didosmind04

[didosmind04]

How to overcome Executive Dysfunction

Inspired by @vanillaoldie on Tiktok

First of all, who does executive dysfunction affect?

Executive dysfunction primarily affects people with mental illness or people who experienced child abuse.

What is executive dysfunction?

According to Healthline, executive function describes the cognitive skills that allow you to do things like pay attention, stay on task, regulate emotions etc.

People with executive dysfunction have difficulty developing or using any of these skills leading to things like...

Chronic procrastination.

Finding it challenging to get started on tasks.

Having a hard time keeping your space clean and organised.

Finding it difficult to manage time or stick to a schedule.

Finding it challenging to navigate frustration or setbacks.

Having difficulty following directions that involve multiple steps.

Finding it challenging to control impulses and emotions.

Executive dysfunction refers to difficulties developing or using any of these abilities or behaviors (associated with organisation and regulation).

A strategy to overcome Executive Dysfunction is Intrinsic Motivation

When you are intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from doing it.

According to the Self-Determination theory- the 3 basic needs for you to feel intrinsically motivated are the feelings of:

Autonomy: "The feeling of being in charge of your goals and behaviour"; You feel like you can make your own independent decisions.

Competence: "The sufficient ability, judgement, strength or intellect to accomplish a task"; You feel good at your task.

Relatedness: "The sense of social belonging"; You feel like you belong in the place you are executing your task.

How to apply Intrinsic Motivation to reach your goals

We need to overcome the insecurities we have around our autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Example: The goal is to study.

Autonomy-

Instead of thinking about how you need to study in order to pass the class or to not fall behind your classmates think about why you want to study. Remember, it's your mind and your decision.

"I study because I WANT to. I want to learn because I find the subject interesting and you like acquiring knowledge."

Competence-

Instead of thinking about all the work and effort you'll need to put into learning the study material and therefore experiencing task paralysis as a result of feeling incompetent; think about what will happen after you finish studying. View the feeling of competence as the reward for completing the task.

"I'm now smarter as a consequence of studying. The next time I need to study I'll know I am very capable and good at it. "

Relatedness

Instead of dwelling on your student anxiety or imposter syndrome focus on why you belong there in your course.

"I have passed the same exam as everyone to enter the course. I am just as capable and gifted as everyone here. I belong here. My university accepted me for a reason."

Write out your own affirmations as related to the 3 needs of intrinsic motivation when you are experiencing executive dysfunction but want to achieve a goal.

I hope this is helpful and be kind to yourself <333

Dido

Sources:

Healthline

SpriggHR