The Rising “Popularity” of Executive Dysfunction
June 18, 2025 | By Shara Tipton
This is a repost of our blog originally posted in 2024.
The number of Google searches for “executive dysfunction” has increased by over 300% in the past five years. As an executive function coach and former special education teacher, I’m glad this important part of the human experience is finally getting more attention!
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So often people who struggle with executive functioning also struggle with guilt and shame. They may feel lazy or like they just can’t get it together. With better awareness, we can hopefully foster greater understanding and more effective support.
Unfortunately, increased awareness sometimes leads to increased misunderstanding. So let’s dig into what executive functioning is, why people may struggle with it, and why we’re hearing about it more frequently.
What Is Executive Functioning?
Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive processes we use to manage and regulate our thoughts, actions, and emotions. These skills are often broken down into components such as:
Planning and prioritizing
Time management
Attention
Organization
Task initiation
Self-regulation
Flexibility
Working memory
Self-monitoring
These skills overlap ALL the time and we almost always use them in tandem somehow. For example, starting a task may involve figuring out what you have to do, what your deadlines are, how long things will take, what order to do things, and what materials you need in addition to actually starting the task.
This kind of task preparation covers planning and prioritizing, time management, organization, and task initiation. It likely overlaps with inhibition, attention, and self regulation as well! Some people break executive functioning skills into more categories, others into fewer but the bottom line is generally the same - executive functioning skills help move us through the things we need and want to do.
What Is Executive Dysfunction?
Executive dysfunction occurs when someone doesn’t consistently have access to the executive functioning skills listed above and have a difficult time moving through the things you want and need to do. I often describe executive dysfunction like this: You have everything you need, internally and externally, to complete a task… and you just can’t.
A Common Example of Executive Dysfunction
Let’s say you need to pay a bill. You’ve got the money in the bank, you’ve paid this bill before, and you know how to do it online. You have a computer or a phone, and an account set up. It sounds simple, right?
But maybe you can’t bring yourself to sit down at the computer. Or you open your phone but end up scrolling social media instead. You can’t remember your password and, actually, you never manage to keep track of any passwords. Your laptop is buried somewhere and your phone battery is low.
This is executive dysfunction. You have the hard skills and external resources to complete the task but you don’t have the executive function skills or internal resources that will actually allow you to get from start to finish.
Is It Just Laziness?
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Short answer: No. Executive dysfunction is not laziness. (Also, does laziness even exist?)
Let’s say laziness does exist and it is generally characterized by chillness, nonchalance, and not caring much. Maybe you imagine someone lying on the couch watching TV and eating chips. Sounds like a pretty basic chill time and someone stuck in executive dysfunction could totally look like too. However, that’s not what it feels like on the inside.
The Internal Experience
Someone experiencing executive dysfunction might appear “chill or lazy” however, their internal experience would be very unchill and can begin with negative self-talk. Their brain may be screaming at them to pay that bill then the negative self-talk may become more extreme- loser, incompetent, a waste of space. They might tell themselves, “I’ll get up in five minutes and do it,” and they genuinely mean it but they still don’t. Because they can’t.
You can’t simply “talk yourself out of” executive dysfunction. Someone struggling with executive dysfunction likely needs:
External tools and scaffolds
Emotional support
Nervous system regulation
Common Causes of Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction can occur from a variety of underlying conditions and reasons. Here are some common ones:
Autism
Learning disabilities
Depression
Why Is Executive Dysfunction Getting So Much Attention?
Most (but not all) of the conditions listed above fall under the umbrella of neurodivergence. As the term neurodivergent has entered the mainstream, executive functioning has too.
What’s Driving the Increase?
There are a few key factors:
Advocacy and education. The work of disability advocates, mental health professionals, and educators has brought executive functioning into public discourse.
The COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, many people lost the external structures (like work and school) that helped them stay organized. For some, life got harder- fast. These external systems may have been compensating for executive functioning struggles they didn’t even know they had.
While most people found this to be difficult, some people found their lives falling apart. These external structures had been accommodating executive function struggles they may not have realized they had. Suddenly expected to work or learn remotely without familiar structures, some people really struggled to create their own structure and things started to fall apart a bit.
How Does TikTok Play Into This?
Tiktok started rising in popularity for adults slightly before the pandemic started and it was easy to find content by and for neurodivergent people, sometimes focusing on executive functioning stuff.
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As people were suddenly faced with way more free time than they were used to, even more adults downloaded TikTok and became exposed to neurodivergent and executive functioning content, for the first time for many. For many adults, this was their first exposure to:
ADHD or autism traits
Mental health education
Executive dysfunction explained in real terms
TikTok content helped normalize these experiences and gave people language to describe something they may have dealt with for years.
A Rise in Struggles and a Rise in Awareness
In the last 5 years we’ve also seen a big increase in chronic illness, grief, and trauma connected to the pandemic. The ways COVID 19 has changed peoples lives paired with increased awareness has led to some of the increase in searches for “executive dysfunction” but obviously not all. One conclusion that I draw looking at all of this is that there are not only more people than before struggling with executive dysfunction, but there are also more people who’ve struggled for a long time that are just starting to have language for it.
Support Is Available in Many Forms
If this sounds like you or someone you care about, you’re not alone! There are resources and help available. Different professionals can support executive functioning challenges, including:
Executive function coaches: Offer targeted strategies for daily tasks
Therapists: Help build executive skills and address the emotional impact
Occupational therapists & speech-language pathologists: Address cognitive and communication-based executive skills
Psychiatrists: Offer diagnosis and medication support when needed
Final Thoughts: You’re Not Alone in This
Some people are newly struggling with executive dysfunction. Others have lived with it for years and are only now discovering the words to describe their experience. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, your struggles are valid and you’re not alone.
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Executive dysfunction can be frustrating, overwhelming, and misunderstood. But the good news is: support exists, understanding is growing, and healing is possible. Whether through therapy, coaching, or community, finding the right tools can help you move forward with more self-compassion and clarity.
Coming in July- Therapy and Coaching for Executive Dysfunction
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