In role-playing games, you play a character that interacts with the world around them. Every character has status bars that represent their health, resources, and abilities. Some characters are a casting class, like mages or wizards, who use Mana — a magical reserve of power — to complete quests, activities, and tasks.
Characters with a full mana bar are capable of completing any quest in front of them. Their baseline regeneration of mana between tasks allow them to go about their day without needing to assess whether they have enough mana to do so. They hardly feel the strain of low mana until near the end of their day.
In the event that they overexerted earlier in the day, a quick nap or a cup of coffee usually boosts their mana and they are able to continue their day, refreshed. In game, these positive effects are known as buffs.
Similar to buffs having a positive effect, debuffs have a negative effect. Characters experiencing debuffs will find their available mana reduced, stunted mana regeneration, an increased mana cost to complete tasks, or even be completely blocked from using mana. Debuffs are uniquely experienced by each character. All characters will experience debuffs at some point in their life, whether that is grief from loss, catching a cold, or breaking a leg, no one is immune from experiencing a debuff.
Characters with disabilities start their day with debuffs. Before the day even begins, they must carefully assess and manage their mana — choosing which quests to tackle, actions to take, and juggle which activities are worth the cost.
As they go about their day, they will often feel the strain of low mana. Some will constantly run out of mana long before the day is done, regardless of how they manage their mana. Others, may finish their day without running out of mana, but only by sacrificing hanging out with friends or skipping those chores that really need to get done.
Debuffs also affect the cost of tasks. Tasks that require physical exertion will cost more mana to a character with a mobility disorder. Tasks that entail a significant amount of sensory input will cost more mana to an autistic character or a character with sensory sensitivities.
Many may push through and attempt to do more than their mana allows. They apply buffs, borrowing mana from future days and even future weeks, just to get through each day “like everyone else” does. The longer characters push through, trying to achieve the same level of efficiency and productivity as those around them, the more likely the character is to experience increased negative effects.
This may look like burnout from repeated and prolongued stress, a breakdown of executive functioning, or a worsening or increase of symptoms.
The really cool thing about using analogy is that it offers a common language that offers effective communication without needing to provide the specific details. In most cases, the reason “why” is elusive, so this also removes the extra cognitive Mana spend of explaining the unexplainable!
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