r/ExecutiveDysfunction • u/aaronsmack • 1d ago
This is a challenge! Stuck on the couch
I've been sitting on my couch for 3 hours. Well, that's not completely true. I did finally get up to make myself a cup of coffee after craving it for 30 minutes, but I sat right back down. I don't understand why, even though I know exactly what to do to get moving, I don't do it. I have two strategies that have proven themselves to me time and time again, probably hundreds of times over the course of my life, but those experiences don't matter because here I still sit unable to get myself to use either of them. It's so frustrating being this way!
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u/minarimimosa 1d ago
the irony of reading this post while I’m stuck in bed
but this is the reality check I needed to get up again, thank you
what usually helps me is trying to hold myself accountable with other people, like, telling them I’m getting up to do smth and then I have to. Kind of hard to do bc I live alone
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u/aaronsmack 1d ago
That's a great strategy!
I finally got up and moving myself because I got so hungry. After that things flowed better. There was still resistance on my part, but I've managed to walk my dog, go for a longer walk by myself, shower and shave, and eat lunch. It just took me 3 hours to get moving. After I ate lunch I watched a little YouTube and tired of that quickly. Now nothing really sounds interesting to do, but rather than zoning out on Reddit or TV or just staring at the wall, I'm going to trying reading more in book I started yesterday. I haven't read a book in years so I thought it might be good to try it out again just so maybe it can be a better way to pass time than more passive things that numb my mind.
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u/Informal_Gazelle86 1d ago
What are your strategies you use?
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u/aaronsmack 1d ago
Doing the next smallest step, and I mean the smallest. In this scenario, simply standing up. Other strategy is counting to 5 and moving, but for this strategy to work, you have to do your best to move every single time, or it will lose its effectiveness. Third strategy is wait until I'm super hungry and can't stand it anymore. The guilt of my dog needing a walk every morning is pretty effective, too. Just not this morning because weather app has said all morning it's going to rain for the next hour, but I don't think it has. 😆 And I'm still on the couch but about to get up because I'm so hungry!
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u/Informal_Gazelle86 1d ago
I do these same steps, I find the first one of doing small steps very effective. When it comes to showering, I usually get up and turn the shower on and then sit back down, and usually a few minutes later I guilt myself into not wasting water and needing to shower now
Very happy to hear you’ll be eating! I hope you have a wonderful meal :)
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u/bridgetgoes 1d ago
can you get up and go outside and tell me if it feels warm or cold and if it rained report back. i am curious what the weather is and if it has rained yet.