AFM-6 · RSD FEEDBACK LOOP

When AI says 'I can't help with that' and your brain freezes

2 min read 3 EF units · heavy

DESKRUNE

For when you come back.

01THE PATTERN

Here's what it looks like.

The pattern: you ask Claude for feedback on a draft. It says 'I can't help with that' or gives a neutral critique. Your nervous system reacts as if a person rejected you. You spend the next hour rebuilding the document defensively or abandoning it entirely.

02WHY IT HURTS

The cost isn't the time.

Rejection-sensitive dysphoria doesn't care that the feedback came from a stochastic word predictor. The body doesn't tell the difference. Without a reframe protocol, every neutral AI response can trigger the same shame-spiral as a human one — and AI is always available.

03THE SIGNALS

Three ways you'll know you're in it.

Hook by hook. If you recognize even one of these in the last week, this is the failure mode that's costing you.

  1. 01Your hand pulls back from the keyboard after AI feedback
  2. 02You reread the same AI response three times without comprehension
  3. 03You immediately minimize the window containing the AI interaction
04THE CIRCUIT BREAKER

The protocol that breaks the loop.

DESKRUNE PROTOCOL · AFM-6

When AFM-6 triggers, we use the 3-2-1 reset: three deep breaths while noting this is algorithmic not personal, two alternative interpretations of the AI's message, one physical movement like standing up or drinking water. I designed this protocol to create literal space between stimulus and response. We practice interpreting AI limitations as system characteristics rather than personal failures. The goal isn't to avoid the trigger but to change our relationship to it.

06CONNECTED FAILURE MODES

Often shows up with these.

AFMs cluster. If this one hits, the next two probably also do.

07TAKE IT DEEPER

Kits that solve this directly.

See the full library →

99YOUR PATTERN

Log a moment when this hit you.

Most ADHD-AI loops feel random until you can see them next to each other. Log a moment in the form below — intensity, time, AI tool, brief context. After three or more entries, you'll see your own pattern in the recap. Stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

SIGNAL TRACKER · RSD FEEDBACK LOOP

When did RSD Feedback Loop last happen?

You don't have to be precise. The point is to capture enough that the pattern becomes visible. Future-you reading this in three weeks will have something concrete to work with.

Often hits in the same week as AFM-6

Deskrune. For when you come back.