What is ‘executive dysfunction’ and how do you overcome it? | Well actually

In an ultra-violating tiktok video, a woman lying on her sofa. “I’m tired. I should take a shower for it to wake me up; If I shower, I should exercise first so that I don’t have to shower myself twice, ”sings the voiceover. “If I will exercise, I should eat first; If I’m going to cook, I should have a coffee first, so I have energy to cook, “he continues. The video – which has nearly 5 million views – carries the legend: “What the executive malfunction looks like.”

Hundreds of videos have circulated via social media, pinning the various difficulties of people on “executive dysfunction”. Each video follows similar themes: showing that people fail to initiate tasks, more and more on household chores or the theory of reasons for which they are never on time.

But what is executive malfunction? Why do people do it, and what can we do to alleviate it? In addition, what is the executive function? We asked the experts to explain.

What is executive function?

Executive function is the ability to manage and organize tasks daily, explains May Uchida, a pediatric psychiatrist at the General Hospital of Massachusetts and associate professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. This includes planning, hierarchy and reflection on the duration of a task before having to go to the next thing. But it also includes the possibility of decomposing larger tasks in smaller, to be able to pass the attention from one task to another and to maintain working memory.

What is executive dysfunction?

“Executive dysfunction”, on the other hand, is not really a term used by mental health professionals. You are much more likely to hear a professional say that a person “has difficulty in executive functioning” or “has a bad executive function”, explains Kristin CAROTHERS, clinical psychologist based in Atlanta and New York. These professionals do not want to label anyone as “dysfunctional”, she says.

But the idea of ​​an executive dysfunction acquired a real experience with which some people live.

The obvious characteristics of poor executive function include the difficulty of launching tasks, missing or competing against deadlines, being late and losing things. But it can also include models such as poor impulse control and excessive expenses, difficulties in monitoring promises and overestimating your ability to follow commitments, explains Carothers.

Above all, “poor executive function” and “executive dysfunction” are not diagnoses, explains Uchida. You cannot be diagnosed with one or the other of these terms, but a poor executive function could be a symptom that accompanies a real psychiatric condition. Most often, the poor executive function is associated with ADHD, she says, although “there are many people with ADHD who have no executive operating difficulties”. He has no relationship with intelligence. Executive operating difficulties can also accompany anxiety and depression.

What is a negative effect on the executive function?

Like most other human features, the executive function exists on a spectrum. “It is on a bell curve, where most people are somewhere in the middle,” said Ari Tuckman, clinical psychologist in Westchester, Pennsylvania. The executive function can also change during your lifetime. For example, “adults have a better executive function than children,” he says. It can decrease a little due to normal aging, and those who cross menopause will also likely see a greater degree of change as a side effect of hormonal changes.

The circumstances of life can also affect the executive function. “If you have a bad sleep night or if you have the flu”, your executive function will take a hit, says Tuckman. Episodes of depression or anxiety, stress, poisoning, head trauma and to be more busy than usual are also influential factors.

If you normally do not have any awarded with the executive function but you have problems because of the circumstances of temporary life – like sleeping a bad sleep or being more busy than usual – things should come back to normal afterwards. But if you have chronic and persistent problems with the management of daily tasks, to the point that it affects your personal and professional life, it could be a sign that there is an underlying problem, and you may want to see a professional, explains CAROThers.

Are there any ways to improve executive function?

If your ability to manage and organize tasks is aggravated due to anxiety or existing depression, treatments such as therapy or drugs to mitigate these psychiatric conditions will also lead to an improvement in executive function, explains Tuckman.

For ADHD, however, while taking medication for illness can help people avoid distraction and improve concentration, skills according to executives such as “organization, priority and time management are not really treated by the drug”, explains Uchida.

Although there are no real treatments explicitly for a bad executive function, there are strategies and bypass solutions that professionals recommend helping to facilitate time management. Many are proven organizational strategies, explains Tuckman: “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” For example, configure several reminders and alarms for yourself and write on paper control lists things to do, even for extremely small and easy tasks.

Think and try to recognize the models that cause you trouble. If you have a working deadline to approach and know that you tend to waste time when you open and scroll Instagram, temporarily try the application of your phone. Essentially, avoid putting yourself in situations that require more control of the impulses you cannot bring together, explains Tuckman.

If you are overwhelmed by the size of a task and you have trouble starting, Uchida recommends finding some time you can commit. It may be 15 minutes; Maybe it’s just five years. Then devote this little time to the task. “When the bar is low, it is much easier to start,” says Uchida, “and sometimes it’s just to start, it’s difficult.” You may notice that after these first 15 minutes, you have the possibility of continuing. Or you may need a break before engaging in 15 others. You have to find and adapt strategies that work for you, she said.

Carothers also recommends turning to the community to help you understand where you may need help. “Sometimes other people have more information on your behavior models than you,” she says. “Ask a trusted friend, colleague, a romantic partner of the areas where he noticed that you have trouble.” Then ask them to help you think about bypassing solutions for these specific circumstances – they may have ideas that you have never learned or considered. “Solid social ties are important,” explains Carothers. “Learn people around you.”