Neil Adams

He/him. Chess playing, music loving, gaming curryphile by night, Security Business Partner by day. Everton F.C. and St. Louis Cardinals fan

[Rose 🛸 @revengescores]

Before pride month starts im just gonna say this:

-men’s mental health month is in November

-straight pride isn’t a thing. Nobody has ever been oppressed or killed for being straight

-veterans get 2 months. May and November

So do some research before complaining :)

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

This has a clinical name. Revenge bedtime procrastination. And the ADHD version runs on a completely different mechanism than the neurotypical one.

A neurotypical person stays up late because they want more leisure time. The ADHD brain stays up because it spent every drop of dopamine it had on executive function during the day. Sitting in meetings, managing transitions, filtering impulses, remembering the thing you were supposed to remember. That burns through dopamine the way sprinting burns through glycogen. By 10pm the tank is empty.

But here's where it gets counterintuitive. The exhaustion is physical. The dopamine deficit is neurological. Those are two separate systems. Your muscles want sleep. Your prefrontal cortex is starving for the stimulation it was denied all day because it spent 14 hours on task-switching and impulse control instead of anything that actually felt rewarding.

The phone at midnight is the brain trying to collect what it's owed. Low-effort, high-stimulation content. Scrolling, short videos, rabbit holes. The exact profile of activity that delivers dopamine without requiring the executive function you already depleted.

The sleep researchers call this a "self-regulation failure." It's closer to a debt collection. You borrowed against your own reward system to function all day. The bill comes due at midnight. And the brain will not let you sleep until it gets paid.

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@funkentechno Such a great album, need to listen to it again!

[The Figen @TheFigen_]

The birds were trained to play dead when shot, but the last one gave an amazing performance. 😂😂

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

Rita Moreno is one of just three people to win an Emmy for The Muppets, the other two: Bernadette Peters and Peter Sellers. The comedy timing during her performance of "Fever" while Animal attempts to railroad her is incredible. It was also done in one take
"Dat my kinda woman!"

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@YourFriendTina https://t.co/bYilQk4ksq 👌

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@YourFriendTina Classic! 🔥

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@disneya19632765 @JVMonte2 WLP and You are the Everything are fantastic tracks, as is Turn You Inside Out. I think that I Remember California is really underrated, it’s my favourite song on Green

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@JamesLeonDavid1 Best wishes to your dad and whole family! Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@funkentechno Looks like the cover of Liumin!

[Stan Collymore @StanCollymore]

Suicide.

I'm choosing to be deliberately blunt and provocative in this post because it's necessary. Government, charities, football clubs are all pushing water up a hill in highlighting what is undoubtedly a major health crisis.

You take a rope.
You put it up in a garage or a tree nearby or far away.
You're thinking about every loved one you'll leave behind as you put that rope around your neck.
Then you drop.

Some are decapitated.
Some aren't.
All are found by someone who has a lifetime of trauma that will never leave them.
A son.
A daughter.
A brother.
A sister.
A mother.
A father.

I know 2 men who hung themselves.

One was found by his Mom.
One was found by his brother.
Neither have recovered fully. 20 and 30 years on.

A life sentence for people who were already worrying, terrified their loved one may do something.

So just visualise the above and ask, "is there another way"?

A segway for a moment.

I do a few Q&A's every year. Tales of yesterday with a 99% male audience of my age group.

After the stories and fun, my last question back to the audience is..

"Hands up if you struggle with a mental health issue".

Nobody ever puts a hand up. Despite 1 in every 3 of 500 attendees statistically struggling.

"Ah, nobody, that's fucking brilliant! Well I do! ". I then graphically tell people, stunned into silence about how a rope around my neck in the middle of nowhere jolted me to go home and cry like a baby to my Mom.

After the Q&A has finished, something always happens. I'll be chatting to a few guys, saying bye and one by one, men will come over and whisper " I struggle".

Or my mailbox the next day will have 30 emails from guys, their partners or kids saying " Dad/Uncle /Brother was there last night and what you said hit them hard".

And that's how some people realise that it's time to speak to a pal or family member or even rant to me in an email. It works, I often get a follow up email a year or 6 later saying that they took responsibility for their suicidal feelings and are now flying.

Humans are programmed to want to live, to have families and to keep the species growing and thriving. So for a human to want to short circuit that desire isn't normal, and it should never be spoken of as normal. It's the ultimate red flag.

If you suspect your mate, Dad, Brother, Uncle is struggling mentally, they deserve your intervention.

They deserve a " are you OK, please tell me what's up".

They deserve an opportunity to get past wanting to hang a rope over a tree or in a garage and slowly struggle until they die and you find them.

If you've been there and trust me I have plenty, then you'll know that text out of the blue, or a footie mate or one of your kids asking jow you are can open the curtains to some sunshine.

Because when suicide is your only answer, the room is already dark, and you can't see a way out.

So please, fucking pretty please, ask that husband, Dad, Uncle, Cousin, footie pal TODAY how they are.

You may be shocked what comes back but extremely glad that you asked.

For those who struggle, you're not alone.

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@funkentechno Many happy returns! 😎

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@Top10Nathan Still a top 10 album!

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@disneya19632765 10/10 track! 🫶

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@Madge_esty @bushontheradio Proper nightmare fuel!

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@YourFriendTina https://t.co/LxnL8drqKc

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@nakedfoul Wolves, Lower
Perfect Circle
So. Central Rain
Old Man Kensey
These Days
Welcome to the Occupation
You are the Everything
Half a World Away
Find the River
Strange Currencies
Bittersweet Me
At my most Beautiful

Shout out also to Romance, an underrated gem

[Neil Adams @ArkleSparkle]

@YourFriendTina Looks like a pretty awesome week to me!