As Gen Xers, many of us grew up with the phrase "suck it up." But as adults, we are finally learning that protecting our peace is essential.

This week on Strangers With Kittens, we are exploring how to build healthy boundaries without shutting the world out. Host Eileen is joined by licensed therapist Katrina Oliver to share actionable, effective strategies for setting boundaries in midlife.

Katrina shares her expertise on how to recognize and resist generational trauma (or trickle-down trauma) passed down from our childhoods. Learn how to navigate difficult family dynamics, stop people-pleasing, and protect your mental health as a Gen X adult. It’s time to break the cycle and heal.

Connect with our guest:

• Learn more about Katrina Oliver's practice: https://www.instagram.com/counselorkatrina/
• Follow Strangers With Kittens for more Gen X stories: 

✨ If this mental health conversation helped you, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help other Gen Xers find our community!

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

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The birds are singing, the weather is warming and even though it's been decades since you've had a true Spring Break Vacation, you continue to yearn for those blissful spring days. There's swimming in sub-zero lagoons. Water slides made of concrete. A freshwater wave pool that kills. Your best friend had to leave earlier in an ambulance, and no one is even talking about the baboons on the lawn! 

Not the spring break you remember? We wish it was a fever dream, but it was 100% real if you lived in New Jersey during the 70s. 

Listen to "Surviving Spring Break" and all the memories our followers have shared about Action Park. Can you share your personal account of Jungle Habitat? We can't be the only ones.

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

Did we really LOVE the 90s or should we all take off our rose-tinted glasses?

Remember when the only way to get ahold of someone who wasn't right next to you was through a landline? Maybe they had a pager. The music was loud, you saw movies at the theater, or 8 months later when you rented them from Blockbuster.  New York was gritty and raw. Sexism and misogyny were the cultural norms and even though we were on our own, we experienced life unfiltered.

Join Eileen and special guest Carey Reilly as they remember the 90s. A tumultuous love story and ode to a decade that was all that and a bag of chips.

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

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Generation X has been called a lot of things. Cynical. Slackers. We might be cynical, but that's because we got shafted on so many levels. We parented ourselves. We were responsible for ourselves. We became the ones who carried the burden of the environment. We were held responsible for so many people and problems that were not our problems to solve. After decades of aching for change. It's safe to say we are exhausted. 

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

Eileen invites Nikki Mammano, author of Breaking Good to the show. Without spoiling the memoir the two discuss addiction, drug abuse, bad decisions, and even worse consequences. A harrowing and suspenseful glimpse in time that reminds us that sometimes breaking completely is the only way to become whole. 

Get A Signed Copy of the Book "Breaking Good"  here 

www.nikkimammano.com

Get Involved and Learn More About Ryse Hawaii Here 

www.rysehawaii.org/donate/

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

Strangers With Kittens returns this week after a 2-week hiatus. This week, Eileen confronts death and explores grief within our society. After losing a close friend, Eileen reflects on that core relationship. Wrestling with death, end-of-life care, relationships, this life, and after. Get one GenXer's take here.

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

Just can't get enough woo with Chris Nolan. This episode includes all the moments you missed from the previous episode. Think of it as a little treat. A bonus. Special Edition. Director's Cut. You've been fighting fascism all week; you deserve a little something extra.  

To find the post on Instragram referenced in during the intro 

Click Here: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DURRqUCAQI5/?img_index=17&igsh=bGwwMzdxY2E0djVh 

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

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Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

Everyone has that one book that fundamentally alters their perceptions, perspectives, or, in this case, their future. We can't say that everyone finds their purpose in the eighth grade, but this week's guest will make you think about your life's purpose and proves Mom really does know best.

Join Astrologer and Friend Chris Nolan on this episode of Strangers With Kittens. 

Together we dive deep into topics surrounding birth charts, astrology, numerology and more. 

Connect With Chris and Grab Tickets To Future Events Here 

https://linktr.ee/wujibliss

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

Facebook 

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

This kitten is sincerely torn to pieces. Burning Down the House is an episode about releasing pent-up emotions, frustrations, and fears. Eileen confronts the social need to find a distraction or tune out during a time when it's crucial to tune in. The distractions diffuse the harsh reality that this house is on fire, and there isn't anyone coming to save us. 

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

Facebook 

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/

This week, my Producer, Ashley, joins me on the podcast to hash out deep-rooted conflicts that have warped women's minds for generations.  In this cross-generational episode, we confront some of the reasons we tend to feel crippled by comparison, run-down as parents, depressed in our careers, or insecure about our choices.  Strangers With Kittens is keeping it calm and cool while breaking barriers and fighting for your right to be whoever you wanna be... without apologizing for it.

Support the show

Strangers With Kittens is a podcast created by Eileen Kelly and Produced by Ashley Aker. Original music composed and performed by Chris Hajian. You can listen to full podcast episodes on Spotify, Amazon, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. 

✨ If you love raw, authentic Gen X stories, hit the FOLLOW button on Spotify to help our podcast grow!

Follow Strangers With Kittens On Social Media 

Facebook 

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Keep The Conversation Going 

https://www.strangerswithkittens.com/