Ask HN: Has anyone been able to overcome crippling executive dysfunction?

Yeah I’ve had that in various forms through my life. I’m now in probably my best state. One thing that helped was switching from vyvanse to concerta. I don’t know why but vyvanse didn’t really help. It just made me hyper focus on anything but work.

Another is starting a new job. I don’t think I realized how bored or burnt out I was until I left and joined a new company.

Other than that all the basics: sleep, food, and exercise.

But it’s hard when it gets bad. The only other advice is have a good therapist and psychiatrist that you trust.

The gruesome twosome are very helpful, if controversial:

- get enough sleep

- get regular exercise (most days of the week)

1) diagnose, are you burned out or depressed, or adhd etc? Then 2) treat accordingly, concerta and sleep does wonders for me

Been there many times on different consulting gigs.

I presume you are not part of the executive suite. If so -- get out!

When in the trenches, I have found the best approach is to recognize that you can't change "them". It is not personal and you certainly need to look upon it all as absurdist theatre. Read some Albert Camus or Jean Paul Sartre to realize that your experience if far from unique.

You don't need medication; just shift your viewpoint.

See a psychologist or counselor. If you an underlying diagnosis, you could be suffering more than necessary.

No. Getting worse with time as well.

I recently decided to double up on my Vyvanse dose (without telling my doctor), and that was effective. For a day.

I think Andreas Kling behind Serenity OS, and now the Ladybird Browser, has broadly the right ideas, and Serenity OS is actually named after https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer .

You might be burned out, especially if you're experimenting with substances to try and maintain previous momentum. Some people can seemingly do that for years, but for most people it's going to end in a crash at some point.

Reframe and reset your viewpoint. Look at the past five years; What value have you created? What mistakes have you made? What have you learned? Then turn that into a new reason Why you are doing what you’re doing.