MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel ADHD and filing taxes without the dread
Apr 7, 2026
They unpack why taxes feel like a surprise attack for ADHD brains and how working memory and time perception sabotage planning. The conversation highlights scattered documents, procrastination spirals, and shame-fueled avoidance. Practical systems are discussed like automating finances, creating a document dumping ground, breaking tasks into short sessions, harnessing hyperfocus, body doubling, and hiring help.
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Shame Turns Taxes Into An Emotional Threat
- Anxiety and internalized shame turn financial tasks into emotional threats, increasing avoidance and compounding unopened mail and unread emails.
- Dr. J ties this avoidance cycle to growing anxiety and a sense that tax work is an emotional threat.
Overwhelm From Piled Up Tasks
- Overwhelm occurs when many interdependent tax tasks must be done at once after avoidance, causing shutdown and distraction.
- Example: needing five documents, two logins, a professional opinion, and an unexpected payment leads to scrolling instead of starting.
Multi-Step Directions Create Error Anxiety
- Difficulty following multi-step directions raises the risk of errors, omissions, and the shame spiral when forms must be corrected.
- Dr. J notes that missed sections or small mistakes can cause embarrassment and reinforce negative self-beliefs.