The High-Functioning Disaster

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...

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 c...

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,...

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 o...

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 foo...

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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 emo...

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 bl...

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 (bl...

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 R...

Hey, fellow high functioners! Today started with Miracle Morning (not an all-in-one — still finishing the “reading” pod) and turned into a legit healthcare day: Bariatric check-in: Officially moving from 7.5 mg to 10 mg Mounjaro next cycle. Scale alignment was tight (within 0.6 lb of the home Withings). Dietitian marching orders: cap protein shakes at two/day — a third only on shot day — and prior...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster. Today was a rough one. Sacha started with a repeat of her favorite Miracle Morning track before getting knocked flat by a migraine with aura — the kind that steals your vision and your plans. Pre-interviews got rescheduled, progress slowed, but she still managed to chip away at her office cleanup and clock a 2–3 on the productivi...

It’s Sacha’s birthday, and the day lands heavy. She starts with a double-dose Miracle Morning focused on mental health, shares her own history with anxiety and panic disorder, and reflects on the hard reality of caregiving when a loved one insists they “don’t deserve care.” There’s honest talk about boundaries, compassion, and what “helpful” really means. On the lighter—but still weird—side: misch...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Emma Lyons — trauma-informed healer and founder of The Trauma Matrix — we move from awareness to action. Emma explains why mindset work alone can’t undo shame, and how the real healing happens when we retrain the nervous system to feel safe again. We talk about breathwork, yoga, and her B.R.E.A.K. method for interrupting shame attacks in real time. She also unpack...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster. Today starts with Sacha’s signature Miracle Morning and a full day of editing, planning, and reflecting on what really matters — movement, meaning, and compassion. She talks about connecting with Shannon Curtis , a medium and intuitive coach, and meeting a therapist for men of color , both reminding her how powerful podcasting ca...

Trauma-informed healer Emma Lyons , founder of The Trauma Matrix , joins Sacha to unpack her concept of the “inner narcissist” — the shaming, controlling voice that masquerades as protection while keeping us small. Emma shares how shame hijacks the nervous system, why mindset work alone can’t heal, and why shame isn’t a moral compass but a mechanism of control. Together they explore family dynamic...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster. Today’s episode is proof that pajamas and productivity can totally coexist. Sacha embraces a PJ day , gets her weekly planning done, and navigates some tough caregiving moments with honesty and grace. After convincing her mom to finally pick up her prescriptions, a communication mix-up at the pharmacy leads to an unexpected accid...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster . It’s Saturday — and the vibe is pure weekend chaos meets comfort. After staying up late with Brandon, Sacha sleeps in (until 11!), dives into her Miracle Morning, and heads out for a day of errands, bulk hauls, and sweet indulgence. Today’s adventures include Sam’s Club and Costco runs , stocking up on Oikos protein shakes , Spr...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster . Today starts messy and ends honest: Sacha oversleeps a 7:40 a.m. doctor visit, speed-runs out the door, and lands in a weird lab limbo until results get faxed over. The headline: A1C = 4.8 — low end of normal and a hard-won win. 🙌 From there, it’s real-life roulette: running Mom’s schedule (and emotions) while she heads to brai...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster. Today’s entry is raw and real — equal parts exhaustion, reflection, and hard-earned self-accountability. After starting with an all-in-one Miracle Morning on procrastination , Sacha faced a tough day with her mother — appointments missed, emotions high, and tears shed on the office floor. Caregiving isn’t easy, and today it took...

In this closing conversation with Hilary Momberger-Powers , Sacha explores the grounded daily rituals that keep healing practical. From beginning every morning with gratitude, to setting gentle boundaries with her pet the kitty, don’t poke the snake philosophy, Hilary shares how she maintains peace in a noisy world. Together, they reflect on freedom, responsibility, and the sacred simplicity of ch...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries from The High-Functioning Disaster . Today’s entry is peak real life: an 11½-minute all-in-one SAVERS (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing), a last-minute caregiving pivot for Mom’s appointment (with brain testing Friday ), and a bummer reschedule with guest Noah May ( Lethal Venom ). On the bright side, the house was quiet (dogs at pl...

In this heartfelt continuation of Sacha’s conversation with Hilary Momberger-Powers — the original voice of Sally Brown from Peanuts — the focus turns inward to the younger self within. Hilary opens up about learning to self-soothe, re-parent, and rebuild the trust that trauma once fractured. She shares what it looks like to comfort your inner child in real life — not as a concept, but as a daily...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries , Sacha’s daily audio journal from The High-Functioning Disaster . Today was classic hodgepodge: a full SAVERS Miracle Morning (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing), Brandon’s jury duty day on a murder case, a neighborhood walk to an oops-no-election polling place, and a spirited debate about No-Spend November —featuring Sacha’s comedi...

This episode includes brief references to recovery, fear, and emotional healing , as well as candid discussion of spirituality. Please listen with care if you’re in a tender place or navigating addiction recovery. In this conversation, Hilary Momberger-Powers — the original voice of Sally Brown from Peanuts — joins Sacha to talk about what it means to reinvent yourself without apology. Hilary shar...