Are you worried– GOOGLE is becoming your frontal lobe?

I get it! Internal worry – those looks when you procrastinate or simply forget to finish something. How many times can you hear, “I TOLD you that!” without wondering -am I losing pieces of me?

RELAX! It’s not nothing, but it has a name Executive Function Disorder and it is treatable. You may have heard of Adult ADHD. Executive Function Disorder is a close cousin with many traits in common. I know because…

I am an adult with ADHD. The difficulties manifest in so many unpredictable ways. They aren’t regular. One day I handle small daily frustrations with a cool and calm demeanor. The next day the same incident leads to an embarrassing meltdown often followed by a rash decision.

Guess what? This is when it’s more than ADHD. It’s the weird cousin, Executive Function Disorder and it is complicated. As distressing and embarrassing as emotional outbursts are in today’s society they are particularly unwelcome. “In appropriate” “Unprofessional” “Unnecessary” are those condescending terms we hear nearly always accompanied by an angry smile.

Executive Function Disorder causes problems with getting started on things. Once started it seems impossible to finish. It’s a flat-out mental block in continuing a task even though you have the knowledge and skills to complete.

Short Term Memory problems are part of the “lost spaces” encountered when completing tasks. It causes us to lose track of what we’re doing, misplace things we need and follow an organized path to complete a goal. Multitasking along with a constant push for productivity is a recipe for forgetfulness if you have Executive Function Disorder.

Read the room? Forget it! Executive Function Disorder causes a loss of focus and an inability to pick up on too many details at once. In social situations we are likely to get a distorted emotional read and misunderstand someone’s intent. Remember the emotional outbursts – perfect time for that to happen – am I right?

Every hear that you were being rude? Well, that might just be the case. However, with Executive Function disorder one can appear rude even though they are really trying to pay attention and track the conversation. Following a discussion and listening to people giving information is a persistent problem. One is constantly disassociating with the subject at hand.

Problem-solving skills are always a high priority and often a real sense of pride in one’s ability. Executive Function Disorder can impair basic problem-solving skills such as understanding the relation between a variety of variables. It happens to everybody, but a frequent inability to break down a problem and solve it is a huge deal at work or in daily life.

Research tells us that 51% of Seniors are aware of these changes and buy into some common myths about aging.

Myth #1: Mental decay is a natural and inescapable part of aging. Don’t fight it.

According to Marian Cleeves Diamond, PhD Professor of neurosciences at University of California Berkley, there’s mounting evidence that the brain retains its capacity to grow new anatomical connections, to learn and to function at high levels through our entire life.

Myth #2: I’m getting older. I shouldn’t strain my mind.

Researcher Monique Le Poncin, PhD from the French Institute for Research on the prevention of Cerebral Aging says, “The less we ask of our brain, the less it gives us. We are capable of remarkable and in some cases unfathomable capacities for learning.

The secret to these unfathomable capacities lies in a quality called neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is the basis for Cogmed.