So this was originally a comment on a post about depression and so forth, but it actually occurred to me that it might be more helpful in a tag somewhere where someone might see it, rather than buried in 68k notes. So here’s the thing: I’m not great at explaining what executive functioning problems ARE, but I tried to explain what they feel like.
Looking at a dirty litterbox and a sink full of dishes and going “fuck this noise” and going back on tumblr feels a lot like laziness, even if you are feeling kind of like crying just looking at them. But it can also be your brain being currently incapable of putting together the steps you need to take in order to DO those things, you can’t quite put together that cleaning the litterbox is:
- Get a trash bag
- Get the litter scoop
- Get clean litter
- Open trash bag
- Move litterbox to accessible position
- Crouch down by the litterbox
- Scoop out poop and clumps
- Tie off trash bag
- Add some clean litter to box
- Put litterbox back in its original position
- Put litter scoop away
- Put clean litter away
- Throw away trash bag
When you’re having executive functioning issues, you look at the dirty litterbox and even if you don’t realize it, you can’t work out those steps, you just see the dirty litterbox and know that it needs to be clean and all those steps are mushing together into one big ball of overwhelming stress and you can’t quite figure out where to start, and it takes a LOT of mental and emotional momentum to start, and when you’re depressed or overwhelmed or whatever it can be next to impossible to GET that mental and emotional momentum.
This isn’t the best explanation of executive dysfunction, probably, but it’s the best I’ve got, and it can be awful, and it can make you feel like a lazy useless person when you’re nothing of the sort, and it’s so insidious, because when you’re NOT having these issues it’s the easiest thing in the world to subconsciously put all those steps together and get from “dirty litterbox” to “clean litterbox” without any conscious thought.
This can happen when you’re depressed, if you have ADHD or autism, if you have anxiety… there are a lot of reasons you might run into problems with your executive functioning. It can be simple things like cleaning the litterbox, it can be things you do (or try to do) regularly like your math homework, it can be something like going to the gym or cooking dinner or getting out of bed in the morning.
But the most important thing to take away from this is that there is a huge difference between “I could do this but I really don’t want to” and “I cannot do this”, and when you learn to recognize the difference, you can begin to stop calling yourself “lazy” and “useless” and “worthless” during those times when you CAN’T do this even if you want to.
Yeah, autistic people, people with depression, or ADHD, or anxiety… we can all be lazy sometimes. And that’s okay, it’s normal to be lazy sometimes. And we can still have issues with laziness. But the difference is real, and important, and I feel like not enough people outside of the autistic and maybe ADHD communities realize that this is something that they might be struggling with.
Tag: understanding
Learning disability awareness isn’t about reassuring people with learning disabilities that they’re ‘still smart’, it’s about recognizing that intelligence is a highly variable social construct and that an individual’s worth is not attached to that subjective construct.
In the accompanying article Dwayne Johnson talks about his struggles with depression.
damn he look good
omg that chicken pox scar on his cheekbone *passes out*
uh can we focus on how fucking momentous this is? we have so few men in hollywood actually opening up this widely about their struggles with depression, so few instances of men talking about depression that ACTUALLY gets attention
and this isn’t coming from a “sensitive poet” type like a musician. male musicians frequently touch on things like depression, but when was the last time you had a former wrestler – a PRIME ATHLETE – openly discuss this?? can anyone remember? because i fucking can’t
this is amazing and brave and noteworthy and brilliant all at once, i love it and i love this man so much it hurts
*cries*
Especially since he’s indigenous…This is an important issue.
*quietly adds this to the list of Reasons Why Dwayne Johnson Is An Awesome Person*
I have wanted to do this for a long time, so now as this thing called fibromyalgia is keeping me awake, it’s a good time. Yep, let’s do this.
It’s something I don’t talk that much about, actually. Not because I’m ashamed or anything, it’s just like… It can be so much. The picture above pretty much shows how my body feels at times, but I wish there could be added something that look like deep knife cuts too, then it would be perfect. Unfortunately I don’t know who has made the picture. One day I want to be the model for a body art where my pains are painted on my body, maybe people would understand me then.
Most likely I’ve had fibromyalgia since I was about 21. At that point in my life, I came to a point where I was fed up with every thing and I went through a tough period of depression and a burn-out. I had no energy left and I felt numb, in both body and mind when I not felt the urge to just lay down and cry. The years before could be summed up like this; deaths in close family, a few episodes of sexual abuse from a so-called friend, bullying through the entire elementary school (don’t under-estimate the effects of late trauma), and giving everything for those I really cared about, only for getting my throat filled with shit. It’s a miracle I didn’t drop out from college, I have my boyfriend, closest friends, parents and brother to thank for that.
Eventually I got through this period, but there was something else slowly starting to appear, despite the fact that I was active and training in order to avoid what forced my mother into a passive life; fibromyalgia. I started to notice numb, aching pains wandering around my body. I got problems with concentrating. My need for sleep just grew, and often I felt tired during the day. I had some episodes of almost falling asleep while driving and it terrified me; I who love driving, and love driving to destinations far away and could do so for entire nights?? I got problems keeping a steady rhythm of day because of my messed up sleep pattern. And every morning, my body felt like it had been frozen during the night and I could use 15 minutes just to sit up in the bed. And the pains in my body just grew, they were everywhere; in muscles, joints and there was no pattern. I have a history of back problems since I’m a master in hurting myself in stupid ways (falling off horses, rugby, tripping etc) and I know what pains that can be located to different points in my back. I can go to my chiropractor and point “exactly there” when there’s a locking I can’t fix myself. But no, these pains were different.
I have no idea for how long I denied these pains. I tried to find other excuses, I refused to have the same condition as my mother. She wasn’t taken seriously by doctors in 1994, and she fought for years to find out what it was and was treated for a long list of conditions without effect, and when they finally figured out what it was, she was so badly affected that there was no way back and she hasn’t been working since 2001. I remember those days so well, it was horrible and I remember the frustration knowing there was nothing I could do for her – I was just 12, what could I do? My mother isn’t of the kind who is comforted by hugs. Instead it was better to send knowing looks and do my best to help her with the house chores when my father was at the sea.
Eventually my pains reached a level where I was desperate to find out what it was and my boyfriend and mother confronted me with the fact. This was just how it started for her, and I went to the doctor. Fortunately, he was wise enough to just send me directly to the rheumatologist, and after a painful consult, it was clear. 16 out of 18 triggerpoints, and especially my legs were bad. But here’s the good thing.
My rheumatologist was positive, and she established contact between my doctor, chiropractor and physiotherapist.
I’m not the worst case. It’s bad enough, but it could be worse. I had discovered this early and I had been taken seriously when I came to the point that I asked for help. I got stronger pain meds than I already had (1g pracetamol and 1g ibuprofen) and they help me take the worst peaks away on bad days. I have adjusted to the moderate pains, and I’ve started to do medical yoga and it helps a lot. To me, it has been all about taking the control I felt like I was losing. Sometimes my body is trembling for no reason, but I have learned to handle it through yoga. My chiropractor and physiotherapist have experience with my diagnosis and they have a “prescription” that works pretty well. Every fourth week I to them and get my spine “un-locked” to avoid more severe stuff and a carefull massage to make my shoulders relax again, since they get very stiff in bad periods because of how I tense my body.
I’m also trying something new now; LDN – low dose naltrexen. It’s originally a medicine for treating addiction, but in low doses it works as pain relieving. Long story short; it tricks your brain to produce more endorfine, a natural pain killer. Already on my fourth day now, I can feel an improvement. I take 3mg every night 23.00, so I’m really excited to see how it goes. If anybody wishes me to do so, I can update about how this goes on.
Also, being careful with what I eat. No more beefs or lamb on me, and preferably little swine. Mostly chicken, turkey and venison, plus fish, and LOTS of vegetables. It has made my stomach calm down and the bad periods are shorter.
Call me a believer, but another thing that has given me much comfort, is to grow a strong relation to Eir, the norse godess for health and healing. Some of you might know that I’m an asatruar. Yes, I worship the norse gods and powers – to me they are pictures and personifications of nature and ourselves, what happens outside and inside us. The two last years I have searched for strength and hope in Eir, and to me – it has worked. It’s not like I’m telling people to convert, but finding something you hope and believe in, might help. We all need something to hang on to in dark times, whether it is a god or a pet. Pets has also brought me much comfort, I should be fair to them too lol. to be correct, my parents’ pets. Until recently I lived in an apartment where I couldn’t have pets, and that wasn’t ideal to me, a girl with close bonds to animals and nature.health
For the first time since I got the diagnosis 06.12.13, I’m optimistic. Like, I actually believe I’ll be able to work for as long as I want. I dream of working till I’m at least 62, and about 80%. I have a job I handle pretty well. I go on walks and enjoy the outdoor life. I’ve got a silencer for my hunting rifle so my shoulder won’t ache for a week after. I’ve moved back to my childhood home. I have fandoms. I have the medicines I need. I have my concert bands. I have friends, family and the most wonderful boyfriend in the world – where would I have been without him? Not here. Somewhere bad, most likely. He has saved me in so many ways.
I don’t know where I want to go with this, really. I just felt like sharing my story. Both so people might understand what fibromyalgia is, and so that others with this diagnosis might see that there is hope. YES, sometimes it SUCKS to have this rushing through my body and I have days where I isolate myself. I have days where my body isn’t working and I have to cancel all plans. Sometimes I’m crying because my body hurts so much without reason. But maybe, with LDN, this can get better. And I have a team that does everything they can to help me, and so far they have done good. I’m way better now than what I was a year ago just after I got the diagnosis. Every day is a struggle, but then it feels the better when I win the battle and can do the things I want. My thoughts are to let this become something I can grow on, not to drag me down.
I think this rant is over for now. Who knows, I might write about this again. Let’s see.
if your disability activism doesn’t support belligerent disabled people, disabled people who refuse meds or therapy, disabled people who don’t trust the system that’s fucked them over too many times to count—if your disability activisim depends on disabled people being nice or respectable or willing to be made into inspiration porn—it is not good disability activism.
Old traumatic memories are recalled differently than new ones
People with post-traumatic stress disorder often experience prolonged and exaggerated fearfulness, even when they’re completely out of harm’s way.
The long-term storage of painful or fearful memories is a defence mechanism of sorts. It can help animals (humans included) evade dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations. But in humans, it can also cause severe psychological distress.
Scientists have tried to understand what enables fearful memories to persist with such vigour (and some researchers have even suggested sleep might play a role). Figuring this out could help alleviate the negative psychological effects endured long after traumatic experiences occur.
Now, researchers funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health think they have uncovered an important clue.
In experiments with rats, a team from the University of Puerto Rico discovered that an old fear memory is recalled via a separate brain pathway from the one used to recall the memory when it was still fresh.
The team has published its findings in Nature.
“While our memories feel constant across time, the neural pathways supporting them actually change with time,” explained lead author Gregory Quirk in a press release.
“Uncovering new pathways for old memories could change scientists’ view of post-traumatic stress disorder, in which fearful events occur months or years prior to the onset of symptoms.”
Seizure First Aid.
Learn it. Share it. Know it. Use it.
100% correct medical information on tumblr for once; also consider calling 911 if you don’t know how often the person has seizures and ESPECIALLY if the seizure has lasted 5 minutes or more (which is why the watch is critical)
This happened to me on a train ride. Don’t ever hold anyone who’s having a seizure you can actually damage they’r spine, also open they’r mouth by using his or her chin never use ur fingers. When your actually in a situation like this you will know what to do. Don’t panic.
If you can put a blanket over their legs just under the waist. Sometimes bowels and bladder can empty out from it. This will help with decency.
Please in any case of seizure call 911 and don’t let them go home like this. Seizures are really important matter and they should consult with a doctor because it is very tiring for the victim. They will need medical assistance after a fit.
Winter and CP
As a person with CP, I hate winter. I’m always cold which isn’t good for my muscles because they get stiff and it can get really hard to move. They also get achey. And some other people have mentioned that they get cramps. It doesn’t help that winter is like the longest season ever…. ~Mx2
I absolutely love seeing this photoset getting this attention it’s getting for just because you NEVER see deaf people advocating for deaf people. Not that it doesn’t happen, it happens all the time everyday. It’s not ever In the public eye. the people you always see in the spotlight are hearing people. Hearing people are praised left and right for being deaf educators or interpreters or advocating for deaf people and that’s great, don’t get me wrong. I applaud them for helping the cause, but the face of deaf advocacy should be deaf, at least I think so, and this isn’t something you see a lot of.
So shout out to rikki poynter for this video and highlighting these issues in a humorous way and getting hearing people to understand this
Holding the Bowl 