The High-Functioning Disaster

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries , Sacha’s daily audio journal series from The High-Functioning Disaster . In this third installment, Sacha reflects on productivity, loss, and unexpected signs of connection. Between editing podcast episodes, reading The Total Money Makeover , and cheering on her husband Brandon as he launches his own show ( Ashes & Aftermath ), the day takes a deeply emotional...

Hilary Momberger-Powers—best known as the original voice of Sally Brown in the Peanuts cartoons—shares the raw truth of what came after childhood fame: trauma, addiction, and ultimately recovery. In this first part of our conversation, Hilary and host Sacha Holder unpack what it means to stop leading with your wounds , how childhood survival roles become adult identities, and why stability starts...

Welcome back to Disaster Diaries , Sacha’s daily audio journal series from The High-Functioning Disaster . In this second entry , Sacha shares a slice of real life — football losses, messy home projects, Target runs (no-spend November…ish), and trying to connect with family through complicated dynamics. She reflects on grounding rituals like sitting on the floor, practicing yoga, and slowly reshap...

Welcome to Disaster Diaries , a daily audio journal series from The High-Functioning Disaster . In this first entry, Sacha gets honest about burnout, lost audio files, and the emotional fatigue that comes with trying to hold it all together — while also learning when to simply rest. She shares how she's balancing job loss, financial strain, and creative frustration with intentional routines like T...

In this final part of my conversation with Zulma Williams — The Swearing Therapist , we explore grief, loss, and finding light in the mess . Zulma unpacks her definition of grief — “love that has nowhere to go” — and shares how we can honor our loved ones through rituals, laughter, and everyday living. From celebrating the people we’ve lost to giving ourselves permission to cry, she reminds us tha...

In this third part of my conversation with Zulma Williams — The Swearing Therapist , we dive into setbacks, self-trust, and standing your ground . Zulma opens up about how being ignored at work pushed her to start her own practice, Dragonfly Therapy Services , and how that leap turned frustration into freedom. She explains why boundaries aren’t selfish, how to stop apologizing for your needs, and...

In this second part of my conversation with Zulma Williams — The Swearing Therapist — we dig into what anxiety and depression really look like in daily life, and what it takes to stop the spiral before it takes over. Zulma breaks down simple grounding techniques , explains why therapy is an act of strength , and shares why we need to stop glorifying “doing it alone.” We talk about becoming the CEO...

Zulma Williams — better known as The Swearing Therapist — is living proof that it’s never too late to start over. After immigrating to the U.S. from Argentina at 31, she earned her bachelor’s degree at 42, her master’s at 50, and built a thriving therapy practice that helps people face anxiety, depression, and trauma head-on. In this candid conversation, Zulma and host Sacha Holder talk about refr...

Unprocessed emotions don’t disappear — they take up residence in our bodies. In this final part of Sacha Holder’s conversation with Amy Vincze , we explore how trauma can create energetic blockages, physical symptoms, and emotional fatigue — and how practices like EFT tapping help release what’s been held too long. Amy walks through the chakra system, explaining why the root chakra is the foundati...

Generational trauma is real — but what does it actually look like in everyday life? In Part 2 of this conversation, Amy Vincze shares how unhealed patterns, beliefs, and emotions pass through families both energetically and biologically — and how breaking those cycles begins with awareness. Amy explains how inherited fears can show up as money blocks, emotional sensitivities, or chronic stress, an...

Show Notes: What does trauma really mean — and how does it shape the way we cope? In this first episode of a three-part conversation, Sacha Holder talks with health and wellness expert Amy Vincze , who has spent over 20 years helping people heal emotional and physical pain through EFT Tapping . Amy explains the difference between Big T and little t trauma, why coping mechanisms like perfectionism,...

In the final part of my 3-part conversation with Angie Hawkins , author of Running in Slippers and creator of the Shine From the Inside program, we’re diving into the powerful connection between the mind, body, and stress —and how living outside our core values shows up in our physical and emotional health. Angie shares her experience with autoimmune illness, the cost of chronic people-pleasing, a...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Angie Hawkins , author of Running in Slippers and creator of the Shine From the Inside program, we dive into what it means to live by your own rules , find inner confidence , and reclaim your light after years of over-functioning and people-pleasing. Angie shares how her “Glow Method” helps women reconnect with their childhood selves, heal old survival patterns, a...

Author and coach Angie Hawkins joins The High-Functioning Disaster to talk about surviving rock bottom, dismantling lifelong people-pleasing , and choosing radical self-love —the messy, real kind. We trace Angie’s journey from a Midwest childhood with emotionally unavailable parents to life in Hawai‘i, the day she survived an intentional overdose , the friend who said “It’s not your time,” and how...

Summary In the final part of my conversation with Jacintha “Jay” Field (Family & Child Counsellor, Art Therapist; founder of Happy Souls Kids), we get practical about presence over perfection, how to meet kids’ needs when your own life is messy, and how to recognize the “high-functioning but hurting” child—the one who looks fine to teachers and grandparents but unravels with their safe person...

Big feelings aren't "bad behavior." In Part 2 of my conversation with J acintha Field , we unpack what's really happening under the surface, how play therapy opens doors words can't, and what simple shifts help parents show up without burning out. We dig into: What emotional regulation actually means for kids (and adults) Why play therapy works — sand trays, art, slime, story, movement Scripts you...

Episode Notes Family & Child Counsellor and Art Therapist Jacintha “J” Field knows what it’s like to walk through fire. From surviving a 15-year abusive relationship to solo parenting through a pandemic, she’s turned her pain into purpose as the founder of Happy Souls Kids —a global platform helping children regulate their big feelings through play, storytelling, and creativity. In this first...

In the very first episode of The High-Functioning Disaster, host Sacha Holder pulls back the curtain on what it really means to look “high-functioning” on the outside while juggling chaos on the inside. On paper, Sacha is a project manager with a wall of certifications, a color-coded calendar, and years of professional success. Off paper, she’s a wife, daughter, caregiver, bariatric patient, and s...

Welcome to The High-Functioning Disaster —a podcast about what it means to show up in the middle of chaos. If you’re holding it together on the outside while quietly unraveling on the inside, you’ve found your people. In this short trailer, host Sacha Holder shares the story behind the show, what you can expect from upcoming episodes, and why you don’t need to be “fixed”—you just need space to be...