executive functioning?

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i feel very much like i lost a great deal of my executive functioning the past few years. sometimes i'll just be sitting or laying and yelling at myself to get up and i don't. like get up, get up, get up, and my body just lays there for an hour. it's weird i find myself wanting to get up and be productive but unable to will myself to move my body. do i understand executive function correctly or is this something else entirely?

Are you depressed? In that case, it would be typical.

Are you depressed? In that case, it would be typical.

Are you depressed? In that case, it would be typical.

I second the dietary intervention with being helpful for executive function. Even on the spectrum people are different. Some people may do well with a Zone Diet, I do well with a High-Fat Low-Carb Paleo-type diet, with heavy Omega-3 supplementation, and lots of fatty Omega-3 fish. My sensory issues become much more manageable, to even being unnoticeable at times (Hey, look at me! Wandering around Times Square after work for fun!), and my energy levels improve. By its nature, a Paleo Diet is a gluten-free casein-free diet, which can be helpful for people with neurological issues.

The other thing that helps me with Executive Function is Flylady dot net. She has a practice of incorporating routines into your life slowly and easily. I went from having a room my parents called a "pigsty" to having roommates tell me that I'm a neat freak. Ha ha.

I still have room for improvement, but I am a lot better than I used to be. As with anything, take what you like and leave the rest. I only share what has been helpful to me, and you are free to use it if it is helpful to you, or ignore it if it isn't.

Dietary intervention is also helpful for me with executive function. Even on the spectrum people are different. Some people may do well with a Zone Diet, I do well with a High-Fat Low-Carb Paleo-type diet, with heavy Omega-3 supplementation, and lots of fatty Omega-3 fish. My sensory issues become much more manageable, to even being unnoticeable at times (Hey, look at me! Wandering around Times Square after work for fun!), and my energy levels improve. By its nature, a Paleo Diet is a gluten-free casein-free diet, which can be helpful for people with neurological issues.

A major life event like a change of jobs, a family illness, or a natural disaster can overstress me and I can forget to watch my food, and worsen the problem.

The other thing that helps me with Executive Function is Flylady dot net. She has a practice of incorporating routines into your life slowly and easily. I went from having a room my parents called a "pigsty" to having roommates tell me that I'm a neat freak. Ha ha.

I still have room for improvement, but I am a lot better than I used to be. As with anything, take what you like and leave the rest. I only share what has been helpful to me, and you are free to use it if it is helpful to you, or ignore it if it isn't.

I experienced burn out at age 27 which ultimately led to ASD diagnosis at age 28, and also a learning disabilities diagnosis.
Rather than ever disclosing Aspergers, I tend to generalize and say I have learning challenges which include difficulty with executive functions. And I won't even say that very often, mostly I just tell someone specifically what is hard for me - eg. "Could you wait a moment while I finish this email? I have a really hard time doing two things at once."

If you want assistance and coping strategies, I found a learning disabilities specialist who helped me with organization and strategies to prioritize. Sometimes all it takes is understanding where your pitfalls are. If you can't work around them, sometimes you can get colleagues or family to help you with the areas of weakness... just be sure to return the help using your areas of strength.

I can relate so much to this at age 44. I can hyperfocus at work and get loads done, but then I am completely burnt out at the end of the day. I live alone and my flat often looks like a teenager's bedroom. I would love to be neat and organised, and am good at organising when I get into it, but often it feels so overwhelming, and the longer it gets left the worse it is. I'll spend the weekend trying to tidy it up and getting nowhere (spending the time online instead) Or I'll spend two hours cleaning a small corner of the flat so it's perfect but leaving the the rest in a mess.

Interesting that people say diet helps. I've found diet helps a bit with meltdowns (though saying that I had a massive one in public two weeks ago. In general, they are much better) but not for me with executive function. Amphetamines help me tidy,, but it's difficult to get prescribed any ADHD type medication as I've had substance abuse problems and I do tend to go a bit over the top on them. When I was prescribed Dexedrine for ADD, I ended up building databases at 3 in the morning! I am not sure if I do have ADD or ASD. I'm currently diagnosed with ASD.

Don't know if I'm adding anything to the conversation but this is such a frustrating area for me and always has been. I just want to be tidy!

Very timely topic for me!

Now 59, I feel like a poster-child for "Aspie Burnout". My young adult and mid-life years were productive and reasonably successful. Heck my so-called mid-life crisis was great - I partied like a teenager, though with a very small social circle.

But starting at 50 the often-typical cognitive decline started, and my prior life of faking it by using cognitive-behavior techniques started requiring more effort that I could muster. This has continued to the point that I am now on disability due to coronary issues that are aggravated by my ever-more frequent meltdowns to a life-threatening extent.

So how do I best cope? Well, at work I found I could not; that is why I am now on disability. In my personal life, I make great use of mobile digital tools like voice memos, reminders, calendars and so on. I also re-organized my living space so that I can maintain it with minimal effort.

And most importantly: I have adjusted my expectations, and am learning to accept all of this and be reasonably happy with myself just as I am.

I thought it was just me. Nice to know I'm not alone.

I'm speculating that as one reaches middle age, the body starts exhibiting signs of wear & tear. Aches & pains, poor diet, etc. start to take it's toll on the body. Combine that with the increased physical sensitivity that comes with being on the autism spectrum, life can get very difficult for us. Destroying focus & energy levels. I think that's where much of my recent bout of depression comes from. I have the internal drive to do all kinds of things, except I hurt and I have no energy... I can't think clearly because of that.

I have found that it is much more important for me to find a better diet and get more exercise. I think it's something that almost everyone, NT or not, encounters at this age. It's just that folks like us, it's that much more important to get a healthier lifestyle.

Of course "better diet & exercise" sounds great in theory. But getting me to change my deeply ingrained aspie routines is like getting a fully laden oil tanker to turn on a dime.

It takes so long to get ready to go some where that it's almost not worth the effort.I have to think every step in my head which is tiring.Like ,brush teeth,comb hair,wash face,select clothes,make sure they are clean,unwrinkled and sort of match,find shoes,two socks that are the same,etc......I guess for NTs this is automatic.Any trip to town has to be prepared for days in advance,if I can put it off I will.
It's getting really hard to pay attention to people late in the day,if I'm the least bit tired I would prefer to just be quiet and not talk.The other night I asked my son to please stop talking to me,I just had no energy left to listen with.Thank goodness he understands and knows that it's not personal.

My last three decades have featured a lot of disillusionment about the amount of logic in the world. That makes it hard to make plans involving other people, and is probably the main factor in my loss of executive functioning. After so many instances when insurance and other promises got broken, reality became elusive.