executive functioning- can it be improved?

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anybody here able to improve their executive functioning [sans drugs], or are we [aside from the gifted few] all stuck in the same addled funk? if anybody was able to improve their executive functioning, please write how. the only time mine improved was when I was on Strattera. but only gold-plated Cadillac health insurance [e.g., blue cross/shield] pays for that, and it is $20 per capsule, unaffordable out of pocket, and my insurance stopped paying for it long ago. as an illustration of what I mean, I am a slob because my executive functioning is PFFFFT. I can't seem to get organized or stay organized nor do I have any clue how to change that. it is mental paralysis. not writer's block but LIFE block.

I picked ice cream, of course.

I do believe Executive Functioning can be improved, through focus and, sometimes, with help from others.

I think it also helps if you could indulge in your "special interest" as a reward for focus.

Look into the supplement Coenzyme Q10, aka CoQ10. Not a drug -- more a specialty vitamin. Regular supermarkets usually have it in the vitamin section. Seems to improve alertness successfully for many people, which is an aspect of executive functioning. May help; won't hurt.

^^^ I will look into that, TY i'd heard of people taking that to help out when taking statins.

My Executive Functioning isn't that great. And I tend to forget stuff.

But when I know that my bills will go up if I don't pay my credit card on time, then it gets better.

I wish I knew you in person.....who knows? Maybe I could help a little if I did.

I use whiteboards, calendars, notebooks and routine and that helps a lot. Also, concentrating on one task at a time before moving onto the next on your list. None of this has actually improved my executive functioning but it has helped overcome some of it's problems.

so I gather it is workarounds and not definitive cure.

My executive functioning sucks especially organising and planning. Have never had any help for it. Psych lot seem to think if you're reasonably intelligent such problems/learning difficulties don't apply to you.
Years back I did a time limited online cognitive assessment mentioned by schizophrenia.com. I score average or above on everything but executive functioning . For that I scored about 1.5 SD below average.

It would have been nice to have had some help for it. Maybe it would have improved.

i just can't understand what that means? had had looked that up several times but it won't go into my head,
even in dutch, its complete nonsense, a bit of everything messed up without frame

it takes me SO LOOONGGG to do simple things that other people can do on the fly immediately. that is a frustration, it is discouraging.

I wish. But it seems a lot of the supplements - fish oil capsules and the like - are mere placebos or a lot of quackery, and coping strategies are just that, strategies for coping. I say this with the unconfidence of someone with no background in science, but surely they'd have found the cure for autism if they'd found a sort of magic bullet cure for my slow processing speed.

^^^^^hiya Pokey welcome to our club

i have alarms on my phone, an app on my iPad and printed schedules. works for me

I have through focus somehow.
But that's not enough -- It takes some energy. I still miss plenty of things and forget what people said/told me just a second ago.
I don't wanna rely on a list, I forgot it sometimes. Or lose it. Alarms didn't worked out.
And my workplace keeps coaxing multitasking as if it's some sort of god's stat when it's better to work with one thing at a time. Or simply do it as soon as it was told instead of holding the thought for another minute or hours.

The MOST effective compensation strategy I ever have is have my list written on my skin.

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