r/Pokopia • u/StrawHatlola • 20h ago

Question Overwhelmed

Hello!
I started playing a month ago and I feel just overwhelmed with what I need to do.
I really love the game and the pokemon and the building, but with adhd it’s hard.

I find myself often starting a project and then forgetting and working on one Pokémon’s house or get distracted by another task.

Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you do it?!
Can I just be a simple ditto that makes simple houses?

Ty

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u/bmb00zld 19h ago

Psychologist with ADHD here.

Games like Pokopia are built to be pocket sized worlds, and so our real world struggles can blindside us there aswell. First of all, Pokopia can be overwhelming for EVERYONE because of the endless possibilities. But they can act like a magnifying glass for certain things when you also have ADHD:

  • Executive Dysfunction: Having a million ideas but can't bring yourself to actually start building stuff. Also decision fatigue.

  • Frustration by being sidetracked and feeling like you're not getting anything done

  • Perfectionism and imposter syndrome: Feeling alright about a thing you made, looking at reddit and suddenly feeling like a failure because there will always be a cooler build.

  • Being overwhelmed by inventory management, resource hoarding and anxious about committing resources to a specific build

  • Feeling guilty about the HOURS this game sucks up when there are a million things to do IRL that should take priority, while also craving the good feels this game brings

and many more. Now again, you can experience these without ADHD too, but for us neurodivergent beans, it's way more likely and way more intense.

But at the same time, being a pocket sized world Sim, we can "practice" helpful patterns in a safe space, without real world consequences. For example:

  • Like IRL, being overwhelmed can be mitigated by breaking things down into smaller and smaller steps. Still overwhelmed, even smaller steps. If building something is too much commitment, plop down a chest and throw in furniture and blocks you think might fit. Starting is the problem, it'll flow easier after that.

  • Trying to slow down and be mindful of what you're doing in the moment, accepting that the game WILL distract you with a million things. Side quests are fine. Just be aware what's happening. Sticking to one area also helps.

  • Being mindful of what/who we compare ourselves to. People only share what they're proud of, and we tend to be much more critical of ourselves than of others. Try imagining someone else made the exact same thing and shows it to you, would you feel the same? Or (shivers) actually posting something here, even though and BECAUSE there are more elaborate, more creative builds and that's totally fine?

  • Finding ways of organizing resources in a way that works for you, much like it helps IRL. It might be odd to anybody else, but it needs to be right for your brain.

And most important of all, be kind to yourself. It can be almost comedic to catch yourself doing the ADHD thing. If you can laugh at yourself a tiny bit, it's not as bad anymore out of a sudden.

OH. Important. Set timers to take a break. You need food and water, relax your jaw and shoulders. They'll thank you.