Safety & Crisis Support

What Deficit? is an ADHD-first task and focus app with an AI companion named Penny. It is not a crisis service, a mental-health service, a therapy service, or a substitute for professional care. Penny can help you organize and start your tasks — she is not equipped to support you through a mental-health emergency, and she will be honest with you about that.

What Penny does if you’re struggling

If you tell Penny something that sounds like you may be thinking about suicide or self-harm, she is designed to respond with care — not to look away, and not to try to be your counselor. Specifically, she will:

• Respond warmly and take you seriously. She won’t shut the conversation down or treat what you said as a task to file.
• Be honest about her limits. She’ll tell you plainly that this is bigger than what she’s built for, and that you deserve real support from someone who can truly be there.
• Point you to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.
• Stay supportive. She won’t end coldly.

What Penny will not do is counsel you, diagnose you, give you coping techniques, or pretend to be a therapist. Pointing you to real help isn’t her brushing you off — it’s the most caring thing a task app can honestly do.

What Penny is not

Penny is an AI. Her replies can be wrong, and she is not a clinician, counselor, or emergency responder. Please don’t rely on her for medical, psychiatric, or crisis support. For anything in those categories, reach out to a qualified professional, your doctor, or the resources above.

More resources

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org (United States, 24/7).
• Emergency — if there is immediate danger to life, call 911.

Contact

Questions about safety on What Deficit?: [email protected]. Please note we are a small team and cannot provide crisis support by email — for that, use the 988 resources above.