as someone in the process of figuring out what’s wrong with me, is “executive dysfunction” an official diagnosis? or would it be like a symptom for a broader thing
It’s most often associated with ADHD, but it could also be a symptom of other conditions such as autism, depression, or after brain injury. It can manifest as procrastination, disorganization, poor emotional control, and trouble starting or finishing projects.
It is a symptom of disorders like depression, ADHD, autism and dementia. Don't sweat it, it's probably ADHD and/or autism. Which is totally manageable, and there are these godsend pills you can take like Adderall to help manage executive dysfunction. You have to get a diagnosis for that.
Omg when I first toon Adderall as an adult, it was so… bizarre. Like “what do you mean I can just think of the thing I want to do and just… do the thing? You’re telling me I don’t have to fight with my brain first? Or wait for the occasional moment of motivation to maybe come to the rescue? Or have to convince myself that turning on the water to do the dishes is not equivalently difficult to placing my hands in a bucket of knives?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN HEAR MYSELF THINK? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DONT HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO HEAR MY OWN INTERNAL DIALOGUE OVER ALL OF THE INCREDIBLY LOUD, VAGUE THOUGHTS THAT CLOUD MY BRAIN?!”
Same. After living with awful executive dysfunction, when it gets better, it feels... abnormal. So completely out of the usual pattern, it feels wrong for a while.
I've been interested in learning to do digital art a few years ago. But I haven't started yet.
One of my excuses is that I can't get started until I close all the open tabs I have on my PC, which have been open for YEARS. But even though I finally managed to do that a few weeks back, I still have trouble getting started...
Just letting you know that’s not a diagnosis that’s used anymore. It’s all ASD now. You’d be on the low-support-needs end of the spectrum if you do indeed have autism, but it’s all now considered to be the same soup.
Yeah, when i was getting my ADHD diagnosis there was a big emphasis from the psychiatrist on whether i also had trouble with doing things i enjoyed than just things like chores and school work
I told him the story of the time i made a schedule for my hobbies (monday was painting night, tuesday for guitar practice, wednesday knitting, thursday movies, friday writing fanfiction, saturday video games, sunday going on walks) to avoid feeling like i'm not in the mood for anything and then got overwhelmed trying to stick to it and had a breakdown within three days, lol
I think my symptoms are closer to OCPD rather than OCD lol, and depression amd anxiety symptoms are ever present, and I think I have almost every symptom for Autism lmao
But you know, that's just based on my personal observation, for all I know, it is just me being a loser lol
the really fun part about executive dysfunction is that not even leisure activities are safe
like youd think i could sit down and just listen to a song ive been wanting to check out while drawing, the thing ive been doing for as long as i can remember and which i have always loved, but No. illegal. cant do it.
This is similar to my problem. I’d love to sit down and play some games or keep writing the story I’m writing. But I probably have to do something here soon, or someone needs to talk to me in the middle of it, etc, so I can’t let myself get invested, so I should probably just scroll my fucking phone again since I can at least break my attention away from that real quick whenever that something comes up.
For me, this arose partly from having a needy dog. I had to perpetually be doing something I could easily break away from or else he'd demand my attention, occasionally by peeing on the floor while making dramatic eye contact. Then I had a needy partner while having a needy dog and my ability to accomplish anything plummeted.
I feel ya there! like if I have work, I'm not allowed to do anything else but relax before getting ready for work, so it's just easier to let youtube play as I lay down and run down the clock
There’s some of that, but it goes beyond imo. If I watch the first half of a show or movie and I think it’s exceptional, then I can’t watch the other half until I feel I’m ready to take in something exceptional, which is never. So I end up casting aside things that I find too good.
You take a bathroom break, then your dog needs to go outside and stare wistfully off into the middle distance for 20-30 minutes while you yell at her to get in the damn house because it’s 19°F outside and you’re wearing flip-flops.
Then when you get back inside you realize you’re a bit hungry because you haven’t eaten in 48 hours, so you make yourself some microwave ramen. Then you sit down to finish watching the movie (of course forgetting about your bowl of ramen the first time so you have to go back for it), but well now your attention will be split between the movie and your meal, and the movie is so good it deserves your full attention. So you decide to resume the movie after you finish eating and just scroll through Reddit instead
And then it’s suddenly 2am and you’re typing out a way too long comment about why you’d stop in the middle of watching a movie, knowing DAMN WELL that you have work in less than 4 hours. And now it’s a sunk cost fallacy and you’re trying to decide if it’s even worth it to try to go to sleep at this point 😭
A movie is in my watch list for either less than a week or for years upon years, rarely in between. I put it in there when I have a sudden spark of interest in it. If I lose the spark, I wait until I regain it.
Sometimes it takes a couple watchings to really get a thing, and that’s okay too.
Also, the whole point of Anton Ego is he wasn’t expecting to love the thing so much. Waiting until you’ll know you’ll love a thing is antithetical to what he did
Yeah, you see Anton Ego going in to the restaurant casually at the end of the movie, not as a critic, but as a diner. He was far more happy doing that than assessing food
No, I can't listen to that new song for the first time while I'm doing something else, I have to give the lyrics and the MV my full, undivided attention on the first listen. I have to appreciate it in full!
Sure, I could watch that episode I've been looking forward to, but I'm a little too tired to enjoy it as much as I could. Or it's the wrong time of day. Or I just finished something else and I need to give that more time to settle first. Etc.
Me when people say to me “but this is YOUR favorite game of all time! why haven’t you finished the final chapter of the main story yet????????? why does it take you so long to do newly released content???? even if it involves a storyline you love???????”
It’s precisely because I love the thing so much that I can’t just bring myself to do it immediately, the mental threshold required is too high……
I found out that I will ABSOLUTELY NOT begin doing anything enjoyable, or quit very early on, and then proceed to not touch it for years, since all my life I've been torn out of the stuff I was doing to do other stuff I didn't wanna do. And that somehow also spread to things I am supposed to do. So i just end up sitting there, watching random stuff on YouTube, instead of doing literally anything. Don't think it's executive dysfunction though, since I am still randomly (rarely) am able to just go ahead and do stuff. And I have no diagnosis for anything mental, so officially I am normal.
Here is a test. If you can successfully schedule a psychological assessment within the next week, you might not have an issue. If you can't, get a friend to help, then DEFINITELY get that assessment.
This is why people say 'self diagnosis is valid'. Which ironically a lot of ND folk struggle with because it's not 'the right way to do things'
It's not necessarily about giving yourself a label, it's about finding things that help you understand and work with your brain better.
For me it felt like 'trying a diagnosis on for size' and seeing if it fit the way I actually behave then trying stuff to see if it stuck long term for me to solve issues...
Start easy. I think there's a reason why people complain about 'tiktok diagnosis' - because for someone with Executive dysfunction short form content from ND creators who talk about their experiences is an accessible route to starting to understand wtf is going on better.
For me it lead to deeper rabbit holes (reading papers, essays, assessment criteria etc) but at first a lot of it was just a lot of thinking 😅
Here's a shorts channel who I find fun to watch and learn from to start you off if that may help, they discuss mainly adhd but also compare with autism lived experiences sometimes too https://youtube.com/@adhd_love?si=j6YQTefUho2e4RvJ
I've watched a lot of mental health related stuffs back in the day, but it honestly only lead to more confusion. I'm at a point where I need to actually talk to an educated person to make sense of all of the stuff in me. So far the only thing I can somewhat diagnose myself with is low-ish self-off risk. And I've been doing some stuff to keep that risk very low.
Sounds like you know what you need which is good! I will say the ND stuff isn't so much about mental health (though obviously it effects it) but I can be confusing to work out your own behaviours. I hope you're blessed with the ability to speak to a pro soon!
My advice is to try not to be too hard on yourself, but I believe in you! It took me 3 years the first time and another year after moving states.
I used my insurance company's website to find a psychologist who was in network. That sounds complicated, but it's actually very straightforward and takes about 30 minutes to an hour if you know what you are doing.
If you need more help, then PM me, and I'll proxy as a friend. You just need to pay it forward down the road.
It likely is, but the cause isn't always some mental health issue.
I used to love doing various projects around the house, or binging shows/video games. I didn't have a problem doing something for multiple hours. Then I had kids. The only things I do anymore are things that I'm fine being interrupted doing, i.e. mindless doomscrolling.
Like I don't want to start mowing the lawn if there's even the slightest chance the kids are going to come and bug me for something that will make me leave the lawn only 15% finished.
Or, I stopped working out in my garage on my lunch break. Too many times when I've spent all this time changing my clothes, taking a PWO, warmup/stretch, just to have my boss's boss call me needing something right then and there.
Yeah, basically this. I get interrupted while I do something, and other people give no shit about me doing something, and start doing something that involves me while I am busy. I don't have kids, or a job like that, but I can relate to this experience.
Thought there might be something up with me as well, but I won't delve into what exactly here. It's not exactly very upbeat.
I'm sure I've also got some kind of ADHD going on, definitely more so than my wife, but at the same time, I also refuse to believe that I'm the weird one.
My wife and I no longer watch TV or movies together anymore, because she gets mad that I like to make a drink, get a snack, lay down on the couch, put my phone away, start the show/movie, and then watch it until the very end. I want all the chores done, the dog walked, the kids in bed, etc.
Whereas she likes to start something on her iPad 20 minutes before we have to put the kids to bed, picks it up again 90 minutes later on the living room TV while she finishes something for work, then finishes it on the bedroom TV while she's walking around washing her face/doing skincare/scrolling on her phone. Then she falls asleep with it on.
I love horror stuff, but night time is obviously the time to watch it, but that's when my family (who doesn't like horror stuff) is home, so I just never watch horror stuff, because not only does it have to be the right time of day with no one else home (which RARELY happens), I still have to be in the right mindset for it. :'(
The exception to this is true crime, which I CAN watch in the daytime when no one is home. Except for the last two weeks, when my husband (a teacher) was home every single day, so I have not been able to really watch true crime for two weeks.
It’s like when you have a ton of games in your backlog but you feel no desire to start any of them because you think starting one on a lark would be a disservice and it’s a whole thing to learn how it functions vs. just dropping in one and playing.
Really happy to see people like me in the comments. Like yeah, that Thing is Good, which is why I can do it right now. I’m not ready for Good, I can only absorb Positively Mediocre this instant.
unironically this is how i’ve been with AI somnium files and i feel like such an asshole because a friend bought it for me cause they really wanted me to play it and i just can’t get myself in the headspace to play more than 5 minutes at a time
Me when I can’t like most content when it’s brand new. I gotta wait until most of the fandom spaces has died out and then enjoy it with whomever is still left in the now niche spaces
I still think this is better than the reverse where you can only like what's hot in the moment for as long as it's hot in the moment, before jumping on the next bandwagon.
My friends do this with a lot of video games. They’ve learned years ago to not ask me to join in on whatever they have all decided to spend money on, play for only 6 weeks, then never touch it again. I need 2 years minimum to play a game if I am truly invested in it.
I have the same friend group with the same pattern. Videogames were exactly what I was thinking of when I commented!
I like to pick a few games and stick with them, and because I like to focus on no more than ~2 games at a time I often end up playing things long after the hype has died down.
My friend group is the opposite where they'll jump on the trending game but will usually fall off after about a month, leaving them with tons of unfinished games or games they never really got to experience in full because of how little time they spent with them. I think they enjoy being part of the bandwagon and more power to them but I find doing that more frustrating than fun so I've stopped a long time ago
It’s also a lot of money to buy a new game every month 😭 Meanwhile I just got back into Fallout New Vegas and I might be on this for the whole of 2026 cause I’m short 15 achievements from 100% the game.
I once forced myself to watch a movie because it's on my list and I was bored, but I wasn't really feeling it. I ended up hating it. I thought it was an awful movie. I believed everyone who praised it were lying and just jumping in the trend.
Years later, I watched it again. But I was in the mood. And it was awesome. The jokes clicked. I really liked the visuals. It was great.
So...yeah. When I don't watch, or don't play, or don't listen to something these days... It's because I had that experience before.
I just don't want to ruin a good time with my bad mood.
Me when I saw the Murder Drones Pilot upon release, enjoyed it, and then waiting until AUGUST OF 2025 TO WATCH THE ACTUAL MASTERPIECE. I hate myself for not watching it sooner, but at least i didnt have to wait for episodes.
Everyone here mentions executive dysfunction, I interpreted it more as wanting to find a good moment when you can properly enjoy it, instead of being in an unfitting mood, risking getting interrupted many times, being distracted or whatever.
For me it’s like: I need to be in the right headspace, but the thing i want to do has to be good, but not great. What if I start it and it’s great but doesn’t end great? Or it’s great all the way through and I don’t appreciate it? Or it’s not great and I waste my time? I have so little free time that trying to figure out what to do when I have it … that’s where I get stuck.
As long as I keep those things in mind I come around eventually, and when it does line up I get hooked for weeks. I think its more of an ADHD thing for me tho
Or its counterpart — I thought this was (1) so I got into the headspace for (1), but its actually (2).
I went in to the old B&W Cary Grant film Penny Serenade thinking it was a comedy. In one of the first scenes an MC has a miscarriage during an earthquake. It was not a comedy.
This might be a sign to consider looking into an ADHD diagnosis if you deal with this. I’m not saying we should self diagnose ourselves, but executive dysfunction is a common symptom!
real as FUCK!!! i have so much stuff that i want to read/play/watch that i Cant Yet cuz of a fucked up mix of executive dysfunction and not wanting to ruin stuff for myself cuz i cant really feel emotions properly right now and i dont want to lose my one shot to experience the thing properly for the first time 😔
Was just feeling this…got some free time for once in about 2 weeks and went to sit down to catch up on a computer game, and couldn’t get into it, stopped after 5 min even though that’s all I’ve thought about lately when it comes to wanting free time
It took me 3 1/2 years to listen to the highly anticipated new song from one of my favourite artists (Foundations of Decay MCR). What the fuck is wrong with me.
I hate it so much but I just started watching movies. It took everything in me to sit and watch stuff because the only time I watch TV is when I wake up and when im abt to sleep so its usually "im not awake enough" or "I wanna save this for when I can appreciate it better" bruh just watch them. Ive been pausing movies and finishing them later like a criminal. Forget something important? Go back and watch it >:) you can just do that its free. Treat it like youre breaking the rules or sm like a treat. Reward yourself. Ik not everyone's brain works like that but its helped me alot
Yes. Sometimes it isn’t that I am not allowed to - sometimes it is “oh, what if that reminds me of X? Better avoid it until I am in the right space to deal with X.”
Every time I see a weird behavior I relate to, the first comment is about how it’s a symptom of neurodivergence, and I get juuusst a little closer to making an appointment with my psychiatrist
I absolutely love my sister so much because we have tons of similar interests in indie shows like TADC and other stuff despite her being a lot older than me, But the only problem is that she gets THIS EXACT THING so often! Like, I don't wanna shove content down your throat or anything and I get it too sometimes, but how haven't you seen this one thing?!
I feel called out. I once procrastinated playing an indie game I bought on release for over a year because the creators clearly put their heart and soul into it and it'd be doing them a disservice if I were to engage with it when I'm tired or distracted or sad or frustrated... And what if I miss a clever detail or don't make some sort of connection that should be obvious to an attentive player? Clearly I should wait until I'm at my 100% best. And so I waited for over a year for the stars to align so that I could let myself enjoy playing a game that I'd been looking forward to ever since I'd learned it was in development
True. Stopped playing many games midway through because something put me in a vastly different headspace that wjat I was in while playing it (not even "worse" or "better", just "different" is enough)
I accidentally trained myself to only watch Star Trek (original series) while eating instant noodles, and now I can't watch the show without instant noodles
My game backlog is physically insane but because I need to wait till I'm in the mood for either an existing game or a new one so many have gone unplayed
I've had ac odyssey since 2020, and yet I have not finished it. I remember playing the tutorial right as COVID struck on my laptop in the dining room.
The only games I remember finishing were Skyrim, both Portals, unpacking, assemble with care and A little to the left.
Depending on the situation sometimes I just scroll on my phone endlessly instead of doing something I like doing because I might be interrupted during the activity, and then half an hour will pass and I'm like fuck... I should've done the thing.
Also even when I've been allowing myself to consistently binge/enjoy a show I have to suddenly STOP or else it will END (e.g. Modern Family with like 3 more seasons left cause I love it too much. Now I've started rewatching it with my boyfriend without having ever finished it💀)
Oh, my favorite historical costuming youtuber* uploaded a new video! But I'm so depressed, I won't be able to appreciate it or get any joy out of it. Better not watch it until I'm in a better mood. (is never in a better mood, 13 videos go unwatched)
*Bernadette Banner, you are a light in the darkness
It took me 3 months to watch season 3 of Shoresy and I am a huge fan of the show. I started the first episode a dozen times before I was in the right mindset. Unfortunately giving my balls a tug just wasn't working.
Makes sense. I watched the first episode of Arcane, the first three episodes of Hazbin Hotel, and the first couple of episodes of Owl House in the wrong mindset and absolutely hated them. Now they are some of my favorite TV shows of all time. Wrong time/mindset can really cripple ones enjoyment.
Executive dysfunction moment
fuck. is this also executive dysfunction
Indeed it is! Executive dysfunction affects a lot of shit, which is part of the reason it sucks so much!
God damn it I'm never gonna have a unique experience
Yup. Not being able to start tasks I don't want to do sucks, but not even being able to do the things I want to do is worse
as someone in the process of figuring out what’s wrong with me, is “executive dysfunction” an official diagnosis? or would it be like a symptom for a broader thing
Like how a runny nose can be part of a cold or allergies, executive dysfunction can be a part of neurodivergence or other things
It’s most often associated with ADHD, but it could also be a symptom of other conditions such as autism, depression, or after brain injury. It can manifest as procrastination, disorganization, poor emotional control, and trouble starting or finishing projects.
It's a symptom of a larger thing. Usually associated with ADHD. But it may be a symptom of other things as well.
thank you for your answer!
It is a symptom of disorders like depression, ADHD, autism and dementia. Don't sweat it, it's probably ADHD and/or autism. Which is totally manageable, and there are these godsend pills you can take like Adderall to help manage executive dysfunction. You have to get a diagnosis for that.
Omg when I first toon Adderall as an adult, it was so… bizarre. Like “what do you mean I can just think of the thing I want to do and just… do the thing? You’re telling me I don’t have to fight with my brain first? Or wait for the occasional moment of motivation to maybe come to the rescue? Or have to convince myself that turning on the water to do the dishes is not equivalently difficult to placing my hands in a bucket of knives?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN HEAR MYSELF THINK? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DONT HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO HEAR MY OWN INTERNAL DIALOGUE OVER ALL OF THE INCREDIBLY LOUD, VAGUE THOUGHTS THAT CLOUD MY BRAIN?!”
Same. After living with awful executive dysfunction, when it gets better, it feels... abnormal. So completely out of the usual pattern, it feels wrong for a while.
Oh fuck. I might suffer from this.
I've been interested in learning to do digital art a few years ago. But I haven't started yet.
One of my excuses is that I can't get started until I close all the open tabs I have on my PC, which have been open for YEARS. But even though I finally managed to do that a few weeks back, I still have trouble getting started...
ADHD
Yeah, it's quite possible.
My aunt also suspects I might have a mild case of Asperger's as well.
Just letting you know that’s not a diagnosis that’s used anymore. It’s all ASD now. You’d be on the low-support-needs end of the spectrum if you do indeed have autism, but it’s all now considered to be the same soup.
🫠🫠🫠
Applicable to things you like certainly makes it more likely Executive Dysfunction is at fault
Yeah, when i was getting my ADHD diagnosis there was a big emphasis from the psychiatrist on whether i also had trouble with doing things i enjoyed than just things like chores and school work
I told him the story of the time i made a schedule for my hobbies (monday was painting night, tuesday for guitar practice, wednesday knitting, thursday movies, friday writing fanfiction, saturday video games, sunday going on walks) to avoid feeling like i'm not in the mood for anything and then got overwhelmed trying to stick to it and had a breakdown within three days, lol
yo same
I had so many planners growing up that all ended 3 pages in and in the form of a dramatic emotional breakdown
No, no, the emotions just have to be in the right order to receive new content.
That can't be executive dysfunction can it?
That's totally executive dysfunction, and probably ADHD
My son has been diagnosed with ADD so you're probably right
Oh
So I guess that's another point towards "I probably have executive dysfunction lol"
You should look up ADHD, executive dysfunction is just a symptom
Ah, so I should move all those checkmarks into the preexisting "I probably have ADHD lol" section?
It’s also a symptom of depression, autism, anxiety, and sometimes OCD. Have fun!
I think my symptoms are closer to OCPD rather than OCD lol, and depression amd anxiety symptoms are ever present, and I think I have almost every symptom for Autism lmao
But you know, that's just based on my personal observation, for all I know, it is just me being a loser lol
Just smoke some cigarettes to kill the ADHD in your stomach
Does it work for BPD too, I'm willing to exchange my lungs for a bit of normality
oh. well god damnit that explains a lot
the really fun part about executive dysfunction is that not even leisure activities are safe
like youd think i could sit down and just listen to a song ive been wanting to check out while drawing, the thing ive been doing for as long as i can remember and which i have always loved, but No. illegal. cant do it.
I want to write, I want to watch videos and anime ... I CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO DO IT. Because I'll have something else to do before it ad infinitum
This is similar to my problem. I’d love to sit down and play some games or keep writing the story I’m writing. But I probably have to do something here soon, or someone needs to talk to me in the middle of it, etc, so I can’t let myself get invested, so I should probably just scroll my fucking phone again since I can at least break my attention away from that real quick whenever that something comes up.
I think that doomscrolling should be a public health concern at this point.
If people can’t even consume medium form media (10-25 minute videos) and would rather spend that same amount of time scrolling, then it’s a problem.
If people can only consume bite sized pieces of content that’s a problem for communication and mental health.
I’m actually being 100% serious and I recognize the absolute irony of writing this on Reddit.
It’s too early in the morning to be realising these things about myself
As I’m typing this I have realised the irony of that…
For me, this arose partly from having a needy dog. I had to perpetually be doing something I could easily break away from or else he'd demand my attention, occasionally by peeing on the floor while making dramatic eye contact. Then I had a needy partner while having a needy dog and my ability to accomplish anything plummeted.
Omg, same...
I want to write and draw stuff, but there's ALWAYS something I have to do first before I get started.
Might even be related to my fear of not being good enough, or go unnoticed...
I feel ya there! like if I have work, I'm not allowed to do anything else but relax before getting ready for work, so it's just easier to let youtube play as I lay down and run down the clock
I have nothing to do. The vibes are just off!
Yes, god, help
It is AWFUL.
I feel this. But I kinda just accept that I am never playing things when they're at the height of their hype lol
There’s some of that, but it goes beyond imo. If I watch the first half of a show or movie and I think it’s exceptional, then I can’t watch the other half until I feel I’m ready to take in something exceptional, which is never. So I end up casting aside things that I find too good.
Why are you watching movies in multiple sittings
Look, some of us can't just do a single thing at a time.
We have to flip between the movie, YouTube videos, this music that's cool, chatting with friends, back to the movie… rinse and repeat.
You take a bathroom break, then your dog needs to go outside and stare wistfully off into the middle distance for 20-30 minutes while you yell at her to get in the damn house because it’s 19°F outside and you’re wearing flip-flops.
Then when you get back inside you realize you’re a bit hungry because you haven’t eaten in 48 hours, so you make yourself some microwave ramen. Then you sit down to finish watching the movie (of course forgetting about your bowl of ramen the first time so you have to go back for it), but well now your attention will be split between the movie and your meal, and the movie is so good it deserves your full attention. So you decide to resume the movie after you finish eating and just scroll through Reddit instead
And then it’s suddenly 2am and you’re typing out a way too long comment about why you’d stop in the middle of watching a movie, knowing DAMN WELL that you have work in less than 4 hours. And now it’s a sunk cost fallacy and you’re trying to decide if it’s even worth it to try to go to sleep at this point 😭
Some movies are very long
Anyone can procrastinate chores.
It takes a real procrastinator to procrasinate entertainment.
I used to just be a crastinator. Then I went pro.
A movie is in my watch list for either less than a week or for years upon years, rarely in between. I put it in there when I have a sudden spark of interest in it. If I lose the spark, I wait until I regain it.
I’ve been meaning to watch Memento since like 2016.
I cannot believe it’s been 10 years.
You keep forgetting to watch Memento?
He's already seen it. He just doesn't know it yet.
I want to ENJOY the movie. Appreciate every frame like a dollar tree Anton Ego. If my brain isn't in Anton Ego mode, I won't watch it.
Sometimes it takes a couple watchings to really get a thing, and that’s okay too.
Also, the whole point of Anton Ego is he wasn’t expecting to love the thing so much. Waiting until you’ll know you’ll love a thing is antithetical to what he did
Yeah, you see Anton Ego going in to the restaurant casually at the end of the movie, not as a critic, but as a diner. He was far more happy doing that than assessing food
This.
No, I can't listen to that new song for the first time while I'm doing something else, I have to give the lyrics and the MV my full, undivided attention on the first listen. I have to appreciate it in full!
Sure, I could watch that episode I've been looking forward to, but I'm a little too tired to enjoy it as much as I could. Or it's the wrong time of day. Or I just finished something else and I need to give that more time to settle first. Etc.
Time skip in 30 years this will be a new thing on the dsm5 or watever
I love the idea that in 30 years we’ll still just be issuing updates to 5 and dsm6 will still not be out
DSM-5.23.46_final_FINAL2
I'd say Mojang and 1.21 but they just switched to YY.V
Skyrim
We're getting GTA6 before DSM6
It already is. It’s called ADHD lmao
It's most likely referring to executive dysfunction, as other comments have alluded to.
you people need to shut up and stop attacking me personally
Me when people say to me “but this is YOUR favorite game of all time! why haven’t you finished the final chapter of the main story yet????????? why does it take you so long to do newly released content???? even if it involves a storyline you love???????”
It’s precisely because I love the thing so much that I can’t just bring myself to do it immediately, the mental threshold required is too high……
I found out that I will ABSOLUTELY NOT begin doing anything enjoyable, or quit very early on, and then proceed to not touch it for years, since all my life I've been torn out of the stuff I was doing to do other stuff I didn't wanna do. And that somehow also spread to things I am supposed to do. So i just end up sitting there, watching random stuff on YouTube, instead of doing literally anything. Don't think it's executive dysfunction though, since I am still randomly (rarely) am able to just go ahead and do stuff. And I have no diagnosis for anything mental, so officially I am normal.
Idk, living is hard :/
How do we tell him
Yeah that’s executive dysfunction as fuck.
Here is a test. If you can successfully schedule a psychological assessment within the next week, you might not have an issue. If you can't, get a friend to help, then DEFINITELY get that assessment.
I've been meaning to go get tested since around 2022, and I don't really have a friend to do that. And I doubt I can do it myself. Soooooooo.... yeah.
This is why people say 'self diagnosis is valid'. Which ironically a lot of ND folk struggle with because it's not 'the right way to do things'
It's not necessarily about giving yourself a label, it's about finding things that help you understand and work with your brain better.
For me it felt like 'trying a diagnosis on for size' and seeing if it fit the way I actually behave then trying stuff to see if it stuck long term for me to solve issues...
Start easy. I think there's a reason why people complain about 'tiktok diagnosis' - because for someone with Executive dysfunction short form content from ND creators who talk about their experiences is an accessible route to starting to understand wtf is going on better.
For me it lead to deeper rabbit holes (reading papers, essays, assessment criteria etc) but at first a lot of it was just a lot of thinking 😅
Here's a shorts channel who I find fun to watch and learn from to start you off if that may help, they discuss mainly adhd but also compare with autism lived experiences sometimes too https://youtube.com/@adhd_love?si=j6YQTefUho2e4RvJ
I've watched a lot of mental health related stuffs back in the day, but it honestly only lead to more confusion. I'm at a point where I need to actually talk to an educated person to make sense of all of the stuff in me. So far the only thing I can somewhat diagnose myself with is low-ish self-off risk. And I've been doing some stuff to keep that risk very low.
Sounds like you know what you need which is good! I will say the ND stuff isn't so much about mental health (though obviously it effects it) but I can be confusing to work out your own behaviours. I hope you're blessed with the ability to speak to a pro soon!
My advice is to try not to be too hard on yourself, but I believe in you! It took me 3 years the first time and another year after moving states.
I used my insurance company's website to find a psychologist who was in network. That sounds complicated, but it's actually very straightforward and takes about 30 minutes to an hour if you know what you are doing.
If you need more help, then PM me, and I'll proxy as a friend. You just need to pay it forward down the road.
I have this weird problem of not being anywhere near US. Or in EU for that matter. But thank you for your consideration none the less.
Oh, then my experience might not be of much help. Im sorry for making assumptions, but I wish you luck in your journey!
It likely is, but the cause isn't always some mental health issue.
I used to love doing various projects around the house, or binging shows/video games. I didn't have a problem doing something for multiple hours. Then I had kids. The only things I do anymore are things that I'm fine being interrupted doing, i.e. mindless doomscrolling.
Like I don't want to start mowing the lawn if there's even the slightest chance the kids are going to come and bug me for something that will make me leave the lawn only 15% finished.
Or, I stopped working out in my garage on my lunch break. Too many times when I've spent all this time changing my clothes, taking a PWO, warmup/stretch, just to have my boss's boss call me needing something right then and there.
Yeah, basically this. I get interrupted while I do something, and other people give no shit about me doing something, and start doing something that involves me while I am busy. I don't have kids, or a job like that, but I can relate to this experience.
Thought there might be something up with me as well, but I won't delve into what exactly here. It's not exactly very upbeat.
I'm sure I've also got some kind of ADHD going on, definitely more so than my wife, but at the same time, I also refuse to believe that I'm the weird one.
My wife and I no longer watch TV or movies together anymore, because she gets mad that I like to make a drink, get a snack, lay down on the couch, put my phone away, start the show/movie, and then watch it until the very end. I want all the chores done, the dog walked, the kids in bed, etc.
Whereas she likes to start something on her iPad 20 minutes before we have to put the kids to bed, picks it up again 90 minutes later on the living room TV while she finishes something for work, then finishes it on the bedroom TV while she's walking around washing her face/doing skincare/scrolling on her phone. Then she falls asleep with it on.
Reason I haven't finished Frieren.
Oh hey, you might be me. I just never got around to watching the last episode.
I've never seen you and me in the same room, so you/I might be onto something...
Nows the time to pick it up! Second season should be in a couple of weeks haha
Is this just the extreme version of not being in the mood?
Anime can only be watched at night, day time is YouTube time
I love horror stuff, but night time is obviously the time to watch it, but that's when my family (who doesn't like horror stuff) is home, so I just never watch horror stuff, because not only does it have to be the right time of day with no one else home (which RARELY happens), I still have to be in the right mindset for it. :'(
The exception to this is true crime, which I CAN watch in the daytime when no one is home. Except for the last two weeks, when my husband (a teacher) was home every single day, so I have not been able to really watch true crime for two weeks.
Yeah I take drugs (proscribed) for it
i struggle with this too but didnt know it wasn’t just me, what condition even is that i wanna look it up and see if i have it too 😭
ADHD.
Me trying to get myself to watch season 2 of Hazbin Hotel
Right there with you
i haven’t seen it either for the same reason 😭
Me with that and also fionna and cake and pluribus and percy jackson and most of youtube. Gotten much worse in the past year or two
You're not missing much.
It’s like when you have a ton of games in your backlog but you feel no desire to start any of them because you think starting one on a lark would be a disservice and it’s a whole thing to learn how it functions vs. just dropping in one and playing.
Its all funny and stuff, but seriously: how do one can fix themself of this shit?
Me with Arcane and Zenless Zone zero
Maybe it's a good thing that you're putting off playing ZZZ
https://preview.redd.it/bypaxvjjvebg1.jpeg?width=424&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b95410120e56e830d7e9c91b251dddeb8c73dc5
I dont even got a card so im ballin, it took me a year to play it and now...
https://i.redd.it/y8mjodcwyebg1.gif
I still dont deserve owning a ps5
theres stuff i want to do that i havent done in like i think nearly a full decade because of this
Imagine this with sleep... I really should sleep.
Really happy to see people like me in the comments. Like yeah, that Thing is Good, which is why I can do it right now. I’m not ready for Good, I can only absorb Positively Mediocre this instant.
I get this for finales. If I'm not in the exact right mood, I can't finish the show. I have left many things unfinished because of this
unironically this is how i’ve been with AI somnium files and i feel like such an asshole because a friend bought it for me cause they really wanted me to play it and i just can’t get myself in the headspace to play more than 5 minutes at a time
Me when I can’t like most content when it’s brand new. I gotta wait until most of the fandom spaces has died out and then enjoy it with whomever is still left in the now niche spaces
I still think this is better than the reverse where you can only like what's hot in the moment for as long as it's hot in the moment, before jumping on the next bandwagon.
My friends do this with a lot of video games. They’ve learned years ago to not ask me to join in on whatever they have all decided to spend money on, play for only 6 weeks, then never touch it again. I need 2 years minimum to play a game if I am truly invested in it.
I have the same friend group with the same pattern. Videogames were exactly what I was thinking of when I commented!
I like to pick a few games and stick with them, and because I like to focus on no more than ~2 games at a time I often end up playing things long after the hype has died down.
My friend group is the opposite where they'll jump on the trending game but will usually fall off after about a month, leaving them with tons of unfinished games or games they never really got to experience in full because of how little time they spent with them. I think they enjoy being part of the bandwagon and more power to them but I find doing that more frustrating than fun so I've stopped a long time ago
It’s also a lot of money to buy a new game every month 😭 Meanwhile I just got back into Fallout New Vegas and I might be on this for the whole of 2026 cause I’m short 15 achievements from 100% the game.
I once forced myself to watch a movie because it's on my list and I was bored, but I wasn't really feeling it. I ended up hating it. I thought it was an awful movie. I believed everyone who praised it were lying and just jumping in the trend.
Years later, I watched it again. But I was in the mood. And it was awesome. The jokes clicked. I really liked the visuals. It was great.
So...yeah. When I don't watch, or don't play, or don't listen to something these days... It's because I had that experience before.
I just don't want to ruin a good time with my bad mood.
Me watching only stuff I have already seen despite having hours and hours of stuff that I haven’t seen and want to watch
me since graduating. depression and adhd is a fucked up combo
This is why I still haven't started Skyrim.
Me when I saw the Murder Drones Pilot upon release, enjoyed it, and then waiting until AUGUST OF 2025 TO WATCH THE ACTUAL MASTERPIECE. I hate myself for not watching it sooner, but at least i didnt have to wait for episodes.
me w/ going to sleep
Omg, I'm not alone in this? I thought I was the only wierd one about this
Everyone here mentions executive dysfunction, I interpreted it more as wanting to find a good moment when you can properly enjoy it, instead of being in an unfitting mood, risking getting interrupted many times, being distracted or whatever.
how it feels to randomly be completely unwanting to do any leisurely activity but still long to cure my boredom
…is this not how everyone lives??? I didnt realize people can just…enjoy things willy nilly?
For me it’s like: I need to be in the right headspace, but the thing i want to do has to be good, but not great. What if I start it and it’s great but doesn’t end great? Or it’s great all the way through and I don’t appreciate it? Or it’s not great and I waste my time? I have so little free time that trying to figure out what to do when I have it … that’s where I get stuck.
So I lay in bed and scroll on my phone.
And this is how my collection of movies became more than half unwatched blind buys :/
As long as I keep those things in mind I come around eventually, and when it does line up I get hooked for weeks. I think its more of an ADHD thing for me tho
It's hell, I tell ya. Save me from this mess of a brain I beg of you.
Or its counterpart — I thought this was (1) so I got into the headspace for (1), but its actually (2).
I went in to the old B&W Cary Grant film Penny Serenade thinking it was a comedy. In one of the first scenes an MC has a miscarriage during an earthquake. It was not a comedy.
This might be a sign to consider looking into an ADHD diagnosis if you deal with this. I’m not saying we should self diagnose ourselves, but executive dysfunction is a common symptom!
i cannot relate........... (quietly hides second youtube watch later playlist)
real as FUCK!!! i have so much stuff that i want to read/play/watch that i Cant Yet cuz of a fucked up mix of executive dysfunction and not wanting to ruin stuff for myself cuz i cant really feel emotions properly right now and i dont want to lose my one shot to experience the thing properly for the first time 😔
Was just feeling this…got some free time for once in about 2 weeks and went to sit down to catch up on a computer game, and couldn’t get into it, stopped after 5 min even though that’s all I’ve thought about lately when it comes to wanting free time
I just want to read books but I just can’t and it sucks
Yes.
It took me 3 1/2 years to listen to the highly anticipated new song from one of my favourite artists (Foundations of Decay MCR). What the fuck is wrong with me.
Me with a few albums and some games in my Steam library.
The bane of my life....
I hate it so much but I just started watching movies. It took everything in me to sit and watch stuff because the only time I watch TV is when I wake up and when im abt to sleep so its usually "im not awake enough" or "I wanna save this for when I can appreciate it better" bruh just watch them. Ive been pausing movies and finishing them later like a criminal. Forget something important? Go back and watch it >:) you can just do that its free. Treat it like youre breaking the rules or sm like a treat. Reward yourself. Ik not everyone's brain works like that but its helped me alot
All. The. Time.
Yes. Sometimes it isn’t that I am not allowed to - sometimes it is “oh, what if that reminds me of X? Better avoid it until I am in the right space to deal with X.”
me w/ the star trek tos movies
No
Yes
Not as much that I’m not allowed to enjoy it, so much as I will not enjoy something if I’m not on the mindset for it
Every time I see a weird behavior I relate to, the first comment is about how it’s a symptom of neurodivergence, and I get juuusst a little closer to making an appointment with my psychiatrist
I absolutely love my sister so much because we have tons of similar interests in indie shows like TADC and other stuff despite her being a lot older than me, But the only problem is that she gets THIS EXACT THING so often! Like, I don't wanna shove content down your throat or anything and I get it too sometimes, but how haven't you seen this one thing?!
I feel called out. I once procrastinated playing an indie game I bought on release for over a year because the creators clearly put their heart and soul into it and it'd be doing them a disservice if I were to engage with it when I'm tired or distracted or sad or frustrated... And what if I miss a clever detail or don't make some sort of connection that should be obvious to an attentive player? Clearly I should wait until I'm at my 100% best. And so I waited for over a year for the stars to align so that I could let myself enjoy playing a game that I'd been looking forward to ever since I'd learned it was in development
Still waiting for the perfect time and mode to watch 2 animes I'm really excited to watch since the release, it's been 2 years... Any day now
It’s why it took 5 years for me to watch the last half of season 15 of Supernatural. Then proceeded to watch it 3 times before it left Netflix.
Is this a personal attack or something?
Bojack Horseman.
I’ll watch it when I’m ready (I will never say I’m ready)
Never realized that that set and costume make Dennis look like he’s in Blue’s Clues or something.
Not really?
I've procrastinated on so many shows...
I am also bad at keeping up trends.
No. If I want to watch something and have free time, I’ll watch it.
True. Stopped playing many games midway through because something put me in a vastly different headspace that wjat I was in while playing it (not even "worse" or "better", just "different" is enough)
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I get this with games. I really want to play a game but i just do not have the right mindset at the time.
Yeah, but you push through the discomfort and keep going.
I accidentally trained myself to only watch Star Trek (original series) while eating instant noodles, and now I can't watch the show without instant noodles
My game backlog is physically insane but because I need to wait till I'm in the mood for either an existing game or a new one so many have gone unplayed
I've had ac odyssey since 2020, and yet I have not finished it. I remember playing the tutorial right as COVID struck on my laptop in the dining room.
The only games I remember finishing were Skyrim, both Portals, unpacking, assemble with care and A little to the left.
This is literally me with expedition 33. I know that when I finally play it I will probably love it but I am not on the mood to start it yet
YES
Yes. I too am autistic
My YouTube watch later list is over 2,200 videos long. I have over 400 unplayed games on Steam. My book averages 10k words per month.
Help.
See also: depression. "I'm not allowed to enjoy it" is the mantra of my depression.
Who gave you permission to call me out like this?
i get through this by telling myself we can “pretend” to listen to the podcast that way it doesn’t really count.
Lol, I thought I was going to watch the new Frankenstein the night it came out, lmao
God you people can't do anything
This is not to be taken seriously but is a response to a tweet about how hard Halloween is for the ADHD community, that I personally find very funny
Depending on the situation sometimes I just scroll on my phone endlessly instead of doing something I like doing because I might be interrupted during the activity, and then half an hour will pass and I'm like fuck... I should've done the thing.
Oh
Also even when I've been allowing myself to consistently binge/enjoy a show I have to suddenly STOP or else it will END (e.g. Modern Family with like 3 more seasons left cause I love it too much. Now I've started rewatching it with my boyfriend without having ever finished it💀)
That's my life since I can remember
Oh, my favorite historical costuming youtuber* uploaded a new video! But I'm so depressed, I won't be able to appreciate it or get any joy out of it. Better not watch it until I'm in a better mood. (is never in a better mood, 13 videos go unwatched)
*Bernadette Banner, you are a light in the darkness
It took me 3 months to watch season 3 of Shoresy and I am a huge fan of the show. I started the first episode a dozen times before I was in the right mindset. Unfortunately giving my balls a tug just wasn't working.
Makes sense. I watched the first episode of Arcane, the first three episodes of Hazbin Hotel, and the first couple of episodes of Owl House in the wrong mindset and absolutely hated them. Now they are some of my favorite TV shows of all time. Wrong time/mindset can really cripple ones enjoyment.
For me the media either gets sent to the eternal backlog or I hyperfixate on it and binge it so hard I dissociate.