Weirdly Successful
Dedicated to helping you understand, navigate and enjoy your weird & wonderful neurodivergent life.
Inertia is the experience of being unable to start (or stop) an activity despite wanting to. It's a common neurodivergent experience related to executive function, and not caused by laziness, procrastination or lack of motivation. Like a car without fuel, no amount of pressing the gas pedal will help when the resources needed for action aren't available.
Waiting mode is a psychological state characterized by heightened anticipation or anxiety while awaiting a specific outcome or event.
In the neurodivergent, especially ADHD community it usually means the period before an event that needs focus or attention spent in a sort of paralysing waiting mode, not being able to do little else until the event is over.
Demand avoidance means you're opposed to doing something when it's perceived as a demand, especially coming from an authority figure, even if you want to do the thing. .
PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy.
Autonomy is the core value for people with PDA and any demand that threatens this autonomy triggers a danger-response (fight, flight, freeze).
Autistic burnout refers to a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion experienced by autistic people. It is a result of prolonged exposure to overwhelming sensory, social, and cognitive demands, often in an environment that does not accommodate their needs.
Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decision-making after a long period of decision-making activity. It means you feel mentally exhausted from making too many choices.
A brain network where dopamine travels, affecting motivation and reward, but also pain and many other functions. References1↑ “No Way Out Except From External Intervention”: First-Hand Accounts of Autistic Inertia (Buckle et al., 2024) Source2↑ "What is autistic inertia?" Maureen Bennie, 2023. https://autismawarenesscentre.com/what-is-autistic-inertia/
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in many different functions, including movement, motivation, reward, and pleasure. It is one of the most important neurotransmitters you have to get to know if you want to understand ADHD better.
Executive functions are essential, they help us make plans, stay organized, pay attention, and keep our emotions in check. It plays a big role in making decisions and adapting to new situations.
Executive dysfunction can happen when these processes have a difference or impairment that affects everyday life.
Body doubling means doing a task or errand with someone else or in the presence of someone else so it's easier to start or follow through.
Their supportive presence helps create a safe, anchoring environment that makes it easier to start and follow through with tasks -- without pressure or judgment.
It is one of the strategies for managing focus and creating a flow for work, even if you feel lost and overwhelmed by executive dysfunction.
