Soft Wild Minds logo

Soft Wild Minds

tiny tools for loud brains ✦
set the mood ✦
Usagi
Miku
Totoro
Taiga
Homura
Kaito
✦ Soft Wild Minds

Built for neurodivergent brains — ADHD, Autism, AuDHD, BPD. No streaks, no scores, no pressure. Just tools to help you regulate, get through the hard days, and be a little kinder to yourself.

🌿 regulate 💙 get support ☁️ find calm 🧠 explore
what do you need right now? 🌿
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
today's reminder
✨ wait… that's neurodivergent?

🩷 Peer support tools only — not therapy or crisis care. If you're in crisis, please reach out to emergency services or a crisis line. You matter.

burnout
Burnout
Running on 1%? Brain.exe stopped responding? Right here. We got you.
right now i can…

🔥 What ND burnout actually looks like

It's not just feeling tired. It can show up as losing skills you normally have, full shutdown mode, sensory sensitivity off the charts, not being able to get words out, emotional flooding, or feeling completely "switched off" from yourself. It usually comes after a long stretch of masking, overstimulation, or pushing through on empty. Your body called it before your brain did.

😴 Tired vs. Burned Out — because yes, there's a difference

Just Tired
Sleep actually helps. You bounce back after rest. Emotions are manageable. Your skills are still there.
Burnout
Rest doesn't fix it — not immediately. Skills regress. Social battery is at absolute zero. Everything is too much, all at once.
recovery tips
1
Lower the demand. Cancel what you can. This isn't failure. This is medicine.
2
Unmask, even briefly. Take off the social performance. You're allowed to be quiet and real.
3
Return to your basics. Eat something soft. Drink water. Familiar comfort media is valid.
4
Stop explaining yourself. "I can't" is enough. You don't owe anyone a justification.
5
Micro-recover. 2 minutes of stim, a short nap, silence, a special interest — these count.
burnout triage

Check what's true right now. No judgment, no score — just honest.

I haven't eaten today
I haven't had much water
My sleep has been off
I'm overstimulated right now
I've been masking a lot lately
I need less demand, not more discipline
daily brain note

tiny exercises

1. Tiny Human Method™

Ask: what is the smallest version of this task?

🧹 Clean room → pick up 3 things
🚿 Shower → stand in the bathroom
💬 Reply → open the message

2. Nervous System Check

Rate each from 0 (empty) → 10 (full). No judgment.

🍽️ Food5
💧 Water5
😴 Sleep5
🚶 Movement5
🤝 Connection5
🌿 Alone time5
✨ Fun5

3. Permission Slip

Today I give myself permission to…

burnout library

Pick a topic. It's a quick read — not a lecture, promise.

all-or-nothing
Splitting
When it's either perfect or a disaster and your brain refuses to find the in-between. Relatable. Let's work with it.

Wait, what even is splitting?

If you've ever gone from "this person is literally perfect" to "I hate them" in the space of a text — or a situation went from completely fine to total disaster with no in-between — that might be splitting.

Your brain swings to the extremes and skips the middle. A person is either a hero or a villain. A day is either great or ruined. And here's the thing: it feels completely real in the moment. That's what makes it so exhausting to live with.

Common in: BPD, PTSD, complex trauma, ADHD — basically anyone whose nervous system processes emotional intensity really strongly. It's not a character flaw. It's not "being dramatic." It's a nervous system response.

"Pause before the story becomes law."

reality-check exercise

Step 1: What actually happened?

Just the facts. News reporter mode — no feelings yet, no story yet.

Step 2: What is your brain screaming right now?

Write out the harsh version — the full catastrophe your brain is convinced is true.

Step 3: What else could be true?

List 3 neutral explanations that have nothing to do with you.

Step 4: If you waited 20 minutes...

What would you do? What's the kinder move — for them and for you?

stuck thoughts
Rumination
(the thought loop that won't stop)
The spiral is real. Let's interrupt it — no toxic positivity, just an off-ramp.

So what's actually happening?

You know when you're replaying the same conversation, cringey moment, or "what if" scenario on a loop — even though you desperately want to stop? That's rumination.

Your brain gets stuck in a thought loop, analysing something to death, trying to "solve" it when there's nothing to solve right now. The weird part? It feels productive because you're thinking so hard. It's not. The loop just keeps going.

Very common in: ADHD (attention gets glued to charged stuff), autism (analytical mode that won't shut off), BPD (emotional intensity that keeps thoughts alive), anxiety, OCD, depression. It's not weakness — it's your nervous system trying to protect you. Badly, but trying.

"You don't have to stop the loop. You just need to step out of it for a moment."

thought loop breaker

Name the loop

What thought keeps showing up uninvited? Give it a name or just write it out.

Can this actually be solved right now?

Not "should it" be — just: is there something you can actually do about it in the next hour?

Good. What's one tiny thing you can do?

Not the whole solution — just the smallest possible next step.

Pick a loop-breaker

You can't solve it right now, and that's okay. Pick one thing to interrupt it:

worry bubble

Type a worry. Watch it float away. It works, weirdly.

tips
ADHD Tips
No shame, no lecture, no "just try harder." Actual info for your actual brain.
ADHD
What is it?
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how your brain manages attention, impulse control, and executive function. It's not a "focus problem" — it's a dopamine and regulation problem. Your brain runs on an interest-based nervous system: you can hyperfocus for hours on something that lights you up, and completely stall on something important that your brain finds boring. Many people — especially women and people assigned female at birth — go undiagnosed for years because their ADHD looks like anxiety, perfectionism, or "tries hard but still misses things."
Common stress pattern
Your brain has fourteen tabs open. Three are frozen. One is playing music. Nobody knows where the sound is coming from. Meanwhile you're trying to remember why you walked into the room.
What helps
Tiny steps. Timers. Body doubling. Movement. External reminders. Lowering the difficulty setting from "perfect" to "done."
What does NOT help
"Just try harder." Shame. Giant to-do lists. People acting like executive dysfunction is a personality choice.
Script to use: "My brain works differently. I'm not lazy — I need different conditions to thrive. That's not an excuse, it's neurology."
exercises
Quick Exercises
Short, low-effort, actually helpful. Pick your vibe and go.
5-4-3-2-1 grounding

Ground yourself in your senses. Tap each when done.

5
See. Name 5 things you can see right now.
4
Touch. Notice 4 things you can physically feel.
3
Hear. Listen for 3 sounds in your environment.
2
Smell. Find 2 scents — even subtle ones.
1
Taste. Notice 1 taste in your mouth.
4 · 2 · 6 breathing

A gentle breathing pattern for your nervous system.

ready
the pattern
4
breathe in
2
hold
6
breathe out
body unclench scan

Read each zone. Check in. Tap it once you've let go of the tension.

👁
Face & jaw. Unclench your jaw. Let your forehead smooth. Soften around your eyes.
🫀
Chest & shoulders. Drop your shoulders from your ears. Let your chest open slightly.
🤲
Hands. Notice if you're gripping anything. Gently open your hands.
🦋
Belly. Take one breath into your belly. Let it soften.
🦶
Legs & feet. Feel the ground. Wiggle your toes. You're here.
cooling-off text box

Type the message you should NOT send yet. Get it out. Then breathe.

2-minute reset timer

Dedicated recovery time. Do nothing, stim, breathe — whatever you need.

2:00
brain on fire
You don't have to solve your whole life right now.

Do as many as you can. Go slow. Tap each one when done.

1 Unclench your jaw. Let your tongue drop from the roof of your mouth.
2 Lower your shoulders. Let them drop away from your ears.
3 Sip water if you can. Even a small sip counts.
4 Make the room softer. Dim a light, lower sound, loosen clothes.
5 Choose one tiny next action. Not a plan. One small thing, or nothing at all.

What do you need right now?

rsd first aid
Your brain is in pain, not in reality.

What happened?

dopamine menu
Pick a tiny spark.

No pressure. Just options.

drink cold water
stretch your fingers
look at something shiny
play one song
take 3 deep breaths
wiggle your toes
make a tiny snack
step outside
doodle badly on purpose
rearrange one object
scroll something you love
wash your face
put on cozy socks
turn down brightness
lie down with music
breathe under a blanket
close your eyes for 2 min
let yourself rest
shake your arms out
wall push
dance to one chorus
pace with music on
jump 10 times
squeeze something
open the Wonder Cabinet ✨
change your wallpaper
learn one weird fact
try a new playlist genre
rearrange your desk
write a terrible haiku
sensory check-in
What's secretly bothering you?

Tap anything that feels like too much right now. Your body knows.

my comfort kit

Pick what helps you come back to yourself. Save it and it'll always be here.

Calming sounds 🎵

Touch / movement 🤲

Visual comfort 👁

Taste / smell 🌸

comfort box

Things that help your body feel safer — textures, sounds, smells, tastes. Build your personal kit.

tiny wins museum
Every little thing counts here.

You did something hard. Put it in the museum.

pocket wisdom
Pocket Wisdom
When your brain is loud and you need something small and true. Just keep tapping.

Tap the card for the next reminder

save to favourites
reset rooms
Reset Rooms
Different rooms for different kinds of stuck. You know which one you need — just step in. (not the backrooms, promise)
what are the reset rooms?

The Reset Rooms are different sensory and emotional environments you can step into when your nervous system needs somewhere to land. Not advice. Not tasks. Just a space that matches what you actually need right now.

🕯️ Quiet Room — for when everything is too loud and you need zero demands
🚶 Move Room — for when you're wired, restless, or need to shake something off
🫂 Soft Room — for when you're sad, lonely, or just need to feel held
🌫️ Fog Room — for when your brain has gone offline and you can't think
🌊 Release Room — for when something's built up inside and needs somewhere to go

You don't have to know which one you need. You probably already do.

step inside a room

Pick a room — step inside ✦

or go straight to a tool
🔥
Brain On Fire
It's giving overwhelm. Let's sort it.
💔
RSD First Aid
For when your brain says they hate you.
Dopamine Menu
Low battery? Pick something tiny. That counts.
🔍
Sensory Check-In
Find what's bothering you + your comfort kit.
🏛️
Tiny Wins Museum
Save the little things that took a lot.
sleep stuff
😴 Sleep & the ND Brain
ND brains and sleep have beef. It's biology, not a character flaw — and we said what we said.
why it's hard

Tap a topic to open it ✦

wind-down sequence

Low-demand steps for when your brain won't switch off. Do as many or as few as you need.

1. Put a screen boundary 30 min before sleep — not for discipline, just to let dopamine settle a little.
2. Lower the lights. Warm and dim signals to your brain that night is actually coming.
3. Do one physical thing — wash your face, change into soft clothes, stretch for two minutes. It signals transition to your nervous system.
4. If thoughts are loud, brain dump onto paper or a notes app. Get them out of your head into somewhere they'll wait.
5. Familiar low-stakes audio — a podcast you've heard before, rain, a comfort show you know by heart — gives your brain something to follow without fully engaging.
6. Give yourself permission to take a while. The ND nervous system often needs longer to shift gears. That's not insomnia — it's your wiring.
if you're lying there awake

Things to try when sleep won't come and you can't stop thinking.

Tense each body part for 5 seconds then release — start at your feet, work upward. It exhausts the body into letting go.
Name 5 things you can feel right now — weight of the blanket, temperature of your feet. Bring attention to the body, not the thoughts.
Pick a world you know well — a book, a game, a place — and walk through it slowly in your mind. Let it become a story.
If stuck in a thought loop, set a tiny 5-minute timer and write everything in the loop down. Once it's on paper, tell your brain it's been noted and doesn't need to keep running.
If you genuinely can't sleep after 30+ min, it's okay to get up, do something calm in dim light for 15 min, and try again. Lying there frustrated teaches your brain that bed is a stressful place.
mind library
🧠 Neurodivergent Library
Facts, patterns, and "wait… that's neurodivergent?" moments.
explore a topic

Pick a topic above — your library opens here.

🧭 soft wild survival guide

Pick a real-life hard moment for a tiny guide.

🌸 self-discovery deck

Pull a question to understand yourself better.

🔮 translate my experience

Pick what's happening and get possible translations.

nd & the world
Curious Minds
Big questions. Weird rabbit holes. Hyperfixation fuel. Because sometimes your brain wants answers and will not shut up until it gets them.
choose a topic

Pick a topic above to explore ✦

identity & belonging
You Belong Here Too
There isn't one way to be neurodivergent. Your culture matters. Your background matters. Your identity matters. The internet loves neat little boxes. Humans are way messier than that.

Some of us grew up feeling different in more than one way. That's exhausting. This space is for the layers. The parts of you that never fit neatly into a category. The parts that kept getting missed.

Pick a community above ✦

national support links

These are real, free, and staffed by humans who get it. Crisis lines are 24/7 unless noted.

BIPOC Mental Health
Therapy for Black Girls therapyforblackgirls.com → Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation borislhensonfoundation.org → Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network nqttcn.com →
LGBTQ+ Crisis & Support
The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386 → Trans Lifeline 877-565-8860 → LGBT National Help Center 1-888-843-4564 →
Indigenous & Native Support
StrongHearts Native Helpline 1-844-762-8483 → Indian Health Service Behavioral Health ihs.gov →
Always Here
SAMHSA National Helpline (free, 24/7) 1-800-662-4357 → Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 crisistextline.org → NAMI — National Alliance on Mental Illness nami.org →
explain it to them
🗣️ Explain It to Them
Finding the words is hard. Especially when your brain has already rehearsed the conversation 37 times and somehow still forgot what to say.

Borrow these. Copy them. Rewrite them. Make them sound like you. We're not aiming for a TED Talk — we're just trying to get the first sentence out.

Pick a relationship above ✦

brain dump
Brain Dump
Dump it all here — thoughts, worries, tasks, the weird thing you said in 2014. No structure, no judgment. (Relationship stuff lives in Heart Atlas — this is everything else.)

Type everything — messy, scattered, no filter needed.

focus timer
Focus Timer
Timed writing, rest, or whatever your brain needs right now.
2:00
journal
Daily Check-in
Brain status report. No judgment, no pressure — just a quick log so you can start to see your own patterns.
today's entry

💡 best filled in at the end of your day, when you can actually feel how it went.

How loud is your brain today?

How are you feeling? (pick all that apply)

how cooked are we? 🔥

One thing on your mind (optional)

Did anything kind happen for you today? (even from yourself)

🌱
0
day streak
last 7 days

Brain noise level — higher bars = louder brain

Quiet (1–3) Medium (4–6) Loud (7–10) No entry
my worlds
My Worlds ✦
A collection of things future-you might need to hear. Tiny anchors. Gentle reminders. Emotional sticky notes for the days when your brain starts freelancing.
a soft reminder

tap for another ✦

my own affirmations

Words that feel true — even when it's hard to believe them. Write them in your own voice.

anchoring reminders

Things to say to yourself when the ground feels unstable.

when things feel dark

Write yourself a note for the hard moments. You'll read it when you need it most.

comfort corner
Your Comfort Corner
Private. Yours. Only ever on this device — nothing is shared.
affirmation for you

my own affirmations

Words that feel true — even when it's hard to believe them. Write them in your own voice.

anchoring reminders

Things to say to yourself when the ground feels unstable.

comfort box

Things that help your body feel safer — textures, sounds, smells, tastes. Build your personal kit.

a soft reminder

tap for another ✦

when things feel dark

Write yourself a note for the hard moments. You'll read it when you need it most.

crisis plan
Your Crisis Plan
Written by you, for you — so you have a plan before you need it.

If you're in crisis right now

This app is a peer-support tool — not crisis care. If you or someone else may be in danger, please contact emergency services (911 / 999 / 112) or a crisis line near you.

🌐 International: befrienders.org
🇺🇸 USA: Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
🇬🇧 UK: 116 123 (Samaritans) or text SHOUT to 85258
🇦🇺 AU: 13 11 14 (Lifeline)
🇨🇦 CA: 1-833-456-4566

You matter. Please reach out to a human.

safe people

People you can reach when things feel heavy. Add a phone number and tap their name to call.

my crisis plan

A plan written by you, for you — to pull up instantly when things escalate. Fill in each section and save. It'll always be here.

Sensory Profile
what's this?

Tap each chip to mark how it affects you. Cycle through: 💚 Helps⚠️ Tricky🚫 Avoid → back to unmarked. Add notes and save.

info
Info
📖 about
about this app

Soft Wild Minds is a free, no-account peer-support tool built for neurodivergent people — especially those navigating AuDHD, autism, ADHD, and BPD. No algorithm, no tracking, no judgement.


This app does not replace therapy, psychiatric care, or crisis services. If you're struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional. This is a companion, not a substitute.


Everything you write stays on your device — nothing leaves it. This is your private space, full stop.

Peer support Neurodivergent-affirming Non-judgmental No data collected Mobile-first

You deserve care that actually fits your brain.

You are not broken. You're not too much. Your nervous system is asking for safety — and it deserves to find it. We built this for exactly that.

✦ Rest is not failure. It is repair. ✦
questions

Frequently asked questions

What is Soft Wild Minds?

It's a free, no-login self-help app for neurodivergent people — ADHD, autism, AuDHD, BPD. You'll find tools for burnout, overwhelm, thought spirals, emotional regulation, and more. Peer support, not clinical care. Your data lives on your device only.

Is Soft Wild Minds free?

Completely free. No account, no email, no data collection. You can also install it to your home screen and use it offline like an app.

Who is it for?

It's built for neurodivergent people — especially those navigating AuDHD, autism, ADHD, and BPD. If you experience burnout, sensory overload, emotional spirals, or all-or-nothing thinking, it's for you. You don't need a diagnosis to use it.

Does it replace therapy?

No. It's a peer-support tool and a companion, not a replacement for therapy or psychiatric care. If you're in crisis, please contact emergency services or a crisis line: 988 (US), 116 123 (UK Samaritans), or befrienders.org for international support.

Is my data private?

Yes — genuinely. Your notes, journal entries, and settings live on your device only. There's no tracking, no analytics, no server collecting your stuff.

🔒 your data
my account

Sign in to keep your data safe across all your devices — no sync code needed.

export my data

Download everything — your journal entries, quick notes, brain dumps, and affirmations — as a JSON file you can keep or import elsewhere.

my sync code

Use this code to access your data on another device — no login needed. Keep it private, like a password.

Restore from another device

Paste a sync code from your other device. This will replace your data here with that device's data.

Delete cloud data

Remove everything stored in the cloud for this sync code. You'll get a fresh sync code to start over.

⚙️ settings
background sounds

Gentle ambient audio to keep you regulated while using the app — plays in the background across all sections.

💌 community
follow along

Come say hi on Instagram — updates, behind-the-scenes, and soft brain content.

🧠 @softwildminds
🎵 bonus
You found the iPod ✦

s.w.m. exclusive playlist — a little treat for exploring this far ✦

💌 Share Soft Wild Minds

Heart Atlas

Heart Atlas is your emotional navigation space for the messy, intense, beautiful parts of connection — relationships, attachment patterns, and the feelings that are hard to explain to people who don't feel things as deeply as you do.

If you're neurodivergent, relationships can hit differently — the highs are higher, the silences louder, the attachment stronger. This space isn't about fixing that. It's about understanding it.

📍 Today's heart location — check in with where you are emotionally right now
💘 Explore a region — gentle reads on intensity, red flags, reassurance, and more
💌 Text spiral & letters — tools for the things you can't say out loud yet
📍 today's heart location
Tap below to find your current location.
explore a region

Choose a region — your map opens here.

🔮 daily relationship reflection

Pull a reflection to bring you back to yourself.

🧠 text spiral translator

For when your brain says "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?" and starts building a whole courtroom.

💌 the unsent archive

For the messages that almost got sent.

Sometimes you don't need advice. You need proof that somebody else has stared at a text box for forty minutes and lost the argument with themselves too.

📮 pages i won't send

New favourite person hasn't texted back in four hours? Already drafted a double text… and a backup double text? We've all been there.

Get it off your chest, leave it on the page, and let your nervous system breathe. We've got you. 💯

💕 Heart Reminder

Your depth is not a flaw.

Your desire for reassurance is not evil.

Your longing for connection is human.

Not everyone can match your depth — and that does not mean you are too much.

my milestones
Your Milestones ✦
Every badge here is proof you showed up for yourself — on the hard days too.
0
day check-in streak
Save a journal entry to start your streak ✦
0 / 11 badges earned
streak badges

Earned by checking in on consecutive days. ND brains make structure genuinely hard — every single day counts double here.

Daily Streaks
coping tools

Earned by using the tools in the app. Each one is a real skill — your toolkit is genuinely growing.

Skills Unlocked
collected
Sticker Book 🌸
Little moments, kept safe. No pressure, no performance.
0 collected
explorer mode
Explorer Mode 🗺️
Tiny rabbit holes for restless brains.
wonder cabinet
All Wonders
30 entries
🧠
Brain Facts
5 entries
🐙
Strange Creatures
5 entries
📜
Weird History
5 entries
🌙
Myth & Folklore
5 entries
🎨
Creative Sparks
5 entries
Trailblazers
5 entries
collections

Entries you've opened, kept here.

wonder cabinet
All Wonders
Something you didn't know yesterday.

💌 Soft Wild Minds presents

The Unsent Archive

For the messages that almost got sent.

📖 Ever wanted proof that someone else has had the exact same spiral? These letters are it. If you want to write your own unsent message, that lives in

Sometimes you don't need advice. You need proof that somebody else has stared at a text box for forty minutes and lost the argument with themselves too.

Open a letter when you're:

my brain
🧠 My Neuro Profile
A soft record of how your brain works — just for you. Nothing is sent anywhere.
I identify with
My sensory sensitivities
Things that help me regulate
Anything else about your brain
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