Identify The Head Trash Game

You know those thoughts that show up after something goes wrong and immediately make everything ten times worse? The ones that say "you're broken," or "everyone noticed," or "this always happens to you"? That's Head Trash — and it doesn't live in your head for free by accident.

In therapy, these patterns are called cognitive distortions — habitual ways our thinking gets twisted, exaggerated, or just plain unfair to us. For autistic and ADHD people especially, they can be extra loud, extra convincing, and extra hard to shake.

This game turns the therapy concept into something you can actually play with. Meet your seven Head Trash tenants — each one a different distortion with its own personality, nickname, and signature move. Your job? Catch them in the act, name them, and haul them off to CBT Court where they'll face their charges and get evicted.

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Naming = Power

Research shows that simply being able to name a cognitive distortion weakens its grip. Once you can say "that's Cata-Strophe talking," it's harder to fully believe it.

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Learning Through Play

Games are one of the most effective ways neurodivergent brains absorb new concepts. Low stakes, immediate feedback, and a bit of fun makes the learning actually stick.

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Practice Reframing

Every round ends with a real CBT skill — choosing a healthier reframe. The more you practise spotting the distortion and replacing it, the more automatic it becomes.

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Built for Your Brain

The scenarios reflect experiences that hit different for ADHD and autistic people — rejection sensitivity, social anxiety, masking, perfectionism. This isn't generic content.

1

Pick your scene

Choose a relatable situation — a breakup, a work mistake, an unanswered text, a social moment gone awkward. The Head Trash tenants show up immediately with their "advice."

2

Read the thought

After listening to the tenants, the character has a thought. Your job is to identify which Head Trash tenant whispered it — pick them from the lineup of seven suspects.

3

Take them to CBT Court

Once caught, the tenant faces Judge Reframe. Read their charges, serve the eviction notice, then choose the healthiest reframe to replace the distorted thought.

4

Earn points, build skills

Score points for correct IDs and good reframes across all 7 rounds. Stuck or curious? The in-game cheat sheet has every tenant's profile — clinical term included.