Episode 23

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Published on:

6th Nov 2025

Pet the Kitty, Don’t Poke the Snake — with Hilary Momberger-Powers

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 choosing happiness — even when life isn’t perfect.

In this episode:

  • Morning gratitude rituals and stabilizing practices
  • Why joy is a choice, not a mood
  • The “pet the kitty, don’t poke the snake” mindset
  • Boundaries that free both sides
  • Redefining legacy through service and light

Key Takeaways

  • Gratitude is grounding. Start small.
  • Happiness is a decision — not denial.
  • Boundaries without guilt create peace.
  • Freedom comes from allowing others to figure it out.
  • Your light helps others find their own.

Pull Quotes

  • “It’s the little things — the ants, not the lions — that kill us.”
  • “Don’t poke the snake. Respect their path, and protect your peace.”
  • “I get to be happy.”
  • “I just want to help people light their own torch.”

⚠️ Content Note

This episode includes mentions of spirituality, daily rituals, and relationship dynamics in the context of recovery and emotional wellness.

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Keywords

Hilary Momberger-Powers, inner child, re-parenting, self-soothing, emotional healing, trauma recovery, self-compassion, self-love, healing journey, resilience, emotional growth

🎧Next week, Sacha begins a two-part conversation with Emma Lyons — a healer and intuitive coach who helps people reconnect with their bodies, release emotional blocks, and rebuild self-trust. It’s tender, curious, and full of actionable insight.

👉 Make sure you’re subscribed to The High-Functioning Disaster so you don’t miss this next chapter.

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About the Podcast

The High-Functioning Disaster
High-functioning on the outside. Hot mess on the inside.
You’ve got the color-coded calendar, the competent job persona, the “I’m fine!” mask down to an art—and a mental load heavy enough to throw out your back. Meanwhile, life? That's a hot mess express—total chaos with zero chill and a full tank of emotional baggage. And what makes it even worse? Nearly no one’s talking about it.

Welcome to The High-Functioning Disaster, a podcast for people who are doing their best to hold it together while navigating burnout, grief, trauma, anxiety, caretaking duties, family drama, body image issues, and a to-do list that never quits.

Host Sacha Holder isn’t the disaster (neither are you!)—life is. And this show is about making space for that truth and giving ourselves permission to say it out loud. Every week, Sacha explores what it means to be deeply human in a world that keeps demanding more. Sometimes she’s flying solo, sometimes she brings along guests and friends—but the vibe is always real, raw, unfiltered, and grounded in radical self-acceptance and permission to be human.

We talk boundaries. Body image. Mental health. Emotional labor. The moments where everything feels like too much—and the ones where we catch our breath and keep going.

This isn’t a self-help podcast. It’s a self-permission podcast.
Permission to be exhausted.
To not have it together.
To be honest about what’s hard—without needing to package it as a “lesson.”

Because you don’t need fixing.
You need space to fall apart—and still be seen.
Because some of us are just trying to make it through the day.
And here? That’s more than enough.
New episodes every Monday. Come as you are. Seriously.
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About your host

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Sacha Holder

Sacha Holder is a project manager, podcast host, and bariatric patient who’s not here to pretend it’s all perfect. With over a decade of professional experience and a whole lot of lived experience, she creates podcasts that tell the truth about what it means to live, heal, and grow — through chaos, and curveballs, while keeping it together (mostly).

She’s the voice behind Life in the Bari Lane, a bite-sized bariatric podcast for real people navigating post-op life, and The High-Functioning Disaster, a show about showing up even when everything feels like too much. Through humor, honesty, and zero judgment, Sacha builds community through conversation — because no one should have to figure it out alone.