Would welcome some opinions. For me I would say my drive and motivation to do certain tasks is affected by my executive functioning difficulties . It just seems too hard to organise myself to do certain things, especially if those things require a multi step approach.
A prime example is housework and keeping my flat clean and tidy. What to do and in what order very much throws me.
My flat is untidy and very much reflects my somewhat disorganised mind, or at least a mind that struggles not to be like the spider that spins a wonky web.
Im kind of like that in daily life I have a hard time planning a day. Hard transitioning from one thing to another. I usually spend a lot of time at home outside of work.
Like I can go to the store and drive by the car wash and think I should wash my car but it fills me with dread not just going to the store and going home.
Cleaning isn’t to bad I do the bare minimum once a week. And then I am always happy it looks good. Plus I make my husband notice every time I do it. Can’t wait to hire a cleaning lady someday.
I do very little housework. There is a pile of junk in the middle of my apartment. I wash my clothes once a week. My mind is very disorganized too. I live in a dream world. I do a little writing, but that is all I do. I keep hoping my writing will improve.
I don’t think I have much cognitive impairment. But my negatives really take their toll on me. I can force myself to do almost any sort of task, but it’s such a struggle and the accompanying feeling of distress makes me give up before I even begin. But a quick look at what I’ve accomplished since I fell ill in 2014:
I programmed a few apps for Android devices
I read a few books
I watched a few tv series and lots of cartoons
I played the piano a little bit, in the beginning
I played a little tennis, I went to the swimming pool numerous times
I went fishing many times
I buy food for our cats
I keep my room clean, but not VERY clean
And what I stopped doing:
I stopped enjoying things, except food which I still like
I stopped brushing my teeth twice a day; now it’s more like once every two days
I stopped showering daily; now it’s twice a week
I stopped looking at porn daily; I still do it occasionally but there’s no fun involved
I stopped messaging all my friends on a regular basis; now I usually wait for them to make the first move
I definitely have suffered cognitive impairment but its medically induced. I was no where near this slow without medication. I have a lot of negative symptoms.
This illness really effected my cognition. I think for the first 4 years of meds a lot of the negative symptoms where linked to the meds. But I am performing better on stable meds now.
My brain is still not anywhere near pre illness levels but I perform ok cos I started at a real high point.
I forget stuff a lot. It’s very annoying. I have a very selective memory, but it’s better. I work on it, make notes and lists. I tried training apps but they didn’t help much.
