
Anxiety: An Interactive Story - Dangeranger
https://ncase.me/anxiety-demo/
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LeonB
In case you're not familiar with the work of Nicky Case, they've created many
brilliant interactive works of art, games and "explorable explanations".

Perhaps look through the ones that have previously been well-received here:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=ncase.me&sort=byPopularity&pre...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=ncase.me&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

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guiambros
I really love Nicky Case's work. Evolution of Trust [1] is one of my
favorites. You can also support their work on Patreon [2].

[1] [https://ncase.me/trust/](https://ncase.me/trust/)

[2] [https://www.patreon.com/ncase](https://www.patreon.com/ncase)

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dmos62
Following a link in Evolution of Trust, here's a curation of interactive
explanations of how things work:
[https://explorabl.es/](https://explorabl.es/)

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mensetmanusman
I am mentoring a student with ADHD and anxiety issues on a technical project.

Does anyone have any advice?

I have dramatically paired back the scope of the project because it seems like
it was too daunting at first. But I don’t know if making is super simple (to
not stress the student out) is the right step either.

The current pace of their work is very slow, and I’m not sure if trying to
apply any pressure will help or hurt...

~~~
hoorayimhelping
I have ADHD and I was also a very sensitive and delicate boy. This is
completely based on my personal experiences, so I don't know how transferable
it'll be. But if I had to give a single piece of advice:

Fast, immediate feedback loops. Remove all barriers between doing an action
and understanding the consequences of that action. I grew up trying to program
on the command line and thinking it wasn't for me. Then I tried Macromedia
flash, which had a timeline and a preview window as part of the IDE. I could
see the changes I made instantly, rather than waiting a few seconds for my
code to compile. It sounds ridiculous, that saving a couple of seconds could
be the difference between your student self starting and being bored.

I didn't have time to get bored. I'd make a change, and then my brain would
see the change and think of where to go from there. Before I could process
that, I was writing new code and reloading the page and seeing the changes. It
was like hacking the ADHD part of my brain to get things done. If your student
takes to this, don't let your engineering sensibilities get in the way of your
student's manic desire to see things happen. The discipline of thinking out
your change and then executing it comes in time and with experience. Just get
them excited about being able to make changes.

Even now, at 36 having managed ADHD for a long time, I have an attention
budget for about 2 and a half seconds between my mid abandons the task at
hand. If I make a code change and go to reload a webpage and it takes longer
than 2 seconds, I'm already on a different tab or application window and my
focus is already lost.

Again, for clarity: find a way to get immediate (I say immediate because I
mean immediate, not 'quick' or 'fast') feedback to your student.

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Wowfunhappy
> I could see the changes I made instantly, rather than waiting a few seconds
> for my code to compile. It sounds ridiculous, that saving a couple of
> seconds could be the difference between your student self starting and being
> bored.

I would posit this is true for _lots_ of people—children and adults, with and
without ADHD. The more you can decrease that try → result feedback loop, the
more fun it is to experiment.

~~~
afarrell
This is an instance of the Curb Cut effect.

[https://medium.com/@mosaicofminds/the-curb-cut-effect-how-
ma...](https://medium.com/@mosaicofminds/the-curb-cut-effect-how-making-
public-spaces-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-helps-
everyone-d69f24c58785)

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songzme
Every weekend my wife and I host a Meetup group where we teach people Korean.
Yesterday a high school girl came and started crying everytime she was paired
into a group exercise, constantly apologizing for how bad at Korean she was
(which was totally okay with everyone, we have had students come who didn't
know anything). I'm guessing that she had an anxiety attack. My wife and I
felt terrible because we didn't know how to make her feel better or even
sympathize with what she was going through. Eventually, her mom (who also
attended) took her home.

This game definitely have me a little more perspective.

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dmos62
This hit deep. I liked the pokemon song and that there's a finishing move.
Good concept, good execution.

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univalent
I visualize my anxiety as a snake. Similar to a desert or rattlesnake with
stripes and sand on it. Starts at the base of my spine and curves around and
its head is at my brain. Sometimes it crushes my spine, sometimes it bites my
brain. And the thoughts that it brings to me are much much worse than what's
in this story.

This red fox cartoon and its warnings seems almost a blessing compared to what
I go through :( Help...

~~~
hiram112
Have you tried benzodiazapines? I wouldn't take them for a long time -
withdrawal can be worse than heroin as many long time users are currently
discovering after the government recently began cracking down on
prescriptions.

But if they work for you, it will give you a clue that medication could be
helpful, and there are lot of options that are less addicting.

Some people will say that therapy is helpful. I'm sure it is for some people,
but when you have a serious neurological problem - for me it was exactly like
my 'fight-or-flight' response was permanently on for some reason. The longer
it would be in that state, the more I would think about it, and it becomes a
vicious cycle.

You have to break the cycle for a while until your mind / body relearns how to
relax.

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totallynotabot
Yikes, please tread carefully with this recommendation. I was on benzos and it
literally took years and multiple attempts to get off them (yes, super gradual
tapering and all.) My brain is not the same, definitely feel less focused and
dumber even years after. I’d try any alternative.

~~~
hiram112
Yeah that's why I said they're not a good long term solution. I was prescribed
them (klonopin) and I took them for a month. They worked well, but I started
reading benzobuddies and other sites and it scared the hell out of me so quit
quickly and now rarely touch them.

What was the dose you were on and for how many years? Messing with your GABA
system long term seems to take a long time to repair itself.

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Bakary
Love the animation style and character design. I already conceptualized
depressive feelings as a black dog, but a red fox for anxiety seems
appropriate as well.

However, I wonder if projecting the unhelpful parts of yourself as a different
being actually works as intended. Especially if you automatically consider the
helpful parts of yourself as not separate.

~~~
xivzgrev
It can help to create distance. For example, if you simply name a feeling, eg
“I am feeling anxious right now”, it loses some intensity / urgency.

Imho this is because our emotional center are wired to take over our rational
center to ensure survival. We can regain control but it takes time. Creating
distance helps change perspective in that moment and short circuits the “I got
to take action NOW” emotional path.

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inlined
I love the concept. I think the story commingled anxiety and depression. This
is common and could have been explained. If you want to know more I recommend
learning about (and even taking) the GAD7 and PHQ9 tests for anxiety and
depression. They’re used by multiple therapists to measure mental health at
both a point and over time.

