Burnout and "Executive Function"

We did not evolve to live the lives our culture demands of us — and all of us reach points of emotional and cognitive exhaustion and burnout from trying to push beyond our natural limits. This hits neurodivergent people especially strongly — and often results in a reduction in or complete loss of the capacities we call "executive function" — the ability to plan, prioritize, and carry out tasks, to perceive the passage of time, to make decisions, and to assess our own capacities. People with chronic Lyme and long COVID face similar challenges as well. Through the lens of Autistic burnout we will look at ways of coping with the challenges of diminished executive function — including when to work with plants to push through these challenges and when to accept them as invitation to another way of being.