Mother’s Day can bring up a complicated mix of love, pressure, guilt, procrastination, and panic—especially for someone with ADHD. In this special Mother’s Day episode of the Chase Squirrelson Podcast, Chase takes a funny, painfully honest, and surprisingly heartfelt look at his relationship with holidays growing up and why Mother’s Day became its own emotional obstacle course. From “The Lie” we tell ourselves about having plenty of time…to the infamous “48 Hour Collapse,” Chase breaks down the ADHD cycle of avoidance, overthinking, shame, and last-minute scrambling. He shares the three classic categories of Mother’s Day gifts, explains the dreaded “Call Avoidance Loop,” and tackles “The Card Problem” that somehow becomes emotionally impossible. Along the way, Chase introduces the completely unofficial—but deeply relatable—laws governing Mother’s Day for ADHD brains: the Avoidance Law, the Panic Purchase Principle, and the Emotional Compression Effect. Beneath the humor is an honest realization about love, expectations, and why small acts of connection matter more than getting everything perfect.
Mother’s Day is supposed to be simple…until you have ADHD.
On this episode of the Chase Squirrelson Podcast, Chase takes listeners inside the emotional rollercoaster that holidays can create for an ADHD brain—especially when it comes to moms, expectations, gifts, cards, phone calls, and the crushing realization that you definitely meant to handle all of this earlier.
With humor, honesty, and more than a little self-inflicted chaos, Chase breaks down “The Lie,” the “48 Hour Collapse,” and the three types of Mother’s Day gifts that somehow define every last-minute scramble. He also explores avoidance, guilt, emotional overwhelm, and the realization that perfection isn’t what matters most in the end.
It’s funny, relatable, uncomfortable in all the right ways, and ultimately a heartfelt conversation about love, intention, and the way ADHD can complicate even the things we care about most.
(:36) What were holidays like for Chase when he was a kid?
(1:10) Specifically…what about Mother’s Day?
(3:19) What’s “The Lie”?
(3:51) The 48 Hour collapse
(4:51) And then…he scrolls
(5:05) Next step…the gift fiasco. Learn about the three types of Mother’s Day gifts from the brain of someone with ADHD! 1) The gift you meant to order but didn’t confirm. 2) The gift bought months ago and lost in your house and 3)The over correction gift.
(6:20) Learn about “The Call Avoidance Loop”
(7:08) What’s “The Card Problem”?
(7:48) Learn about the actual laws governing Mother’s Day. The avoidance law. The panic purchase principle. The emotional compression effect.
(9:31) So what did he finally realize?!