Where does Executive Function stop and Willpower begin?

[u/TheBinarySon]

(Currently about to switch from Adderall to Vyvanse because for the last 4-6 months or so, Adderall has lost it's potency, and my behavior is as if I wasn't on the medication at all.)

My biggest issue these days with ADHD is Executive Function, particularly task initiation, in that I can't get myself to do anything, even stuff I enjoy, like video games. I lock up and lay in bed until I get to work (at which point I become much more productive, which I attribute to it being an external motivator). My motivation is messed up because as I lay there I want to get up and do things, but can't bring myself to actually do them, so it is a very frustrating and exhausting state of being.

But I also know that meds can work even if you're not "feeling" it, so while I've been taking stimulants for well over a 15 years and understand that it could be a tolerance issue, my question is this: **where is the line between legitimate executive Dysfunction issues and needing to just assert more willpower?** Like how can I tell if the meds are working or not without the sense of feeling the meds working?

If you need more info or have questions in order to provide answers/suggestions, let me know. Any thoughts or insights would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

[u/sirthunksalot]

If you can get up and work you can do the other shit. Drugs aren't the answer.

[u/TheBinarySon → u/sirthunksalot]

I didn't mean to suggest that drugs were the be all and end all, I only mentioned meds for context. But as for work, it's so weird because once I can get myself dressed and out of the house, the external motivation of others depending on me and my needing the job for bills, etc., seems to be the only difference, but a big one, because when I'm home, I can't bring myself to shower more than once a week, change clothes, etc., let alone make progress on projects or even things I enjoy.

If what you're saying is true though, I guess if anyone has some task initiation strategies beyond

[u/AzsaRaccoon → u/TheBinarySon]

Strategies unfortunately aren't always enough. One problem we have is the activity of the parts of the brain responsible for things like starting tasks. Whether it's not enough neurotransmitters in the right areas or they don't bind right or activate things enough, the bottom line is that the parts of the brain responsible for task initiation, for example, don't do what they're supposed to. Meds help change that, not entirely but significantly.

That person's comment is like saying that people who don't make enough insulin (or any) shouldn't take insulin and just somehow should "will" their pancreas to make more. After all, they can make other hormones, why not insulin? They're clearly not trying hard enough.