Mental Health
A dimensional alternative to psychiatric diagnosis.
"The general labels we have over neurodiversity are broken—ADHD, ASD, etc. The truth is there are individuals, not categories. If you meet one neurotypical, you've met every neurotypical. If you meet one neurodivergent, you've met one neurodivergent. Every neurodivergent is a different definition, completely different to each other."Start Here →2-minute intro + self-assessment
Why This Exists
"My 2 main problems are social anxiety and executive function, and together they make my life very difficult."
"I have tremendous social anxiety. I live 90% in the moment whether on my own or with others. I am almost always hyperfocused and find it very hard to switch focus. In social situations I shut off to almost everything except the item of my focus."
These experiences don't fit neatly into diagnostic boxes. That's the problem the framework tries to address.
The Problem
- 227 symptom combinations under one "depression" label.
- 30% first-try success in STAR*D trial. Treatment is guesswork.
- Same genes across disorders. Categories don't match biology.
"I hate this: 'ADHD isn't a disorder, it's a different operating system.' Sometimes classification is false precision because often there's distribution across multiple dimensions, not single categories."
The Real Experience
RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)
"RSD-induced avoidance—the anticipatory anxiety is so intense that it feels safer to not reach out at all than risk the emotional pain."
Executive Function
"My executive function is a real disability. I struggle to get any tasks done—calling people, answering the phone, getting back to people."
Hyperfocus Blindness
"Dead to the world during focus. Lack of real integrated continuity. As I enter a new hyperfocus the previous ones become dead."
Social Shutdown
"In social I shut off to almost everything except the item of my focus. Some combo between autistic and ADHD I think."
These are dimensional experiences, not categorical diagnoses. The 7 Framework tries to capture them.
The Alternative
The 7 Framework — body-based dimensions instead of buckets.
scattered ←→ lockeddown ←→ upnumb ←→ chasingempty ←→ overflowingloose ←→ tightfloating ←→ frozenpulled in ←→ mergedRoadmap
- Aggregate primary sources (DSM-5, ICD-11, RDoC)
- Document 100-year classification history
- Define The 7 Framework
- Map interventions to each dimension
- Validation studies
Data
Contribute
Help map interventions: what actually moves each dimension? Share case studies, critiques, translations.
Open an issue →Connection to the Cognitive Prosthetic
The 7 Framework emerged from the same process as all poly projects—trying to understand and work with a mind that doesn't fit standard categories:
Monotropism
Single-channel attention patterns
Learning Pipeline
ADDitude (1,181 videos watched)
Brain MCP
353K messages of self-analysis
This Framework
Dimensional model from lived experience
github.com/mordechaipotash/the-7-framework · Monotropism → · How I think →