Focus on Executive Functions. Part 1: Self-Awareness and Inhibition

The first in a 3-part series on executive functions. This series for adults with ADHD discusses the 7 executive functions that foster self-control—the abilities we use to monitor our own behavior to attain our goals. —Excerpted from Taking Charge of Adult ADHD (2nd ed.), by Russell A. Barkley with Christine M. Benton. Part 1: Self-awareness (the mind's mirror) and inhibition (the mind's brakes). Part 2: Nonverbal and verbal working memory (the mind’s eye and the mind’s voice). Part 3: Emotion regulation (the mind’s heart), self-motivation (the mind’s fuel tank), and planning/problem-solving (the mind’s playground).