Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with your Mac. Please Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support and let me know what the reference code is.

Cheers,

Jack

Hi WatershipDown17,

I believe we need to proceed with an EtreCheck report. EtreCheck is a useful App to diagnose and identify issues, both hardware and software. It is trusted by many users. Please follow the steps outlined below:

1. Navigate to: https://etrecheck.com and get the free version of EtreCheckPro.
2. Download it. It is a free and trusted app. It is often recommended here on Apple Support Communities. 
3. Open EtreCheck, and before running the report, be sure to check “Allow full Drive Access” at the bottom of the EtreCheckPro window.
4. Run the report, and put it in a post, as seen here: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211. We will then examine the report for issues in your Mac.

Cheers,

Jack

I use a 2014 MacBook Pro 13" and also share a Late 2018 MacBook Air with my wife. They were both running the latest version of macOS Catalina. Both system also starts a VPN and an antivirus shield on login. No problem on the 2018 Air, but the older Pro experience problems, especially after I've done heavy internet search sessions on a non-admin account. I did the following

1. verified that I still have plenty of memory free after login (40%-45%)
2. rebooted to Recovery Mode and ran Disk Utility First Aid on both Mac HD and Mac HD - Data partitions.

Step two fixed the problem, but the problem reoccured after another day or two for 2-3 hours of heavy internet searches. Assuming that Apple pays less attention to Catalina when they are readying to roll out the Beta version of the version after Big Sur, I went ahead and updated my 2014 MacBook Pro to Big Sur. I update this reply if I still the problem persist after another one or two heavy research sessions.

What is the date of your most recent backup, and by what method?