Executive dysfunction

Edit avatar · **Executive dysfunction -** April 27th 2021, 08:15 PM

I was wondering if anyone here experiences executive dysfunction on a regular basis. I have so much trouble with it. I just can't find the motivation to do things. It's so difficult to complete tasks, but then I feel ashamed and mad at myself for not completing tasks, so it turns into a spiral of self-loathing. It usually never ends well, but I am trying to pull out of these spirals as they happen, or better yet, have them not happen at all. Does anyone have any suggestions to deal with this problem?

Edit avatar · **Re: Executive dysfunction -** April 27th 2021, 11:06 PM

Hey Eli,

I do not talk about it often but I struggle with this. Two of the things I struggle with most are cleaning and cooking. My house used to be quite a mess but my husband and I recently had to clean it. Cooking is still difficult and I still do a lot of frozen meals. I have noticed that cooking is easier when I am no longer depressed or anxious. I was doing the meal deliveries and that was good and helped give me some good meals to cook, however, I fell into a deep state of anxiety and was not cooking.

Have you found anything to be helpful in overcoming this? I know some people say do a little at a time and I think that is a good idea however, that can seem overwhelming when the house is messy or what have you. It might help to have someone close to you help support you, periodically. I know having support from my husband with cleaning helps quite a bit.

Stacey · **Re: Executive dysfunction -** April 30th 2021, 10:18 PM

I personally don't struggle with this but my boyfriend has ADHD and it's common for those with ADHD to struggle with executive dysfunction.

The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris is a great book to introduce ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) principles into your life. It's aimed at depression/anxiety but ACT is also effective for ADHD and executive dysfunction. I gifted this to my boyfriend last year, he's not typically a reader but he blew through it in no time and said that it helped make sense of a lot of the feelings he had about a lot of his struggles, especially with executive dysfunction, and the resulting self-loathing.