Nicely Done!

You built my house and left my window open because you were looking for secrets... or you came here from the blog. Either way, here's a secret: I struggle in under-stimulating and overly-structured environments. Don't we all?

Many people expericence ADHD symptoms such as trouble concentrating or mood swings and lately its diagnosis has become a lot more common. This is likely due to environmental factors of modern life such as poor diet, pollution, plastics, technology, distractions and who knows what else. The best description I've heard of ADHD is that it is the result of low baseline dopamine in the brain.

Our minds crave dopamine, its the neurochemical motivation that we release when we do things we believe are good. Having a lower level of it can lead to impulsive, dopamine-seeking behaviour, manic moods, irregular stress levels and addictions if not managed carefully. Maintaining healthy relationships can be tricky too and sticking to a normal routine or schedule can feel impossible.

The trick to managing it, in my non-medically-justified opinion, is to be aware of your dopamine sources and mindful of when you are in a dopamine-seeking state. We develop dopamine-releasing pathways in our brains throughout our lives and they form through association of one thing to another. For example, if people laughed when you told a joke you would have released dopamine, social validation is an instinctive dopamine source - we all need friends!

Someone with ADHD might then run around telling everyone they know the joke because their brain has found a source of dopamine and using it helps relieve them of a dopamine-deprived state. Eventually this would become annoying but they don't know how or when to stop. You might be able to picture a child you know doing this, this is quite normal behaviour for a young child after all, but adults are expected to behave more "normally".

The point is that dopamine-releasing behaviour is a good thing but ADHD sufferers can easily get caught up in chasing it. Hence addiction being a common symptom. Taking the time to understand your dopamine-release mechanisms and staying aware of yourself when using them is therefore key to managing ADHD. If you can identify when you are leaning into dopamine-seeking behaviour, then use a higher level of consciousness to decide if this behaviour is appropriate, you can turn your ADHD into a superpower!

For example, I am releasing lots of dopamine as I write this but I would argue that this is healthy behaviour. It could be described as a bit obsessive, I'm not being paid to write it after all, but I am proud of what I am making. Many people who change the world are neurodivergent in one way or another and ADHD can be a highly motivating and creative disorder. It is a gift! But as the wise Ben Parker once said: With great power, comes great responsiblity.

If you identify with what I have written here then I seriously encourage you to read about the management of ADHD. Don't let your dopamine pathways control you, take control of them. It's not easy but it is essential. Mindfulness can be a great tool for improving self-awareness that I would also encourage you to read into. Take a look at my blog, there might be something relevant there.

Now back to the NavCube... if you know anything about websites you might know that I've used JavaScript to programme the magical NavCube. Boy oh boy do I love me some JavaScript. But JavaScript wouldn't be here without it's low-level and syntactically-similar ancestor.

Hint: draw the name (or letter) of the language in the middle of the NavCube...