The ADHD Loop Engine, Part 2: Rocket Loops & Gravity Loops

Mapping the Territory—Every Loop Type Explained

The Paradox

Consider this common ADHD experience:

Someone learns an entire programming framework in 72 hours. Not "gets familiar with." Not "understands the basics." Deep competence—building real projects, understanding edge cases, knowing when to break the rules.

"How do you DO that?" people ask.

They don't know. It just happens. When interest hits, the learning machine activates. Information pours in and sticks. Connections form unexpectedly. It feels like a superpower.

That same week, that same person spends an entire evening convinced someone is pulling away from them.

The evidence: the other person seemed quieter than usual. That's it. That's all the data available. But the brain took that single data point and constructed an entire narrative.

They were just tired. That's all it was.

Same week. Same brain. Opposite outcomes.

The framework learned? Still being used. The anxiety spiral? Still embarrassing to think about.

This is the paradox of the ADHD loop engine. The same mechanism that makes extraordinary things possible also creates exhausting spirals. They're not separate features—they're the same feature pointed at different targets.

Part 1 explained the mechanism. Part 2 maps the territory.

Explain This to Three People

SECTION 1: ROCKET LOOPS 🚀

Rocket loops happen when the loop engine locks onto something valuable. The DMN suppresses. External focus dominates. Pattern separation is active—learning, creating, storing new connections rapidly. Time flies. Energy is high. Output is real.

These are the gifts of the ADHD brain. They're why people with ADHD are overrepresented among entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, and anyone whose work rewards intense bursts of focused creativity.

The Creative Loop

What It Looks Like

Sitting down to work on something. An hour later—wait, it's been six hours. No food. Phone unchecked. Barely moved except to type, write, build, create.

Ideas cascade into more ideas. Each solution reveals three new possibilities. Not thinking about the work—BEING the work. The boundary between self and project dissolves.

When finally surfacing, something exists. Something real. Something that didn't exist before. Something that couldn't have been planned or scheduled into existence.

The Neuroscience

• Dopamine alignment: High-interest target found. VTA broadcasting at full volume.
• DMN fully suppressed: No self-reflection, no mind-wandering, no intrusive thoughts. All resources directed externally.
• Prediction errors resolving constantly: Each creative step is a small discovery. Discovery = dopamine. The loop feeds itself.
• Pattern separation active: Novel connections being stored. Ideas linking to ideas.

The Gift

• Produce work others can't match (they can't access this state reliably)
• Make unexpected connections across domains
• Flow state mastery—the "zone" athletes chase
• Art, code, writing, building at absolute peak

The Shadow

• Forget responsibilities and basic self-care
• Hard to stop even when stopping is necessary
• Crash when it ends—re-entry to normal life is jarring
• Can neglect "boring but important" things indefinitely

Illustrative Scenario

Looking up at 4 AM. 8,000 words written. Genuinely no awareness of where the time went. Dinner forgotten. But the thing made... couldn't have been made any other way.

The Learning Loop

What It Looks Like

Discovering something new. A topic, a skill, a domain. Within hours, everything available consumed. Wikipedia rabbit holes ending in unexpected expertise. YouTube tutorials at 2x speed. Books ordered, articles saved, communities joined.

By week's end, more knowledge on this topic than people casually interested for years. Opinions developed. Ability to explain to others. Maybe already building something with the new knowledge.

The Neuroscience

• Novelty = massive dopamine: New information is inherently rewarding to the seeking system.
• Pattern separation working overtime: Each new piece of information stored distinctly, minimal interference.
• Self-sustaining prediction errors: Each fact learned reveals questions, which reveal more facts. Loop feeds itself until novelty is exhausted.
• Interest-based nervous system fully engaged: This is what the brain is FOR.

The Gift

• Polymathic knowledge range—knowing a little (or a lot) about everything
• Rapid skill acquisition that surprises even the learner
• Can become competent at new things FAST when interest aligns
• Connects ideas across domains in ways specialists miss

The Shadow

• Interest may fade before mastery (many half-finished learning projects)
• Can feel scattered or dilettante—"jack of all trades"
• Knowledge sometimes wide but shallow
• The next shiny topic arrives before this one is finished

Illustrative Scenario

Needed to fix one CSS bug. Six hours later: understood the entire history of web layout, had opinions about flexbox vs. grid, could explain the box model to anyone. The bug took 2 minutes to fix once everything around it was understood.

The Problem-Solving Loop

What It Looks Like

There's a puzzle. A bug. A question without an answer. The brain latches on and won't let go.

Thinking about it while doing other things. Dreaming about it. Waking up with new approaches. Something in the brain keeps working on it even when not consciously engaged.

Then, suddenly—often at a random moment—the answer arrives. Fully formed. No explanation for how the getting-there happened. The pieces just clicked.

The Neuroscience

• Prediction error DEMANDS resolution: The unsolved puzzle is an open loop. The brain can't rest until it closes.
• Background processing: Even when not consciously working, pattern completion is running scenarios.
• Incubation effect: Stepping away lets the unconscious process continue without interference from the conscious mind.
• Massive dopamine on resolution: When the answer arrives, the reward hit is substantial.

The Gift

• Persistence others don't have—won't quit until solved
• Breakthrough insights from unexpected angles
• Solve problems others gave up on
• The "suddenly seeing it" moment is deeply satisfying

The Shadow

• Can't let go even when letting go is wise (diminishing returns, other priorities)
• Frustration when solution doesn't come
• May neglect other things while obsessing on the puzzle
• Physical toll of sustained unconscious processing

Illustrative Scenario

Debugging an issue for three days. Couldn't stop thinking about it. In the shower, driving, trying to sleep. Then at 2 AM, suddenly SAW the answer—a connection between two things never linked before. Had to get up and fix it immediately. The relief was physical.

The Gaming/Flow Loop

What It Looks Like

Starting to play. Time stops meaning anything. Reflexes sharpen. Challenge level perfectly matched to skill. Not thinking about the game—inside it.

Hours disappear. Stress carried into the session is gone. Genuine feeling of goodness—not just distraction, but actual regulation.

When finally stopping, real life feels loud and harsh by comparison.

The Neuroscience

• Constant dopamine hits: Games designed for variable reward schedules—perfect for the ADHD seeking system.
• DMN completely suppressed: Total external focus. No rumination possible.
• Flow state: Challenge-skill balance triggers optimal performance state.
• Amygdala quieted: Stress responses reduced. Genuinely calming.

The Gift

• Peak performance state—reflexes, pattern recognition, reaction time all enhanced
• Genuine stress relief (not just avoidance—actual regulation)
• Skill development through play
• Dopamine regulation tool—sometimes gaming is medicine

The Shadow

• Hard to stop ("one more game," "one more level," "one more hour")
• Hours disappear without noticing
• Can become avoidance strategy for difficult emotions or tasks
• Real life responsibilities neglected

The Passion Loop

What It Looks Like

Finding something worth caring about. Not just "interested in"—CARING about. It becomes part of identity. Can't do it halfway. Enthusiasm is visible, infectious. Others feel it.

When talking about it, lighting up. Connected to everything else in life. It's not a hobby—it's a piece of identity.

The Neuroscience

• Interest-based nervous system found worthy target: Passes all the filters—novel, challenging, meaningful.
• Dopamine sustained over long periods: Unlike shorter loops, passion loops can last months or years.
• Identity integration: The passion becomes part of self-concept, sustaining engagement even through difficulty.
• Everything connects: The brain links the passion to other interests, creating a rich associative network.

The Gift

• Depth of commitment others can't match
• Inspiring to others—enthusiasm is contagious
• Authentic engagement that's visible and attractive
• Mastery through love (practicing because of wanting to)

The Shadow

• Can burn out on the thing that's loved (intensity isn't sustainable forever)
• All-or-nothing mentality—hard to have casual interests
• Other areas of life neglected in favor of the passion
• Crash when passion fades—identity loss

SECTION 2: GRAVITY LOOPS 🌀

Gravity loops happen when the loop engine locks onto something threatening, unresolved, or emotionally charged. The DMN amplifies. Internal focus dominates. Pattern completion is active—partial cues trigger full emotional replays. Time crawls (or disappears anxiously). Energy drains. Output is suffering.

These are the struggles of the ADHD brain. They're why ADHD is associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties.

The Emotional Loop

What It Looks Like

Something happened. A conversation, an interaction, an event. It triggered an emotion—hurt, anger, fear, confusion. And now the thinking won't stop.

Replaying the conversation. Analyzing what was said, what was meant, what should have been said. Reading the message again. And again. Fourteen times, each reading finding new evidence for the worst interpretation.

Mood hijacked. Hours pass. Nothing's being solved—just stuck.

The Neuroscience

• Prediction error won't resolve: "What did they mean?" has no definitive answer. The loop can't close.
• DMN generating worst-case scenarios: The idle-mode brain is manufacturing content.
• Pattern completion filling blanks with fear: Partial data → full catastrophe narrative.
• Amygdala staying activated: Threat detection on high alert.

What the Brain Is Trying To Do

Protect from future pain by rehearsing worst-case scenarios. Solve the uncertainty by finding "the answer." It THINKS it's helping. It's not.

The Cost

• Exhaustion (mental processing is expensive)
• Can't move forward (stuck in the past)
• Mood spirals (each replay reinforces the emotion)
• Present moment hijacked by past/future

The Rejection Sensitivity Loop

What It Looks Like

Someone gives feedback. Constructive, even kind. But something about it hits wrong.

Within seconds, emotional response is disproportionate. Not "I'll consider this feedback"—more like "I am fundamentally incompetent and everyone knows it."

The intensity is overwhelming. Might shut down, lash out, or retreat. Hours later, still processing—not the feedback itself, but the tidal wave of emotion it triggered.

The Neuroscience

• Emotional threat detection miscalibrated: Normal feedback registers as attack.
• Amygdala response out of proportion: Fight-or-flight activation from a conversation.
• Fear conditioning without extinction: The rejection sensitivity pattern keeps reactivating. It doesn't habituate.
• Low boundary separation: Commitment to the "I'm terrible" interpretation before disconfirming evidence arrives.

What the Brain Is Trying To Do

Protect from rejection pain. Make vigilance so high that hurt never happens again. Unfortunately, stuck in "constant threat" mode.

The Cost

• Paralysis (can't try things that might result in negative feedback)
• Avoidance (hiding from situations where rejection is possible)
• Damaged self-worth (each episode reinforces "not good enough")
• Missing opportunities (not applying, not trying, not risking)

Illustrative Scenario

"The report was good but could use more detail." What was heard: "You're incompetent and everyone knows it." Three days convinced of imminent firing. They were just... giving feedback.

The Social Inference Loop

What It Looks Like

An ambiguous social cue. Tone that seems off. A pause that lasted too long. Something in someone's face.

The brain latches on. "Are they upset?" "Did I do something wrong?" "What did that look like mean?" Monitoring starts—their texts, their tone, their body language. Looking for evidence of the thing that's feared.

But the brain isn't reading THEM—it's reading its own fears onto them.

The Neuroscience

• Temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) mentalizing under stress: Theory of mind system working overtime but misfiring.
• Pattern recognition seeing patterns in noise: The brain is optimized for pattern detection. It's detecting patterns that aren't there.
• Pattern completion: One concerning cue → full fear memory activation.

What the Brain Is Trying To Do

Read others accurately to prevent negative outcomes. Protect against being blindsided. Unfortunately, the stress response impairs the very system needed for accurate reading.

The Cost

• Misreading neutral as negative
• Creating problems that didn't exist
• Exhaustion from constant monitoring
• Self-fulfilling prophecies

The Rumination Loop

What It Looks Like

3 AM. Should be asleep. Instead, the brain is replaying something from 2019.

No reason for this. Nothing triggered it. But here it is—mentally rehearsing an argument that's years old, or an embarrassing moment nobody else remembers, or a mistake with no current relevance.

Telling self to stop. Doesn't help. The thoughts keep coming. Same loop, different night.

The Neuroscience

• DMN in overdrive: No external focus to suppress it. Loop generator running unsupervised.
• Circadian dopamine dip: Less fuel for executive control. ACC detects rumination; dlPFC can't stop it.
• Prediction errors cycling without resolution: There's no answer to find. The loop has no exit condition.
• Pattern completion from random fragments: Something triggered a memory trace, and now the full memory is playing.

What the Brain Is Trying To Do

Solve the unsolvable. Find closure that doesn't exist. Process things that don't need processing. Doing what loops do—just with nothing good to lock onto.

The Cost

• Sleep loss (hours of processing instead of rest)
• Anxiety amplification (rumination feeds anxiety feeds rumination)
• Depression risk (sustained negative self-focus)
• Time and energy drain

The Shame Loop

What It Looks Like

Did something that confirmed the worst fear about self. Forgot something important. Made a mistake. Let someone down.

Internal dialogue starts: "Why can't I just be normal?" "What's wrong with me?" "This is why everything is so hard."

Comparison to neurotypical standards. Coming up short. Shame intensifies. Wanting to hide—from others, from self.

The loop becomes an identity: "I'm just broken."

The Neuroscience

• Pattern completion from partial cue: One failure → full "I'm a failure" memory. One mistake → entire history of mistakes.
• DMN generating self-focused negative content: Idle mode attacking.
• Cortisol sustained without resolution: Stress response activated, no threat to fight or flee from.
• Loop becomes identity: The more "I'm broken" is rehearsed, the more true it feels.

What the Brain Is Trying To Do

Motivate change through self-criticism. Protect from external judgment by judging first. Unfortunately, shame doesn't motivate—it paralyzes.

The Cost

• Identity damage (becoming the shame)
• Isolation (can't let people see the "real" self)
• Avoidance of help (admitting struggle = admitting brokenness)
• Self-fulfilling cycle (shame → avoidance → more failure → more shame)

SECTION 3: THE SAME HARDWARE

Here's the truth that needs sitting with:

Rocket loops and gravity loops aren't different systems. They're the SAME system pointed at different targets.

The creative genius who can build something extraordinary in a weekend? Same brain as the anxious person who can't stop replaying a text message.

The rapid learner who picks up skills in days? Same brain as the person spiraling at 3 AM about something from years ago.

The passionate, intense, all-in personality? Same brain as the one who needs constant reassurance.

One doesn't exist without the other. They're not separate features. They're the same feature.

The Same Brain That...

The Visual

THE ADHD LOOP ENGINE
                    |
            [THE LOOP ENGINE]
                    |
        ┌──────────┴──────────┐
        ▼                      ▼
   ROCKET 🚀               GRAVITY 🌀
   
   DMN suppressed          DMN amplified
   External focus          Internal rumination
   Pattern separation      Pattern completion
   Dopamine: novelty       Dopamine: threat
   Time flies              Time crawls
   "Unstoppable"           "Can't escape"
        |                      |
        └──────────┬──────────┘
                   |
            SAME. HARDWARE.

Why This Matters

Trying to "fix" the gravity loops while keeping the rockets doesn't work that way.

Being ashamed of the gravity loops while proud of the rockets misses the point—they're the same thing.

Hoping medication or therapy will delete the hard parts while preserving the good parts isn't how the engine works.

The goal isn't elimination. The goal is recognition and steering.

Can't delete the loop engine. Can learn to:

• Recognize when looping is happening
• Identify whether it's rocket or gravity
• Exit gravity loops faster
• Protect rocket loops intentionally

The engine is powerful. The question is where it's pointed—and how fast redirection happens when it's pointed wrong.

The Complete Taxonomy

Rocket Loops 🚀

Gravity Loops 🌀

Closing: The Territory Is Mapped

The loops now have names.

The creative loop that creates extraordinary things. The rejection loop that creates exhaustion. The learning loop that creates polymathic range. The shame loop that creates hiding.

Same engine. Different fuel. Same mechanism. Opposite outcomes.

Naming them is the first step. Part 3 teaches what to DO with them—how to recognize loops faster, exit gravity loops sooner, and protect rocket loops intentionally.

The loop engine exists. Now the territory is known.

Research & Citations

Neuroscience foundations:

• DMN suppression vs. amplification studies
• Pattern separation / completion research (hippocampal function)
• Mentalizing / theory of mind (TPJ function)
• Fear conditioning / extinction research
• Emotional threat detection systems

Clinical references:

• Dodson - RSD, Interest-Based Nervous System
• Barkley - ADHD as emotional dysregulation disorder
• Social cognition research in ADHD populations

Continue the Series

← [Part 1: The Loop Machine](/blog/adhd-loop-engine-part-1-the-loop-machine)

Why the brain loops—the neuroscience

→ [Part 3: The Loop Kit](/blog/adhd-loop-engine-part-3-the-loop-kit)

Tools, scripts, and experiments for working WITH the brain

If this framework helps, share it with someone whose brain works the same way. The territory is mapped. Now let's learn to navigate it.