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Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#41

Post by justanything »

annie_muss wrote: post #27

Perhaps it's not a success story, but I have a definite improvement story. I find accepting and making peace with my problems (paradoxically) helps improve the problem. I am going through a particularly low dip right now. I haven't done any work in the last 4 days. I tried a 4 minute pomodoro timer yesterday and 2 minutes in I was already completely off task. In the past I would panic, worry, think "Why me and my ter…

I know right, the things usually suggested don't have any effect on my executive function.

I don't know how you do that, i am so close to just ending it all because i cannot continue like this.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#42

Post by justanything »

il-b wrote: post #26
justanything wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blood work came back normal, so doesn't seem to physiological. I have tried exercise, it helps with moods but not really with executive function. I have taken it one step at a time for so long, can't do it anymore unless i can see some hope of solving this. This is no way to live

Are your thyroid hormones ok, specifically?

Yes, they are, (un)fortunately.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#43

Post by justanything »

qazxcvbnmlp wrote: post #33
justanything wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exercise helped improve my mood big time but it didn't really make me better at task execution or sticking to the task and so now, i stopped exercising too, and everything's fallen apart.

Couple things... 'Sticking to a task' is an emotional problem not a willpower problem. Often times uncomfortable activities prompt us to switch to something else less painful in the moment. Eg, 'I don't want to write this email (because I will potentially say something dumb and be judged)' can be alleviated by playing mobile game (now I don't feel the discomfort of writing the email). 'Everything's falling apart' ->…

Thanks, i can definitely relate to a lot of what you wrote. Are you a mental health professional yourself?

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#44

Post by justanything »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #34
justanything wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not have adhd, I am probably depressed but I don't know if depresssion caused my executive dysfunction or the executive dysfunction caused the depression. what was the underlying cause for your issues, if you don't mind sharing?

Ok, yeah, my underlying cause was everything. I had a bad case of everything bad that can happen happening at the same time (except personal death). Both my parents had previously died in my twenties and yet this period of time in my life was 10x harder than that in terms of grief and turmoil, I reverted to a child like state and had constant intrusive wishes that I could just lay my head on my moms lap and cry but o…

Whoa, thank you for sharing your amazing story! I wish you the best

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#45

Post by justanything »

specproc wrote: post #31

Had these sorts of issues all my life, I'm pretty sure most people do to a greater or lesser extent. Life asks a fuck of a lot of us. More as we age, but more as the world changes. On a good day, I naturally don't think about it. On a bad day, it's all I can think about. On an average day I've come to accept peaks and troughs. I can't be running on all cylinders all the time, most people can't. Mood for me is key. Ot…

Most people may have these issues but they still "live" and do things, I am stuck in every way, it's terrible

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#46

Post by justanything »

mettamage wrote: post #40

Executive dysfunction here, bordering overwhelming but never actually overwhelming. So I probably have it easier than you. Here's what's working for me. 1. Healthy food: I tend to freezer prep the healthiest meals for like a month. Think like an industrialist here, cook for scale. 2. Running: two or three 3 mile runs a week helps a lot 3. Sleep: without it, I'm fucked. With it, I might not be. But without it, there's…

Thank you, i wish love worked for me that way, but even though i have many people i love and should be doing a lot for, i just can't

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#47

Post by hayst4ck »

justanything wrote: post #14
interstice wrote: post #10

1) diagnose, are you burned out or depressed, or adhd etc? Then 2) treat accordingly, concerta and sleep does wonders for me

I haven't ever worked hard enough because of my executive dysfunction to be worked out, and I am ashamed of that. Don't have adhd, could be depressed possibly but since this has been a lifelong thing, as long as I have been, can't be sure if i am depressed because of the dysfunction or dysfunctional because of depression.

Burning out has little to do with the amount of work and everything to do with the what that work got you.

Burnout comes from the wheel not moving the car, not from the energy applied to moving the wheel.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#48

Post by fellowniusmonk »

justanything wrote: post #44
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, yeah, my underlying cause was everything. I had a bad case of everything bad that can happen happening at the same time (except personal death). Both my parents had previously died in my twenties and yet this period of time in my life was 10x harder than that in terms of grief and turmoil, I reverted to a child like state and had constant intrusive wishes that I could just lay my head on my moms lap and cry but o…

Whoa, thank you for sharing your amazing story! I wish you the best

On my worst stretch the bike ride was never a cure, it was only proof I still existed. Choose anything that small for yourself: step outside, rinse one plate. Mark it as done and let it be enough. When the fog wins, write “still here” in a notebook; that counts too. Tell your therapist exactly how stuck you feel and ask about approaches like behavioural work or a different medication mix, but remember your value is not up for debate. You are already enough, fog and all, and every tiny action is just a daily reminder of that truth, not the measure of it.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

#49

Post by mettamage »

justanything wrote: post #46
mettamage wrote: post #40

Executive dysfunction here, bordering overwhelming but never actually overwhelming. So I probably have it easier than you. Here's what's working for me. 1. Healthy food: I tend to freezer prep the healthiest meals for like a month. Think like an industrialist here, cook for scale. 2. Running: two or three 3 mile runs a week helps a lot 3. Sleep: without it, I'm fucked. With it, I might not be. But without it, there's…

Thank you, i wish love worked for me that way, but even though i have many people i love and should be doing a lot for, i just can't

For me it's a fight too. It's life or death when it comes to my loved ones, that may be dramatic but emotionally that's how I am wired. The urgency helps.

One could say it's unhealthy and I need therapy but I'm already in therapy and I'm noticing that these things take a long time to tease out. Also, when it comes to potentially unhealthy behavior the question must be asked: what are you getting out of it? In my case, a life in which I function. Moreover, other than that I'm not stressed a lot.

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