1927 · BerlinUnfinished.
The story goes that a waiter remembered every open order and forgot each one the moment it was paid. The psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik put it to the test: people recalled interrupted tasks better than finished ones.
The loops your mind can't close.
What you feel has a name and a mechanism. Real psychology and real studies, in cinematic pixel-art films that talk to you.
Why the channel is called Zeigarn
2025 · BernStill open.
A meta-analysis of the decades of studies since found that the memory advantage doesn't reliably hold. What does hold is the pull to go back and finish. Even the effect this channel is named after is an open loop.
ZeigarnClose one.
Every film takes one loop your mind can't close — emptiness, overthinking, putting things off — and shows you the mechanism behind it, with real studies and real numbers. What you feel has a name. You are not broken.
Zeigarnik, B. (1927). Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 9. Ghibellini, R. & Meier, B. (2025). Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12.
03:12 · The room
Now showingCH 01
Feeling Empty for No Reason? What Science Says
- The loop
- Why do you feel empty when nothing is wrong?
- Closed with
- 0:00Why you feel empty when nothing is wrong
- 0:27What emptiness actually feels like
- 1:09Emptiness is an absence, not a wound
- 1:31The lottery winners study: why good things fade
- 2:09Emotional numbing: you can't mute only the pain
- 2:52Wanting vs liking: the motivation loop
- 3:35The 3 needs behind feeling empty
- 4:14Empty doesn't mean broken
- Herron & Sani (2021). Understanding the typical presentation of emptiness: a study of lived-experience. Journal of Mental Health.
- Miller, Townsend, Day & Grenyer (2020). Measuring the shadows: a systematic review of chronic emptiness. PLoS ONE.
- Brickman, Coates & Janoff-Bulman (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: is happiness relative? JPSP.
- Diener, Lucas & Scollon (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill. American Psychologist.
- Gross & John (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes. JPSP.
- Kashdan, Barrios, Forsyth & Steger (2006). Experiential avoidance as a generalized psychological vulnerability. Behaviour Research and Therapy.
- Machell, Goodman & Kashdan (2015). Experiential avoidance and well-being: a daily diary analysis. Cognition and Emotion.
- Berridge & Robinson (1998; 2016). Dopamine, liking and wanting.
- Lewinsohn (1974). A behavioral approach to depression.
- Ekers et al. (2014). Behavioural activation for depression: an updated meta-analysis. PLoS ONE.
- Chen et al. (2015). Basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration across four cultures. Motivation and Emotion.
03:20 · The shelves
Three kinds ofopen loops
- 01 · 1 filmWhy You Feel This WayEmptiness, loneliness, guilt, numbness, tiredness that sleep doesn't fix.
- 02 · First film soonWhy Your Mind Does ThisOverthinking, procrastination, rumination, endless scrolling: the loops your mind can't close.
- 03 · First film soonWhy Smart People Believe Dumb ThingsCognitive biases: why clever minds fall for simple traps, and how to spot them.
03:31 · The crowd
Every feelinghas a picture.
The films have their own visual language. When the narration talks about your heart, a pulse appears. When it talks about loneliness, you stand in colour in a grey crowd.
- ECGAnxiety, stress
- Grey crowdLoneliness
- BatteryBurnout, emptiness
- RainLow mood
- Eyes in the darkFeeling judged
- MaskPretending to be fine
- Thought bubblesOverthinking
- MazeFeeling stuck
- MirrorNot recognising yourself
- ChainsGuilt, pressure
- 99 %Unfinished things
- HourglassPutting things off
- NotificationsDistraction
- Study cardReal numbers
Shorts
03:47 · The gate
Which loopshould I close next?
Vote for the next film, or write the thought that won't leave you alone. I read every one.
04:12 · Close-up
The man inthe glasses
I'm Kaan. Every film starts with a question I couldn't put down and ends with the studies that answer it. The man on the roof is me: a new world every episode, the same glasses every time.
04:30 · The stop
Your product,inside a world.
Every film is a world of its own. A sponsor can be part of it: written into the story and drawn in the same style, never a pasted-in ad.
A world of its own
A full scene built around what your product actually does.
A moment in the story
A short spoken segment inside an upcoming film, where it fits.
Found for years
Films answer questions people keep searching for, so they keep being found long after release.
Best fit: tools for sleep, focus, learning and wellbeing.
04:52 · The radio
Betweenfilms
Games and apps I've built between episodes. The full portfolio is at demirkaan.com.
- ZeiTownGame
- ZeidokuiOS app
- OpenCaseZeiGame
- ZeiFlowerGame
- Focus TimerApp
- Where am I Zei?Game
- ZEILINEWeb
- ZeiLandWindows
App or game not working? [email protected]
05:12 · Before dawn
Some loopsstay open.
Every lit window in this city is someone who subscribed. 22 are on. Light yours.