Executive Dysfunction is going hard today
(midwest.social)
Flukeyfox
196It's like being stuck behind a glass wall in my own head - watching myself be stuck unable to do what needs to get done
Artist Source: https://schnumn.com/
It’s hard to do normal things when “once in a lifetime” things keep happening all around us. I’m just trying to fold laundry and do dishes, meanwhile Pete Hugsucker is deflecting his ineptitude by threatening a live execution for a paraplegic man, the orange dumpster fire is… being the orange dumpster fire.
Life is hard right now and I’m just becoming more and more grateful I survived another day, even if all I did was couch rot.
literally me rn
comp sci project due tomorrow and writing assignment due yesterday but not doing anything bc brain is too drained
That's rough... Good luck though!
Hopefully you'll have some possible downtime after the assignments? Even just for a few days or so?
we should normalize doing nothing at all. the society's demand for everyone to be productive at all times is a sickness that must be eradicated.
I completely agree, but I think there is a balance to be struck if you need to be productive to take care of your living area. I love to do nothing and am proud of that, but I also want a clean kitchen and bathroom.
We should not. Make use of your time, and try to be productive as much as possible.
As long as we acknowledge that having downtime, and doing activities for yourself and for your mental health is also productive. Even if that occasionally includes having a day where you're doing very little and resting.
Burnout and such also reduces your efficiency with other tasks anyways (and can damage mental health). It's why I disagree with the wording of "people are expected to work like machines" because even machines are given downtime for maintenance. Some people seem to expect other people to work without downtime or self-care in the name of productivity and it's insane
Make use of your time to bring joy to yourself and others.
"Productive" is a lie.
I've recently been put onto the quote "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly" and that's given me some space for myself. I tell myself that I want to touch my toes once a day, but I would be lucky to remember or even bring myself up to do it once a week.
Hey, I'm doing this right now!
People thinks of themselves as machine following a spreadsheet plan. In reality we desperately NEED of times like these to just stop, and do...
...not.
...a.
...fucking.
...thing.
Right. In some situations, that's probably the right thing. I'm not sure about OP's situation, but this comic resonates with me for the following scenarios (among many, many others):
- doing my taxes
- applying for jobs
- making a GP appointment for mental health issues, or literally anything else
- planning my wedding
- doing the laundry
- sending a "happy birthday" text to my brother (literally just "Happy birthday!" and a suitable emoji would do)
In all of these cases, I know what to do, and I want to do it, and I'm able to do it. I just don't. Somehow, I just don't. I just can't get myself to do the thing. If that doesn't resonate with you, or your immediate reaction is "oh, just do the thing!", then maybe you're not the target audience of this comic.
In one way, I agree, but unfortunately with Executive Dysfunction it can also affect your need to eat or look after yourself, as your brain just fails to assign or prioritise tasks. It gets really bad for me if I am or was recently overstimulated, or if I'm having a depressive episode.
I've had days where all I needed to do was have a shower, go to the shop, eat food then go play a game since it was the weekend. But the dysfunction hit so hard I couldn't do any of it so just sat staring at a wall for an hour and doomscrolling for another few hours. I'd have preferred to have just played the game, but since that was one of my planned tasks, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Took majority of the day before I could break out of it and get to the shop before they closed. Almost sounds odd when explaining it but the brain is an unusual thing sometimes...
But yeah I do agree that sometimes people work themselves too hard and need to find time to stop and give time to themselves
Omg, that was my weekend.
It's been months. Since perimenopause started it's been almost impossible to break task paralysis. I went and got diagnosed, got medication, noting is helping. Deal with ADHD before you get old, don't end up like me.
Damn, have you tried other meds other than the Adderall you mentioned in another comment? If not, it could be the wrong meds for you (Though saying that, I have no clue personally on how much perimenopause adds to the issue, so I'm sorry to hear that 💔)
Hope it gets easier for you though!
I'm giving it another month and then I'll try something else. It's my last hope :(
Hope it does improve for you! Did you go through titration (trialing meds at a low dose and slowly increased over the weeks while being monitored) for your meds or did your doctor just give you meds and wave you away? I've heard of some people having that happen which sucks...
Like, for me I was on methylphenidate (concerta) at the start of titration and had to report back any side effects (and my blood pressure, weight etc) and each week the dose was increased til the positive effects were the strongest with little/no side effects. I'm pretty sure if I had told them the meds weren't working at all or not helping much, they'd have taken that as a sign to try a different medication... There's a lot of different types of ADHD meds and they affect us all differently (or with some, not at all or with negative side effects)
I ended up having some negative effects with methylphenidate, and was switched over to Elvanse and it was a night and day difference with no side effects (for my body - I'm not saying Elvanse will be like that for everyone :p).
Hopefully it's just the wrong med for you and you find the right one eventually! Good luck :)
I tapered up too, I'm hoping that one will work for me too, I've heard several people say it worked for them when others didn't.
Yeah, it all depends on the person :p it's been great for me though!
just another normal day
Yep, some days better or worse than others. I missed my usual dose time for my Elvanse so today is a no-meds day. Maybe a do little and play Stardew day
Well, for me it’s like that everyday right now. I think I’m having a sever depressive phase. This stuff also occurs as a depression symptom. But that also means it’s not always always like that for me.
And 20:30 again. I should really cook something, do workouts and shower before the day is over 😐
Ah yeah I can understand that. Though I'm thankfully not going through it at this moment, I'm well acquainted with those depressive episodes :/ it definitely adds to the issue...
Be easy on yourself though, may the food and shower be pleasant for you ❤️
I was on amphetamines once and it worked so well, but doctors keep putting me on other shit that does nothing despite I always repeating amphetamines worked...
I feel you on this one. I had to stop my amphetamine medication because it was giving my heart an arrhythmia. Nothing works as well, but my heart. I guess I am just going to be a little more dysfunctional.
Adderall not working for me 😭
Damn, why? :( Surely it makes sense to just keep you on the thing that's been found to work the best. I was once on Methylphenidate at the start of my meds titration which was a non-amphetamine that did work but brought along a good few negative side effects due me so it was agreed to try Elvanse.
The highest dose of that has been perfect for me so I've been kept on it...
Hope you manage to get back on the right meds for you soon!
I hate how deeply I relate to this feeling.
make it stop make it stop make it stop make it- Dinosaurs bleed purple halogen and their livers taste of yellow crt static
Anyone know what causes this, other than ADHD?
Being human.
I think it can be caused by a lot of different neurological conditions (ADHD, Autism etc) and also a good few mental health conditions (Depression, Anxiety etc)
But it's hard to point to exactly what causes it for each person individually without looking into it with a doctor
Me every single day
I just gotta drink more coffee haha
Oh I wish, that would make me sleep instead 😹
That's just life, though recently constant backpain was added to the mix. It just sucks.
I was told by an old dude to imagine I was proudly wearing a glorious, regal, long cloak. Head up. Shoulders back, chest out, belly tamed. My posture changed and mobility / life is genuinely different now.
Obviously this is an anecdotal story, not medical advice.
Mood
