<span id="titletext">What keeps you up at night?</span>
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It often leads to executive dysfunction, a cognitive impairment that affects the brain's ability to plan, prioritize, and organize.
In this story, you're put in the shoes of someone with ADHD. This is a night in your life. This story does not aim to represent everyone with ADHD—everyone's life experience is different.
Moving your cursor over green bolded text will allow you to interact with the story, so be careful not to let your thoughts get away from you.
[[More about this story. -> Info]]
<span class="glowing" id="startbutton">[[It's a long night.->start]]</span>(set: $timer to 10000)\
Okay, there isn’t much time today. You have to sleep by 2 because you have class at 9 tomorrow. So, we’re gonna set this timer, you’re going to finish by the end of timer. We can do it, we're thriving, we're so good, we're going to crush this. Remember, self-compassion and self-belief and we can do anything.
We need to sleep early. All we need to do today is write that essay. So, we're just going to [start on the essay].
(mouseover-goto: "start on the essay", "medium")\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[medium]]](unless: (passage:)'s tags contains "init")[
<div id="topbar" class="glowing">\
<div id="restart-button">\
|refresh>[(display: "timer")]
(display:"PassageConfirm")\
</div></div>\
][(click: ?refresh)[(confirm: "Restart? You will lose your progress.")[(reload:)][(display: "PassageConfirm")]]](live: 100ms)[(stop:)<script>$('tw-include[title="PassageEnd"]')[0].scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "start" })</script>](set: $hasmoney to false)\
(set: $hasbrochure to false)\
(set: $destroypark to false)\
(set: $shootbullies to false)\
(set: $keychain to false)Alright. The timer has started.
How shall we start the essay? We could start drafting ideas on paper, doing some research on the web, maybe open up a document and write whatever comes to mind?
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "on paper", "paper")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "on the web", "web")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "open up a document", "document")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[paper]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[web]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[document]]]<span id="titletext">Frequently Asked Questions</span>
<b>Q: What's the inspiration?</b>
A: I have an awful sleep schedule. "What keeps you up at night?" is a question I often get. This game is based loosely (and by loosely I mean all of this has happened to me) on my experiences with living with ADHD and trying to get things done at night when the world runs away from me. I do not claim to speak for others' experiences.
<b>Q: What does this have to do with ADHD?</b>
A: People with ADHD may struggle with sleep issues and often report feeling more alert and focused during the late evening and night. This may lead them to stay up late and find it difficult to wake up in the morning. The reasons for this can vary, but some people with ADHD have difficulty regulating their sleep-wake cycles, while others may simply find it hard to switch off their racing thoughts at night.
In addition to sleep issues, people with ADHD often struggle with distractibility, inattention, and impulsivity. This can make it difficult to stay focused on tasks, and they may find themselves getting sidetracked by anything from a passing thought to an object. This can be particularly challenging when it comes to completing tasks that require sustained attention, such as studying or writing.
One of the underlying causes of these issues is executive dysfunction, which is a cognitive impairment that affects the brain's ability to plan, prioritize, and organize. Executive dysfunction can manifest in various ways, including difficulty initiating and completing tasks, problems with time management and organization, and a tendency to be impulsive or easily distracted.
People with ADHD may struggle with executive dysfunction due to differences in brain structure and function. These differences can affect the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for executive function. The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in regulating attention, working memory, and cognitive control, all of which are essential for completing tasks and staying focused.
<b>Q: ADHD is FAKE you lazy bitch just stop using TikTok so much! You should have grown out of it by now. You just wanna pop pills, don't you?</b>
A: There are many common misconceptions about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), including:
1. ADHD is just an excuse for bad behavior: This is a common misconception that people with ADHD are simply lazy or unmotivated. However, ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the brain's ability to regulate attention, behavior, and emotions. It is not a character flaw or a result of poor parenting.
2. ADHD only affects children: While ADHD is often diagnosed in childhood, it can persist into adulthood, affecting an individual's ability to focus, organize, and prioritize tasks. In fact, it is estimated that up to 60% of children with ADHD will continue to experience symptoms into adulthood.
3. ADHD only affects boys: While boys are diagnosed with ADHD at a higher rate than girls, this is likely due to gender bias in diagnosis and a focus on the hyperactive-impulsive subtype of ADHD, which is more commonly seen in boys. Girls with ADHD are often diagnosed later or misdiagnosed, as they may present with the inattentive subtype, which can be less obvious but still significantly impairing.
4. Medication is the only treatment for ADHD: While medication can be an effective treatment for ADHD, it is not the only option. Behavioral therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, parent training, and coaching, can also be effective in managing symptoms and improving functioning.
It's important to understand that ADHD is a real and complex disorder that affects many aspects of an individual's life. Educating oneself and others about the reality of ADHD can help reduce stigma and improve the lives of those affected by the disorder.
<span class="glowing" id="startbutton">[[Back to the start.->init]]</span>
{
(live: 0.25s)[
(if: $timer < 0)[
(stop:)
(goto: "end")
]
(else: )[
(round: $timer / 100)
(set: $timer to it - (min: ((random: 1, 50) + (20000 / $timer)), 100))
]
]
}Oh my god, you damned fool. It's already 5 a.m. We have class in four hours. Let's quickly go to sleep right now. You're always like this. Okay no, positive thoughts, positive thoughts, compassion, you know what, we can always try again tomorrow.
<span class="glowing" id="startbutton">[[Why am I always like this? -> Info]]</span>
(mouseover-goto: "try again tomorrow", "start")\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[start]]]Let's get the paper. Where did I put my paper? I know I have some in the drawer, but now I need a pen, what pen should we use today? Let's use that black pen that we like that pen where did we put that pen, hmmm, I don't remember where I put, could it be on the table? The table has my plant, that little photo frame, our boxes of teabags, and the pencil case.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "my plant", "plant")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "little photo frame", "photo frame")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "boxes of teabags", "teabags")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "the pencil case", "pencil case")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[plant]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[photo frame]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[teabags]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[pencil case]]]Okay, I've opened the browser. Honestly, I'm not sure why I use this browser it's kinda slow sometimes. Anyway, oh I got an email. It's for the newsletter I signed up for. I sign for too many random newsletters and then I never look at them. Oh, I need to cancel that subscription it's already been going for fifteen months I actually never use it and I never stop it I'm wasting so much money it's so bad. It's so sick. Okay. I should start doing some research. We should open a new tab.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "newsletters", "newsletter")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[newsletter]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "open a new tab", "newtab")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[newtab]]]God, I don't know what to write at all. I don't feel like doing this. I think I should have probably started out with ideation or something. Let me just take a quick look at my phone...
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "my phone", "phone")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[phone]]]Of course it's in the pencil case. I'm actually so good at putting things back in their place. I wonder if this was a coping mechanism I created because I always used to lose things in the past, or was it that we're just like this. I'm not sure. Oh my god, remember that time we thought we lost our portable charger in Korea and literally almost cried and got so mad and then after we went on that rollercoaster ride suddenly we felt the charger fall out of the rain cover? That was so crazy I don't even know. I want to go back to South Korea. I think I have a photo of the trip, actually. That was fun. Oh, isn't Bernice in South Korea right now? I should look at her stories.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "photo of the trip", "photo frame")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[photo frame]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "look at her stories", "stories")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[stories]]]
Haha, I love this plant. It's so cute. It's like a little succulent. And we had to buy that additional pot to put it in. Honestly, imagine if we could be one of those plant dad people who had like a hundred plants and they like lived in a greenhouse and remember that greenhouse we saw that was literally green which is so dumb because it would only shed green light on the plants and the plants reflect green light because chlorophyll absorbs green light the least and everyone should know because plants are green! Why did they pick the worst wavelength to use? Anyway, what was I thinking? Oh yeah, imagine if we could have real plants. They would die immediately, no way that we could remember. It would be such a bad idea, I can't even get water for myself.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "get water", "water")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[water]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "chlorophyll", "science")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "wavelength", "science")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[science]]]This photo is so cute. It's from our South Korea trip! That was so long ago. Imagine that was almost what I think by now like five years ago? We're so old right now. That's actually so I can't believe how was that trip I think I really did have a good time but also you know there were some tensions there was some, oh remember how Bernice just ran off and refused to hang out with us every day? She loves kpop so much, I wonder, I think Bernice is in South Korea right now, I should look at her stories.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "look at her stories", "stories")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[stories]]]It's so funny that we bought all this tea and we never drank it. We really do like to say that we like tea, but then it's caffeinated and then we can't drink it because then we can't sleep and then we are already so sleep-deprived. But maybe I should make some tea right now, I just need to boil some water. Can you imagine how long it took for us to buy a water kettle, we should have just done that immediately I don't know why. I am so thirsty. We should get water.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "get water", "water")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[water]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[sleep-deprived]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "sleep-deprived", "sleep-deprived")]Oh my god, we almost forgot to drink water again. Okay, let’s do it. Okay, but honestly I feel to lazy to get up so maybe we’ll just drink it later, Oh my god, we need to work on this stupid essay let’s keep going with the essay. You are a mess. We haven’t even done anything! Oh my god, okay at least we need to come up with some points by tonight because if not we’re so dead and we are so sleep-deprived already and we have class at 9am tomorrow that’s kind of crazy! Stop, I’m telling you, but oh my god, my mouth is so dry. Let's get the pens from the pencil case right now.
|forthearrow)[connect to [[sleep-deprived]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "sleep-deprived", "sleep-deprived")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "the pencil case", "pencil case")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[pencil case]]]
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "mouth is so dry", "dehydrated")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[dehydrated]]]We really should make sleep more of a priority these days because sleep is so vital and we know that we feel better every time we sleep more! So why don’t we sleep more, oh my god. Wait, I heard that sleep reduces your life expectancy. Is that real, I should search it to check it out.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "search", "web")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[web]]]I miss doing high school science so much. That was so fun to be honest. I feel like I really worked that STEM brain of mine. These days, what do I even do? It's so... I feel like I don't use those parts of my brain anymore. These days, I just feel so tired all the time and I'm just writing things and I'm so bad at writing things I swear it takes me so long, for no reason and I was supposed to find my pens and I forgot and it's probably in my pencil case, I need to write my essay.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "so tired", "tired")]\
(after: 1s)[ (mouseover-goto: "my pencil case", "pencil case")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[tired]]]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[pencil case]]]\
Ugh, I don’t know why we’re feeling so tired right now, I feel like death, I feel like my mouth is so dry and I can’t, oh, we haven’t drank any water today, Have we? I don’t think we drank any water, okay, yes, oh my god, you’ve done it again, it’s just you always forget to drink water and then you get so dehydrated and then you don’t drink any water and then you feel sick and you forget that you live in a human body that constantly needs nourishment, honestly it’s so much work wouldn’t it be nice if we could become a robot that doesn’t need anything to function?
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "become a robot", "robot")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[robot]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "drink water", "water")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[water]]]Honestly, it would be cool if we became a robot, I don’t think we would mind being a robot, then we don’t need to get water or eat food or exercise but honestly, these days, robots are getting way too advanced it’s kind of really too much like have you seen the AI stuff that just write essays for you that’s kind of crazy, and honestly honestly I don’t even think I know how basic stuff works like the internet like that’s already kind of crazy to me like the fact that it’s what wires running underwater for miles and miles.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "get water", "water")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "underwater", "water")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[water]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "miles and miles", "miles")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[miles]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "exercise", "exercise")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[exercise]]]Speaking of miles, I still think it’s kind of crazy that we use different measuring systems across the world and haven’t just standardized to the metric system but I guess the thing is that miles is much easier to say than kilometers like that is honestly kind of a clunky way to say things, but let’s be honest I think Celsius makes more sense because it’s like the temperature of water like ice and steam, that makes sense to me. I feel like Fahrenheit is kind of unintuitive. But maybe that's just because of the culture I grew up in, it's just cause I'm so British influenced I type British English and drink tea and maybe I should make some tea right now. I have so many teabags on my table.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "water", "water")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[water]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "tea bags", "teabags")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[teabags]]]Should I go to the gym right now? I haven't done any exercise this week. I feel like that's so bad. Is that lowkey unhinged if I go now? I mean, the gym is open 24 hours and I'm sure there are other people there. So, maybe we should. Okay, if we finish the essay soon, then we'll go. Okay, no, what in the world are you talking about? We are not going to finish already we need to write write write now. We're already so sleep-deprived. It's so bad. Let's get the pen from the pencil case and start now.
|forthearrow)[connect to [[sleep-deprived]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "sleep-deprived", "sleep-deprived")]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "the pencil case", "pencil case")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[pencil case]]]Remember how our fun fact used to be that we would go the whole day without drinking water sometimes? That was a red flag and we should not have gone around telling people that honestly why did it take so long until I went for an ADHD diagnosis I think that should have been obvious and oh my god all the times when we would just SIT on the floor even in class and meetings and we still do it all the time thank god we figured out that we had ADHD. Okay, we need to start on the essay and clearly it is not working out right now I think we should do research instead I think we don't really have any ideas.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "do research instead", "web")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[web]]]Oh wow, Bernice is living such a good life in South Korea right now. God, the food she's eating looks so good. She's eating samgyeopsal and she's eating bulgogi and she's eating galbi and she's eating bibimbap. Wow, there's a lot of food stories, aren't there?
Let me keep looking at stories.
The next story.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story1")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story1]]]Woah, that's so cool! Let me look at the next story.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story2")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story2]]]Woah, that's so interesting! Let me look at the next story.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story3")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story3]]]Just a quick glance and then we'll get back to work. You absolutely absolutely should not go onto social media but whatever it's just a quick break it is not that serious, let's take a look at what our friends are up to.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "what our friends are up to", "stories")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[stories]]]Woah, that's so cool! Let me look at the next story.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story4")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story4]]]Woah, that's so interesting! Let me look at the next story.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story5")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story5]]]Woah, that's so cool! Let me look at the next story... No, I should stop right now what am I doing, I have barely gotten any of this essay started. Maybe I should go and do some research.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "next story", "story2")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[story1]]]\
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "go and do some research", "web")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[web]]]I think it's so funny that we signed up for a newsletter that sends a picture of a cloud every day. It's like haven't you heard of the sky? But actually, I think it's so sweet to just have a community to look at clouds together, I wonder what type of cloud this is, it kind of looks like cirrus fibratus? Or maybe it's cirrus uncinus? I should check on Wikipedia.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "Wikipedia", "clouds")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[clouds]]]Okay, it's a new tab. Maybe we should use ChatGPT or something isn't that what people use these days? That's so crazy and honestly I should learn how to use it but okay since we don't let's just go onto Wikipedia! Or should we go onto social media...? That is such a bad idea but I'm kind of bored and we could see what our friends are up to.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "what our friends are up to", "stories")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[stories]]]
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "Wikipedia", "wiki")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[wiki]]]Right, so the list of cloud types groups all cloud genera as high (cirro-, cirrus), middle (alto-), multi-level (nimbo-, cumulo-, cumulus), and low (strato-, stratus). These groupings are determined by the altitude level or levels in the troposphere at which each of the various cloud types is normally found. Small cumulus are commonly grouped with the low clouds because they do not show significant vertical extent. Of the multi-level genus-types, those with the greatest convective activity are often grouped separately as towering vertical. The genus types all have Latin names...
What am I doing? I should stop this nonsense. I'm closing the web page right now it's going to drive me crazy. Let's open up a document instead.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "open up a document", "document")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[document]]]Today's featured Wikipedia article is about the types of clouds. Wait, that's so funny, I love clouds, I wonder how many types of clouds that I actually know, cirrus, alto, nimbo, stratus, wait let me take a look.
(after: 1s)[(mouseover-goto: "take a look", "clouds")]\
|forthearrow)[connect to [[clouds]]]