I built an ADHD app with interactive coping tools, noise mixer and self-test

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall Reception & Intended Use

  • Many respondents appreciate the idea: focused tools for coping, ambient sound, and quick screening feel relevant to ADHD struggles (anxiety, procrastination, overwhelm).
  • Some users explicitly say tools like this could help them or their kids avoid years of trial-and-error coping.
  • Others report using the site immediately… as a way to procrastinate, highlighting the paradox of ADHD tools.

UI/UX and Feature Feedback

  • Landing page wording (“I am Anxiety/Procrastination/Overwhelm”) is grammatically off; suggestions to use adjectives and rephrase.
  • Coping-tool interface is seen as cluttered and visually overwhelming—too many buttons, changing layouts, jumping controls, and scrollbar height changes are especially problematic for ADHD users.
  • Suggestions: group techniques into collapsible sections, keep controls in fixed positions, add animations to explain layout changes, improve placement of the “Atmosphere” control.
  • Requests for dark mode and a version that doesn’t dim the screen; some mention browser-level dark modes as a workaround.

AI-Generated Images and Content Trust

  • Strong negative reactions to AI thumbnails and suspected AI-written blog posts; several say AI imagery signals “low-effort” or “monetization-focused” and undermines trust in mental-health advice.
  • Concerns that if artwork is AI, users may doubt whether techniques or articles are genuinely human-created or expert-reviewed.
  • A minority defend AI art as a practical tradeoff, preferring resources go to core functionality; others suggest replacing it with stock, public-domain, or simple human-made images.

Monetization and Ethics

  • Mixed views on the $5/month freemium subscription:
    • Some see it as reasonable and support monetizing helpful tools.
    • Others prefer a one-time purchase, noting subscriptions add cognitive load for ADHD users.
    • A few frame low-cost but massively scalable apps as potential “cash grabs,” especially when targeting vulnerable users.

Self-Test and Self-Diagnosis Concerns

  • Several commenters criticize the ADHD self-test as simplistic and methodologically weak (no control/inverted questions, cultural bias, school-age assumptions).
  • A psychiatrist and others warn that ADHD and autism have become “trendy,” with many low-quality self-diagnosis tools; they stress that proper diagnosis requires clinical interviews, validated instruments, and context.
  • Some recount being misdiagnosed or dismissed by professionals; others say all online self-tests they tried would have led them to the wrong conclusion.
  • There’s tension between fears of over-diagnosis/medicalization and fears of under-diagnosis and lifelong, untreated suffering.

Broader ADHD, Treatment, and Society Debate

  • Long subthreads debate:
    • Reliability of diagnostic tools vs. real-world lived experience.
    • Stimulant medications vs. non-stimulant or psychotherapeutic approaches, and how treatment efficacy is (poorly) monitored.
    • Overlapping symptoms with trauma, anxiety, and personality traits, and the risk of missing root causes (e.g., complex PTSD).
    • Frustration with gatekeeping, inconsistent clinicians, and the difficulty of obtaining meds even with clear impairment.
    • Annoyance with “ADHD as a superpower” narratives; several describe ADHD as predominantly harmful rather than empowering.
    • Concerns about pharma-driven expansion of adult ADHD markets versus genuine unmet needs.

Miscellaneous

  • Users suggest improving visuals (e.g., animating existing cartoon figures, removing AI thumbnails).
  • Some skepticism that the solo developer may abandon the project; others note the author’s stated ADHD and personal motivation to continue.