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The Conflict Cycle Breaker

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Description

Chapter 14's conflict loop, drawn as a ring you can operate: demand at a bad moment → disappointing response → escalated repetition → RSD spike → blowup → ledgers updated → ambient tension rises → and back around, faster each turn. Click any stage for its anatomy, sample dialogue, and — color-coded on the border — who can act there.

The green exits are the chapter's argument that either person can cut the loop at any point: time the demand and system carries the reminder belong to the family member; the pause belongs to the person with ADHD; repair and call the loop belong to either. Each exit shows its replacement sentence — "want me to add it to the board?" instead of "did you do it YET?" — and cutting an edge is sticky: press Run one turn afterward and watch the turn stop dead at your cut. That's analysis turned into rehearsal.

Lesson Plan

  1. Watch it spin (2 min): Run one turn untouched, reading the dialogue.
  2. Anatomy (4 min): Click all seven stages. Each family identifies the stage their loop usually ignites at.
  3. Cut it (4 min): Each person cuts the exit they own, reads the replacement sentence aloud, and re-runs the turn.
  4. Agree (3 min): Pick one replacement sentence to actually adopt this week, and put its supporting system (the board, the pause protocol) in place.

References