Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is known for making it hard to focus or causing you to hyperfocus. But when you start having difficulty getting through daily activities, you could be unknowingly fighting executive dysfunction.
As a board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Ifeanyi Olele of Genesis Psychiatric Solutions provides help by confirming a diagnosis of ADHD if needed and evaluating you for executive dysfunction.
There are conditions and there are symptoms, and executive dysfunction is the latter. People who have experienced brain damage due to trauma or stroke, degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, or common mental health conditions such as ADHD often find it difficult to control their thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
If you’re struggling with basic life tasks like setting goals, motivating yourself to do things, socializing, or making sensible choices, and you also have ADHD, it’s likely that you're exhibiting executive dysfunction.
This symptom can negatively affect your social life, personal interactions, work, and studies.
Executive functioning includes proper cognitive flexibility, inhibition control, and working memory. Dysfunction happens when you falter in one area or all three.
Cognitive flexibility allows you to adapt quickly and easily to changing situations. You’re more likely to be able to transition seamlessly between work and home life, and find problem solving easy.
Cognitive inflexibility often manifests as deep anxiety when things change unexpectedly or even a frozen state when everything doesn’t go according to plan.
Inhibition control covers both behavioral control and interference control. Behavioral control is about your internal thoughts and emotions. If you have control, you have a filter, meaning you don't just blurt out or do whatever comes into your head.
Interference control is about your ability to focus on what you’re doing and not get derailed by outside distractions or events. Loss of control in this area can mean you never quite seem to finish a task.
When you’re actively doing something that requires even minimal concentration, such as talking to someone, reading a book, watching a film, or writing an email, you’re using working memory.
If you have trouble with your working memory, you can easily lose the plot of whatever you’re reading or watching, zone out during conversations, or forget the point of your email.
Executive dysfunction is extremely common among people with ADHD. One estimate proposes that anywhere from 21%-60% of kids with ADHD struggle with executive functioning, which negatively affects their learning, social development, and more.
Treating ADHD-related executive dysfunction successfully means working with a doctor who treats ADHD and is also experienced in helping you or your child to manage executive functioning.
Both medication and behavioral therapy for ADHD can have positive effects on the symptom of executive dysfunction.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Olele, call our location closest to you or request an appointment online. We have offices in Alexandria and Fairfax, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Dr. Olele can also deliver services via telemedicine.
