
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Today felt slow, soggy, and emotionally dense — not because of chaos, but because life itself felt heavy. Between caregiving, exhaustion, a FedEx package that refuses to leave Chicago, and Mercury still doing cartwheels in retrograde, my bandwidth hovered at “running on fumes.”
We kicked off day one of our annual vendor event (shoutout to Scentsy season), and even though I wasn’t feeling the spark I usually do, the night turned out better than expected. I talk through the emotional weight of this season, the financial pressures we’re working through, and the small pockets of optimism I’m trying to keep alive — from remote job possibilities to slow but steady progress on our Total Money Makeover.
Nothing dramatic today. Just honest. Just heavy. Just real.
🧭 In This EpisodeThis diary includes themes of caregiver stress, emotional heaviness, tech frustration, financial anxiety, and burnout. No graphic content, but it’s an emotionally weighted entry.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:disaster diaries, high functioning disaster, caregiving stress, emotional heaviness, burnout, financial stress, Scentsy vendor life, shipping delays, Mercury retrograde issues, project manager job search, remote work, total money makeover, daily audio diary
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Today’s Disaster Diary is brought to you by fatigue, froggy voice vibes, caregiving burnout, and a Scentsy shipment held hostage in Chicago. I missed my Miracle Morning again, tried to keep fourteen mental browser tabs open, and spent way too much energy wrestling with the reality that I cannot force my mom to care about her own health.
I talk through the emotional exhaustion of watching someone choose decline, the internal tug-of-war between control and acceptance, and why “trying to will someone into wanting better for themselves” is a special kind of heartbreak.
Also on deck: Dateline theories, real questions about why people stay in abusive relationships, a dog who dances like she’s auditioning for Broadway, Financial Peace University panic, and the chaos of surviving on one-third of our former income.
Short(-ish), raw, and very on brand for a High-Functioning Disaster.
🧭 In This EpisodeThis diary includes vulnerable discussion of caregiver fatigue, family conflict, domestic violence, and financial stress. Nothing graphic, but emotionally heavy in sections. Listen with care if you’re in a tender place.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:high functioning disaster, caregiving stress, emotional fatigue, family tension, Scentsy vendor life, shipping delays, domestic violence questions, vulnerability, burnout, financial peace university, job search stress, emotional load, daily audio journal, personal growth through chaos
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Hey fellow high functioners — today’s diary is coming in hot from the messy middle of family and country stuff.
I talk through the ongoing tech gremlins (looking at you, Mercury retrograde 👀), a beautiful interview with author and nonprofit founder Gail Showalter, and how her work with Single Moms Empowered got me dreaming about what real support for single dads could look like too.
From there, things get more tender: I share how alienated I’ve felt in my own family, what it’s been like to be the primary caregiver for my mom, and how a hard but honest conversation with my aunt finally confirmed what I suspected — sometimes people stay away because what you’re going through is just too heavy for them to face. It doesn’t make it less painful, but it does make it make more sense.
I also dig into mental health and therapy access, the emotional cost of holding space for other people’s stories (hi, podcasters and therapists), and the looming shift from excellent insurance to… let’s call it “bare minimum adjacent.” From there, I wade into bigger-picture stuff: immigration, ethnicity, how brown folks are treated at the post office, and a recent shooting of a cleaning worker here in Indiana that I believe never should’ve happened. It’s a raw, political-leaning reflection — not a debate, not a sermon — just me trying to make sense of a country that feels like a high-functioning disaster.
If you’ve ever felt invisible in your own family, exhausted by caregiving, or heartbroken over how people are treated in this country, this one might make you feel a little less alone. 💛
This diary reflects my personal experience and opinions. It’s not therapy, legal, or medical advice — just one woman processing out loud in real time.
Key TakeawaysIn this entry, I talk about family estrangement, feeling excluded, caregiving for my mom, mental health and limited access to therapy, U.S. politics, immigration and racism, guns, and a recent shooting death in Indiana. There are no graphic details, but the themes include prejudice, violence, and grief in both family and societal contexts.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:Disaster Diaries, caregiving, aging parent, family estrangement, mental health, therapy access, Mercury retrograde, tech issues, Riverside.fm, podcasting, Gail Showalter, Single Moms Empowered, single moms, single dads, nonprofit work, financial stress, health insurance, U.S. healthcare, immigration, racism, profiling, gun violence, Castle Doctrine, Indiana, grief, loneliness, high-functioning disaster, vulnerability, Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Today’s Disaster Diary comes to you from the floor of my childhood bedroom–turned–home office, because I needed to feel grounded in the one room that has always felt peaceful and safe.
I talk about feeling physically run down, emotionally raw, and deeply reflective as I sit in that space and reach for my Brené Brown books, especially Braving the Wilderness. Her words about not belonging in your own family crack something open for me, because that’s exactly what this season feels like.
I unpack the tangled mess of:
I read and reflect on Brené’s idea that not belonging in our family is one of the deepest hurts we can experience, and how the “third way” — owning our pain and turning it into empathy — is the one I keep choosing, even when it hurts like hell.
There’s talk of job hunting in a saturated market, trying to figure out how to work while managing constant appointments, skipping movement because I feel like garbage, and still tracking protein like the strong bariatric girlie I am.
It’s vulnerable, unpolished, and tender — a real-time snapshot of what it feels like to navigate caregiving, grief, and being the black sheep who keeps choosing compassion anyway.
See you tomorrow for the next installment of the Disaster Diaries. 💛
Key TakeawaysThis episode includes discussion of family estrangement, painful comments from relatives, caregiving stress, job loss anxiety, and feeling like you do not belong in your own family.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:family estrangement, not belonging, Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness, caregiving stress, aging parent care, job search anxiety, Great Recession echoes, empathy and compassion, bariatric life, protein goals, mental health, vulnerability, Disaster Diaries podcast
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Eating disorder dietitian Jessica Setnick returns for Part 2, and we go straight into the intersections of trauma, food, grief, and the stories we’re still unconsciously living by.
Jessica breaks down food as a mood-altering chemical, why bingeing or restricting often starts as survival, and how childhood chaos gets wired into adult patterns. Sacha shares her own post-op anger and a childhood food memory that suddenly makes perfect sense.
We explore how shame hijacks behavior, how regret opens the door to change, and why seeing parents’ reactions through the lens of fear can rewrite your whole internal narrative.
🧭 In This EpisodeThemes of trauma, grief, parental conflict, shame, emotional coping, body image, and weight stigma. Sensitive topics handled gently.
Connect:Where to find Jessica:
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:
Jessica Setnick, trauma healing, emotional eating, food coping, grief, nervous system, subconscious behaviors, shame, regret, weight stigma, body narrative, survival strategies, inner child
🎧 In Part 3, Jessica dismantles the harmful simplicity of “eat less, move more,” exposes how weight stigma in healthcare causes real harm, and shares scripts for advocating for yourself. We also get into family food dynamics and small language shifts that reduce shame.
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next chapter.
Dietitian and eating-psychology educator Jessica Setnick joins Sacha to unravel the unconscious stories shaping our eating, coping, and self-soothing behaviors — stories rooted in childhood, emotion, and survival.
Jessica introduces the idea of the “inner eater” — the younger self who learned how to navigate fear, comfort, chaos, and connection through food. Together, she and Sacha explore how emotional environments, family dynamics, and attachment wounds silently influence adult behaviors we often shame ourselves for.
If you’ve ever wondered “Why do I do this?” — this episode starts answering that question with compassion rather than judgment.
🧭 In This EpisodeThemes include childhood emotional patterns, trauma responses, unconscious conditioning, food-related coping, shame, fear, and attachment wounds. Trauma-informed discussion handled gently. No diet talk.
Connect:Where to find Jessica:
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:
inner eater, emotional coping, trauma and food, attachment wounds, childhood conditioning, survival responses, shame patterns, high-functioning behaviors, emotional eating, nervous system
🎧 In Part 2, Jessica breaks down the “rules” we absorbed growing up — the policing of food, the body comments, the shame triggers, and the emotional landmines that still shape our patterns today. She also explains how trauma (even totally unrelated to food) becomes woven into eating behavior and why breaking these patterns requires compassion, not control.
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next chapter.
Today’s entry was a whole journey, starting with a rushed Miracle Morning in the car on the way to get fresh cuts and color. ✂️✨ From there? Straight into errands, exhaustion, and a family misunderstanding that somehow evolved into a full-on silent treatment situation. Love that for us. 😭
My aunt is currently not speaking to me because I mentioned feeling unsupported with my mom’s care — not blaming, just… explaining. Texting is a dangerous sport. Meanwhile, my brother and I synced up twice today for updates, detective work, and emotional damage control.
Protein goals? Hit them. Mostly shakes, but it still counts.
Errands? Costco, Sam’s, pool not closed (again).
Purchases? Two winter coats — one for Mom, one for me.
Temperature? I was FREEZING all day like I suddenly became a Victorian orphan, so I used Brandon as my personal radiator.
Also: two naps. Two.
A win, honestly.
Wrapped the night with weekly planning, job-hunting anxiety, PMP study guilt, and a realistic reminder that adulthood is basically just “choosing which problem to handle first.”
See you tomorrow for the next installment of the Disaster Diaries. 💛
Key TakeawaysLight family conflict, mentions of caregiving stress, job loss, and perimenopause symptoms.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:Disaster Diaries, Sacha Holder, High-Functioning Disaster, caregiving stress, family conflict, perimenopause, Miracle Morning, Costco haul, protein goals, job search anxiety, PMP prep, introvert life, daily diary podcast
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Today’s diary entry comes to you at 2 a.m., powered by chai, salmon leftovers, and pure introvert grit. I dragged myself to my 55+ women’s Meetup group (yes, I am absolutely not 55, yes, they still let me in), and ended up meeting the sweetest, most community-minded woman who basically volunteers for sport. Instant admiration. Friendship unlocked. 🫶
I hacked my chai latte with a protein shake (bless the baristas who didn’t judge), watched IU football with Brandon, took an accidental nap, and still hit 87 grams of protein for the day — half food, half vibes.
Dinner was leftover salmon and a salad my mom tried to steal (rude). The evening wrapped with Dateline, a Pilates mat workout that obliterated my core, and a confusing but determined attempt to figure out the EveryDollar budget app for No-Spend November.
It’s that time of year when the planning bug hits, so I’ve started rough-sketching my 2026 goals and prepping for a new season… even if the pool is still not closed and the weather refuses to commit to November.
Short, simple, sleepy — but still showing up.
Key TakeawaysLight mentions of caregiving stress, food tracking, and budgeting; mild lifestyle frustrations.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:Disaster Diaries, Sacha Holder, High-Functioning Disaster, Miracle Morning, Meetup, introvert life, protein goals, bariatric surgery, Mounjaro, GLP-1, chai latte protein hack, Pilates, YouTube Pilates, No-Spend November, EveryDollar app, caregiving, IU football, Dateline, goal planning
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
Hey, fellow high functioners! Indiana served up 70°+ and sunny in mid-November (wild). I knocked out an all-in-one Miracle Morning on GLP-1 shot day (last 7.5 mg dose of Mounjaro; 10 mg starts next Friday).
Big win: hit 85 g protein with only one shake. Breakfast was high-protein yogurt (texture war with Chobani continues), plus rotisserie chicken at home, and dinner out with my bestie at Texas Roadhouse where I actually chose salmon over steak to help my LDL. Green beans and a simple house salad rounded it out.
Pool closing and yard wrap-up are queued for the next sunny day. Also: a quick Shava (our special-needs cat) update — grabbed his prescription food from our longtime vet to keep him comfy.
Programming note: Life in the Bari Lane — Parts 1 & 2 of my convo with Dr. Evan Nadler (pediatric bariatric surgeon) are live; Part 3 drops Monday. Learned so much about childhood obesity and adult weight patterns.
If you’ve got a bariatric story (bypass, sleeve, SADI, DS, even lap-band experiences), or you’re living high-functioning on the outside with chaos inside, I’d love to chat. Email’s best — details below.
Shoutouts & bits: Miracle Morning, Mounjaro 7.5→10 mg next week, protein target wins, LDL-friendly choices, cat care, pool season finale, and resisting the siren song of steak.
Support & links:Bariatric care, GLP-1 medication (Mounjaro), diet/lipids, mild nausea discussion, pet medical needs.
✨ Connect with The High-Functioning Disaster:Disaster Diaries, Sacha Holder, High-Functioning Disaster, bariatric surgery, GLP-1, Mounjaro, protein goals, LDL cholesterol, lean protein, Miracle Morning, rotisserie chicken, salmon, Texas Roadhouse, Life in the Bari Lane, Evan Nadler, caregiver life, special-needs cat, Indiana weather, pool closing
👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next entry.
📌 Standard DisclaimerThis podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is for informational and peer-support purposes only. It is not medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to you.
From the publisher's feed