Survival Mode Disrupted with Leticia R Francis

In this soul-level conversation, Bill Pautler joins Leticia to redefine survival mode as conforming to the world instead of being attuned to yourself. Bill shares multiple spiritual awakenings — including a life-changing moment in 1988 that cracked him open emotionally, and a later awakening that made him feel love for strangers like a spiritual electric shock. But awakening came with a cost: community rejection, shame, isolation, and rebuilding from the floor of his office while being misunderstood and judged. Together, they unpack self-love, self-forgiveness, fear as restriction, surrender, and why silence is the most underrated healing tool on the planet. Highlights include:🧠 Survival mode as masks + false beliefs🔥 Awakening as identity collapse + liberation💛 Self-forgiveness as giving yourself room to live🌊 Surrender as “stop fighting the current”🤫 Silence as the path back to your inner manual🎙️ What We Talk About:Survival mode as conformity, masks, and unchallenged belief systemsSpiritual awakenings and emotional purging (“the gift of tears”)What happens when you outgrow your tribe, religion, or communityShame, guilt, and being labeled the problem for evolvingSelf-love and self-forgiveness as foundational liberationFear as restriction and resistance to life’s flowAwareness as a lighthouse: seeing triggers and choosing differentlyHow surrender restores power (instead of control addiction)Why silence is the gateway to truth, peace, and purpose🔑 Key Takeaways:“Survival mode is conforming to the world instead of being attuned to yourself.” “Liberation is what happens when you move out of survival.” “Fear is restriction — it’s fighting the current.” “Silence will tell you who you are, if you stop long enough to listen.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:Because so many high-achieving women are exhausted not from life — but from performing it. This episode names the real prison: conformity, masks, and living by borrowed beliefs. Bill’s story is a reminder that healing isn’t always therapy language and tidy transformation… sometimes it’s spiritual awakening, identity loss, and choosing truth even when it costs you community. If you’re ready to stop surviving as a version of yourself that keeps everyone else comfortable, this conversation is your permission slip.💬 Connect with Bill:Website: AwakeningToOurselves.comBook: Awakening to Ourselves: The Practical Art of Building a Spiritually Aware Life...

Rosa Casquino joins Leticia to unpack survival mode through the lens of trauma, culture, and community healing. As a Peruvian immigrant and survivor herself, Rosa shares how childhood violence, abuse, and cultural conditioning shaped her survival identity — and how healing required awareness, rewiring, and reinvention. Highlights include:🧠 Survival mode = internal safety strategies (fight/flight/freeze/fawn)🧳 Immigration trauma and xenophobia as chronic nervous system stress🔥 “Stay small” conditioning in women of color + cultural survival roles🌱 Community as the antidote to isolation and shame💛 It’s never too late to heal — at any age🎙️ What We Talk About:What survival mode really is (and why it’s misunderstood)Shame, guilt, and self-judgment around “how we survived”Rosa’s story: immigration, violence in the home, vulnerability to perpetratorsSchool as escape + the hidden coping strategies (including disordered eating)Adulthood survival identities: authenticity loss, relationships, divorce, reinventionCultural expectations that reward self-sacrifice and silenceImmigration climate stress: fear, powerlessness, anger — and how to respondHealing in community: friends, support systems, and seed-planting🔑 Key Takeaways:“Survival mode is what we do to ensure internal safety.” “Healing happens in community, not isolation.” “It’s never too late — healing can happen at any point in life.” “Build community. They’re there.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:Because too many women are walking around thinking they’re “too much” or “not enough,” when really they’re carrying survival scripts from trauma, culture, and generations before them. This episode names what’s often ignored: immigration trauma, cultural self-erasure, and the nervous system cost of being taught to stay quiet to stay safe. If you’ve been shrinking, people-pleasing, or self-sacrificing while calling it “being strong,” this conversation will crack that open. And once it’s cracked… you can finally choose something different.💬 Connect with Rosa:Website: thehealingguidecounseling.comInstagram: @thehealingguidetherapistTikTok: @thehealingguidetherapistWork: Licensed in California + Nevada | Trauma therapy + immigration support resources

Mitch Webb breaks down what survival mode actually looks like in the body — and why so many people spend decades chasing “root causes” without realizing trauma and nervous system dysregulation are driving the symptoms. This episode isn’t fluffy. It’s practical, blunt, and deeply validating for anyone who’s been stuck in chronic anxiety, insomnia, gut issues, fatigue, or emotional shutdown. Highlights include:🫧 Survival mode as “being held underwater”🧠 Why intellectualizing = thinking your way to safety🧅 Trauma as layers: symptoms → patterns → identity💥 Why biohacks can become another coping mechanism🧭 How interoception helps you trust your body again🎙️ What We Talk About:How trauma shows up as chronic symptoms (not just “big events”)The “onion layers” of healing: symptoms, conditioning, identityPeople-pleasing, perfectionism, black-and-white thinking, intellectualization“Environmental failure” and unmet needs shaping survival identitiesWhy the body keeps the score — and eventually collects the debtWhy the modern world lowers our capacity (tech, food, water, stress, comparison)Nervous system regulation basics: reconnecting to the body + natureComing out of survival mode = more choice, more authenticity, more power🔑 Key Takeaways:“Survival mode is like being held underwater your entire life.” “We get to meet ourselves for the first time underneath the conditioning.” “Your body isn’t here to hurt you — it’s sending messages.” “Coming out of survival mode is freaking awesome.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:Because women coaches are out here trying to scale businesses while their nervous systems are screaming. And no amount of strategy, content batching, or ‘high vibe’ mindset work will fix a body that’s stuck in threat response. This episode connects the dots between survival mode and the symptoms people normalize — insomnia, anxiety, burnout, gut dysfunction, chronic fatigue, emotional numbness. If you want a 4-day work week and location freedom, your nervous system has to believe you’re safe enough to receive it. Period.💬 Connect with Mitch:Website: mitchwebb.comPodcast: Rooted Conversations with Mitch WebbInstagram: @kmitchwebbYouTube: Mitch Webb (somatic + nervous system content)

Georges Cordova shares his survival-mode story through a decade-long battle with advanced melanoma, including multiple surgeries and brain tumors. He breaks down the mental and emotional shifts that helped him beat the odds — and why healing isn’t just physical, it’s whole-body and deeply internal. In this episode, we explore:🧠 Why the mind clings to what’s familiar — even suffering⚡ How “deciding to win” changes the entire fight🙏 Surrender as strategy, not defeat🧹 Forgiveness as emotional detox (and why clutter keeps you sick)💛 Receiving support as part of healing (yes, receiving)🎙️ What We Talk About:Georges’ background: CTO → holistic health coachThe moment he decided he would be the first in his family to survive cancer“Survivor guilt” and the responsibility of using your story to help othersFaith, mindset, and resilience as survival toolsEmotional clutter, forgiveness, and how unresolved pain lives in the bodySurrendering without “drifting”— continuing to row through the stormWhy gratitude is often a sign of deep integration and healingHow support, community, and receiving can open space for “miracles”🔑 Key Takeaways:“No one is ready to hear they have cancer.” “The mind goes to what is familiar… even when it’s suffering.” “Surrender isn’t sitting in a boat and drifting — you surrender and keep rowing.” “No one will believe in you until you believe in you.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:Because survival mode doesn’t only come from relationships, childhood, or burnout — sometimes it comes with a diagnosis and a deadline. Georges shows what it looks like to stop letting fear drive the process, and instead choose action, mindset, faith, and ownership. This episode is for the woman who feels like she’s been fighting for her life — emotionally, mentally, physically — and needs a reminder that she still has agency. Not because it’s easy… but because you’re not here to drown.💬 Connect with Georges:Website: isyourhealth.comEmail: georges@isyourhealth.comClarity Call: Visit his website to book a complimentary call (support for prevention, healing, and caregivers)

Linda Henderson shares the raw reality of what survival mode looks like after losing a child — not the polished version, the real one. In this episode, we talk about grief as a full-body experience and why time moves you forward even when you don’t want to go. Highlights include:🖤 Why grief can make you feel like a “robot”📝 How micro-actions (like writing “shower” on a list) can restart life🤝 Why community changes everything when the world doesn’t get it🔥 Her 3 pillars: acknowledgement, action, appreciation🌤️ How hope quietly returns — without erasing the pain🎙️ What We Talk About:The day Andrea died and how Linda’s life changed instantlyGrief brain: memory loss, cognitive struggle, daily functioningWhy “stages of grief” didn’t match her realityThe power of tiny tasks and celebrating small winsPTSD, counseling, medication support, and long-term healing toolsFinding “your people” and why isolation makes survival mode worseGratitude as a sign of healing (not denial)🔑 Key Takeaways:“Grief is ugly. It’s messy. Trauma is ugly. It’s messy.” “I was surviving… with help. Not even on my own.” “Acknowledgement. Action. Appreciation.” “Embrace the moments, cherish the memories, and hope for tomorrow.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:This conversation tells the truth people avoid: grief doesn’t disappear — it integrates. Linda’s story shows what it looks like to come back to life without pretending it didn’t destroy you. If you’re in survival mode because of loss, trauma, or life punching you in the throat, this episode offers real hope — not toxic positivity. And it proves healing can start with the smallest next step.💬 Connect with Linda:Book: The Road of Love and Hope: The Journey of Child Loss (Amazon + via her website)Website: authorlindahenderson.comFacebook: Linda Wesley HendersonInstagram: @lindahenderson5044YouTube: Linda Henderson (Mama Pain)

Ronda’s story is raw, heartbreaking, and deeply relatable for anyone carrying a mother wound. At 17, she was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend — and when she told her mother, she was dismissed, blamed, and called a liar. That betrayal shaped the next 30 years of her life, impacting her relationships, safety, trust, and even her physical health. In this episode, we unpack what survival mode looked like for Ronda: isolation, guarding her heart, struggling at school, and moving through life feeling like everyone eventually hurts you. She shares how her therapist challenged her to write — and how writing turned into publishing two books on Amazon as a way to finally release what she carried alone for decades. This conversation highlights the 3 phases of exiting survival mode:Self-awareness: naming the truth and recognizing the impactReprogramming: choosing support (therapy + psychiatry) and rewriting the narrativeReinvention: turning pain into purpose and helping other women feel less alone🎙️ What We Talk About:Being sexually assaulted at 17 and not being believed by her motherHow betrayal trauma becomes a lifelong “guarded heart”PTSD + depression and what it’s like to finally get diagnosed later in lifeIsolation as a trauma response: “I don’t go outside” + “I don’t trust anyone”The mother wound and what it does to friendships, identity, and belongingTrauma in the body: heart symptoms, stress responses, and stored painHow writing became Ronda’s release — and why she published her storyThe pain of repeated betrayal and the lack of accountability from othersWhat healing looks like when you’re tired of crying and tired of carrying it🔑 Key Takeaways:“Some of the deepest trauma is not being protected after you speak up.”“Isolation can feel safe — but it also steals connection.”“Your body will start speaking when you’ve been silent too long.”“Healing starts when you stop holding it in.”“Your story may be the thing that saves someone else.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:This episode speaks to the women who have survived trauma and then got punished for telling the truth. It’s for the ones who became hyper-independent, guarded, and isolated because trusting people kept hurting. Ronda’s story reminds us that silence isn’t strength — it’s often survival. And survival is not the final destination.💬 Connect with Ronda:📚 Ronda’s books on Amazon:She Didn’t Ask for the FireLetters From the Fire

In this raw and disruptive conversation, Tracy shares her story of growing up in severe dysfunction — from childhood abuse, neglect, and emotional isolation to being a “different” child who could see, hear, and feel what others couldn’t. She walks us through how survival mode became a learned pattern, not a personality trait, and how we often cling to our trauma stories because there’s a hidden payoff: attention, identity, and a sense of power in being “the one who suffered.” We dive into what it really means to guard your soul, why staying in victimhood quietly hands your power back to the people who hurt you, and how to choose a new narrative without denying what you lived through. This episode is a collision of spirituality, self-responsibility, and soul-level truth.🎙️ What We Talk AboutTracy’s upbringing in the 60s: abuse, neglect, late-night labor, and isolationDiscovering her spiritual gifts as a child (psychic, medium, medical intuitive)How survival mode becomes a learned behavior, not our natural stateThe difference between protecting your soul and building walls around your lifeWhy we cling to the “victim” label and the subconscious payoff behind itHow replaying the story keeps us stuck in the same emotional loopThe link between unprocessed pain and physical weightTracy’s journey to releasing 400+ pounds, leaving an abusive husband, and cutting off family that didn’t serve her healingSeeing trauma as part of your story, not the definition of who you areGod/Source, faith, and letting the universe handle those who hurt youPractical, spiritual ways to step into a new identity without bypassing your past🔑 Key Takeaways“We call ourselves victims and don’t realize we’re handing our power back to the person who harmed us.”“Most of the time, people aren’t doing things to us. They’re just doing things. We stepped into the blast radius.”“Survival mode isn’t your natural state. It’s a learned response, reinforced by ‘no’ after ‘no’ after ‘no.’”“Yesterday ended at 11:59. You don’t have to drag it into today unless you choose to.”🔗 Connect with Tracy🌐 Website: tracy-turner.com📱 Instagram (Live Readings Wednesdays @ 7pm EST): @tracyturnerpsychicmedium

In this gripping and deeply vulnerable conversation, Kelly shares her 61-year journey through survival mode — from childhood trauma to parentification, infertility, cancer, widowhood, raising a special-needs child alone, and ultimately surviving a rare autoimmune disease that nearly claimed her life. She opens up about her addiction to chaos, how trauma became her home base, how she built a $6M autism school from her basement, and the heartbreaking moment her body forced her to stop running by shutting down completely. This episode is a masterclass in self-awareness, reprogramming your trauma responses, and reinventing your identity after life strips everything away. You will walk away seeing survival mode in a completely different way — and with a renewed understanding of what healing truly looks like.🎙️ What We Talk AboutBeing “born into” survival modeParentification at age 9 & growing up in chaosLiving with an alcoholic mother and a raging fatherInfertility, date rape, ovarian cancer & griefAdopting a daughter with autism — then becoming a widow at 40Building a multimillion-dollar school… while drowning internallyThe body’s breaking point — and her near-death crisis in 2023Losing her entire identity: career, community, purpose & healthLearning to regulate her nervous system without numbingThe addiction to chaos that trauma survivors don’t recognizeRewiring survival mode: “Okay Chad, we don’t think like that anymore.”Reinvention after medical retirement & reclaiming purpose🗝️ Key Takeaways“My body did what I refused to do — it shut everything down.”“Calm didn’t feel safe. Chaos was home.”“You can’t heal what you keep outrunning."“Survival mode becomes identity when you’ve never known anything else.”🔗 Connect with Kelly🌐 Website: KellyWeaverConsulting.com💌 Email: KellyWeaverConsulting@gmail.com🧭 Coaching: Transformational support for women navigating identity loss, transitions, grief & reinvention

In this powerful, vulnerable episode, Colinda takes us through her story to and through survival mode—from being the youngest of six in a tiny northern Canadian town, to growing up in poverty, dealing with abandonment, family addiction, abuse, and unresolved grief. Every man in her life left. Her home was chaotic. Her body carried trauma long before she had the language for it. Survival mode turned her into the peacekeeper, the fixer, and the overachiever—pushing herself, people-pleasing, and constantly trying to be “better” so she could finally feel worthy of love. Decades later, after a near breakdown and a literal collision with a pole, she began the long, messy process of learning what self-love actually looks like in practice. We talk about self-awareness, reprogramming, and reinvention; how affirmations and afformations started rewiring her beliefs; and how a 31-day challenge of ten daily acts of love became the foundation of her methodology and her book Living in Love. This is not a fluffy, Pinterest self-love chat. This is self-love as rebellion for women whose nervous systems were built on “you are not enough.”🧠 What We Talk AboutHow survival mode showed up for Colinda:people-pleasingfixing everyone elseoverachievingnever listening to her bodyThe impact of:a father who left and never came backpoverty and unsafe living conditionsa sibling’s addiction, prison, and early deathinappropriate touch and boundary violations inside the familyEmotional neglect and being raised by a mother who gave everything to the community and almost nothing to herself or her kidsHow trauma translated into:dating narcissistic partnersproving worth through doingconstant burnout and nervous system overloadThe mirror moment: walking into a pole, seeing her own eyes, and realizing how deeply unhappy she truly wasThe beginning of healing: meditation, Louise Hay mirror work, tapping, and slowly changing her self-talkThe role of forgiveness (especially of her sister) – not as excusing harm, but as releasing its power over herHow grief during COVID and her sister’s passing cracked her open to the question:“What do I want to be?” → “I want to be love.”“What do I want this book to be?” → “I want this book to bring love.”The 31-day challenge: 10 acts of love a day and how it shifted her nervous system, her relationships, and her sense of worthThe difference between affirmations and afformations, and how positive questions helped her brain find proof she was worthy of loveHow to begin building deservability and self-worth when you don’t believe you deserve anything goodWhy healing is ongoing: trauma like grief, integration instead of erasure, and giving yourself permission to release what no longer needs to lead🗝️ Key Takeaways“Survival mode for me was exhausting—constantly fixing, pleasing, and never feeling good enough.”“I didn’t treat myself well because deep down, I didn’t believe I deserved to be treated well.”“Sometimes you can’t start with ‘I love you’—you start with ‘I’m ready to be ready to love myself.’”“You are love, just by existing. You don’t need to earn what you already are.”🔗 Connect with Colinda🌐 Website: ColindaLatour.com📖 Book: Living in Love – available on Amazon and major online retailers🎥 YouTube: Living in Love with Colinda💌 Living in Love Movement (launching September): a free global...

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Honey shares how she spent most of her life in chronic survival mode—anxious, exhausted, over-medicated, and completely disconnected from her own needs. From growing up in the 50s and 60s under a picture-perfect version of patriarchy, to battling menopause, chronic pain, brain fog, and a cabinet full of prescriptions, Honey’s story is a brutal mirror for what so many women silently live through. Everything shifts when, in her 60s, one introduction to cannabis becomes the catalyst for reclaiming her body, her clarity, and her life. We talk about trauma, nervous system overload, plant medicine, medical gaslighting, and the power of women healing together. This is not a “go smoke weed, it’ll fix you” conversation. This is about options, sovereignty, and refusing to let a broken system dictate the rest of your story.🧠 What We Talk AboutWhat survival mode looked like for Honey: decades of anxiety she didn’t even know she hadGrowing up as a woman in the 50s–80s: pearls, patriarchy, and zero real education about women’s bodiesThe “doctor dance”: prescriptions on top of prescriptions, side effects, and feeling like a stranger in your own skinMenopause, chronic fatigue, neuropathy, brain fog and the perfect womanly stormThe moment her body told her, “If you don’t change something, you’re going to die”How one experience with cannabis opened a door to relief, curiosity, and researchThe history, propaganda, and politics around cannabis and why women were never meant to win in that systemCannabis as a potential tool for nervous system support, pain relief, and mental quiet—not a cure, not a replacement for medical careThe importance of women choosing mentors, communities, and inputs that regulate them instead of retraumatizing themWhy Honey stopped consuming news and fear-based media and how that impacted her nervous system and mental health🗝️ Key Takeaways“I didn’t even know I was anxious. I just thought that was my personality.”“I spent decades living in fight-or-flight and calling it ‘being strong.’”“Don’t believe everything you think—your thoughts are not always telling you the truth.”“You’re not broken. You’ve just been surviving in systems that were never built for you.”🔗 Connect with Honey🌐 Website & Free PDF: Cannabis Recovery Kit – HealingBeyondHigh.com📖 Book: Healing Beyond High: Cannabis Truth – available on Amazon🎙️ Podcast: Cannabis Truth – conversations with doctors, scientists, and advocates in the cannabis space

In this deeply human episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, Leticia sits down with Gerald “RunRev” Collins, who takes us inside the darkest season of his life — the unexpected loss of his mother, the collapse into depression, and the spiral into survival mode that almost cost him his marriage, his fatherhood, and himself.Gerald describes:The shocking 72-hour decline of his motherHow grief stripped him of his identity, purpose, and joyThe depression he hid for years as a Black man raised to “tough it out”The moment his wife told him she couldn’t stay unless something changedWhy survival mode makes you more disconnected, irritable, and numb than you realizeHow one small choice — running one mile — became the key that rebuilt his lifeThis episode is a masterclass in honest grief, everyday survival, and the power of micro-habits to rewire your sense of self.🎙️ What We Talk AboutHow losing a parent can deton­­ate your emotional foundationThe silent depression men often hideWhy survival mode feels like “existing but not living”Emotional withdrawal, irritability, and the shame spiralThe neuroscience of movement + why physical activity helps trauma & depressionHow community became Gerald’s lifelineThe power of micro-commitments: 1 minute → 5 minutes → transformationThe difference between motivation and disciplinePurpose as medicine for grief🔑 Key Takeaways“You don’t need motivation — you need one minute of discipline.”“Grief doesn’t just break you. It empties you.”“Small steps count more than perfect plans.”“You’re not failing. You’re drowning — and no one taught you how to swim.”🙌 Why This Episode MattersSo many high-achieving women — and the men they love — are silently drowning under grief, pressure, and the weight of unprocessed emotion. Gerald’s story is a mirror for the people who seem “functional” but are barely holding on.This episode teaches listeners:How to recognize survival modeHow grief rewires your inner worldHow to rebuild your identity brick by brickWhy tiny commitments can save your lifeIf you’ve been stuck, numb, or waiting for “motivation”…This episode is the spark.💬 Connect with GeraldWebsite: runrevcoaching.comInstagram: @runrev_coachgeraldFacebook: RunRev CoachingEmail: gerald@runrevcoaching.com

In this raw, deeply educational episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, Leticia sits down with somatic psychotherapist Suzy Butts to unpack the neuroscience of trauma, how stress gets stored in the body, and why so many of us are unknowingly living high up on a “stress cliff” that we think is normalSuzy breaks down:How trauma has shaped human behavior for thousands of yearsWhy we learned not to rock the boat, speak up, or express emotionsHow epigenetics passes trauma down 8 generationsWhy most adults don’t know what safety even feels likeWhy your nervous system pushes you into fight, flight, freeze or fawn before you can thinkShe shares her personal survival mode story — childhood emotional neglect, marrying an abusive partner, a life-changing car crash, high-achieving numbness, obesity tied to trauma, and how 9/11 cracked her emotional armor and pushed her into the world of psychotherapy.This episode is a masterclass in understanding survival mode from a somatic and scientific perspective, offering real compassion and practical insight into how we get stuck… and how we get free.🎙️ What We Talk AboutThe “stress cliff” model — and how it explains overwhelm, burnout, shutdown, and poor coping habitsWhy humans have been conditioned for survival, not thrivingHow trauma lives in the body long after the mind forgetsEmotional unavailability in parents & its generational impactWhy your nervous system mistakes chaos for comfortFreeze mode vs laziness — the truth behind shutdownHow trauma influences weight gain, overeating & self-neglectThe danger of normalizing “I’m fine”Why healing must include body-based processesPost-traumatic growth, and why you can’t go back — only forward🔑 Key Takeaways“You’re not broken. You’re overwhelmed.”“Trauma doesn’t start with you, but healing can.”“You can’t change what you can’t see — awareness is your lighthouse.”“Safety feels boring when chaos raised you.” 🙌 Why This Episode MattersToo many women think they’re failing when they’re actually in survival mode.They think they’re lazy when they’re actually numb.They think they’re dramatic when they’re actually overwhelmed.This episode dismantles shame and replaces it with understanding — helping listeners recognize what their nervous system is trying to tell them and how they can gently start moving back toward safety, presence, and ease.This is trauma education in its most accessible, compassionate form — and it’s a lifeline for anyone stuck on that cliff.💬 Connect with SuzyWebsite: fromsurvivingtothriving2.com.auProgram: From Stress to Bliss (10-module somatic trauma program + weekly group)🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership🎧 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Podcast on YouTube ✍🏾 Subscribe to Survival Mode...

In this episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, I’m joined by relationship coach & mentor, Terraine, a man who was raised by his grandmother, reunited with parents who didn’t know how to love him well, and found refuge in religion before finally confronting his own survival patterns. Together, we unpack what survival mode looks like when you’re functioning, high-achieving, and still completely disconnected from your own needs.🎙️ In This Episode, We Talk About:How being raised without his mother and father put survival mode on default from childhoodThe role his grandmother played as his first model of love—and how losing her in December 2024 shattered and reshaped himThe taboo of telling the truth about your parents in cultures where “that’s your mom/dad” trumps your painHow people end up seeking in partners what they never got at home—validation, words of affirmation, safety, attentionWhy so many of us confuse people pleasing with kindness, and how it becomes a survival identityHow survival mode shows up in the body: racing thoughts, heavy chest, back pain, emotional numbness, autopilot routinesThe impact of growing up with emotional neglect or chaotic parenting on your adult relationshipsWhy parents who never healed their own childhoods unintentionally recreate the same pain for their kidsThe difference between running a race (constantly competing) and running a marathon (focusing on your own pace and healing)The crab-in-a-barrel mentality: why some people will pull you back down the moment you start healing💡 Powerful MomentsWe unpack how love languages get twisted when you’re raised in chaos:If you were called “fat” and “stupid”? You’ll chase anyone who gives you compliments.If you were controlled or shamed? You’ll overwork, overgive, and overperform to prove you’re enough.We talk about how self-sabotage is often learned—especially if you were raised to make everyone else comfortable but never taught to honor yourself.We explore how survival mode keeps you seeking toxic familiarity instead of safe love, because your nervous system sees chaos as “home.”🧠 Action Step from TerraineFind a full-length mirror. Fully clothed.Look yourself in the eyes and say one thing you love about yourself today.It sounds simple, but it will trigger a very real conversation with yourself about what you like, what you don’t like, and what you’ve been avoiding.That’s where your healing starts.🌐 Connect with Today’s Guest – TerraineWebsite: behindtheshades.caFacebook: Search Behind the Shades / Behind the Shades InterviewsSpecial Offer: Mention Survival Mode Disrupted and receive a free 1-hour session with him.🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership🎧 Subscribe to

In this raw, unflinching episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, I’m joined by Dr. Dawnmarie Risley-Childs—a board-certified psychiatrist and survivor of 24 years of domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Dawnmarie doesn’t just bring clinical insight. She brings lived experience. We walk through her story of growing up in a house that looked “fine” on the outside but was a war zone behind closed doors: a psychopathic stepfather, a mother who collaborated and minimized, and a childhood wired around fear, confusion, and survival.She shares how:Chronic exhaustion and PTSD followed her everywhere—even into her medical careerKetamine treatment helped with anxiety and rumination… but didn’t touch the buried rage and terrorUnderground psychedelic-assisted therapy (with mushrooms and LSD) opened locked doors in her memory, body, and emotionsShe realized her mother wasn’t just a victim, but an active collaborator in her abuseReleasing anger—rather than bypassing it with “forgiveness”—became a turning point in her healingShe moved from protecting her abusers to protecting herself and her childrenAnd ultimately, we talk about what it means to reclaim your story, your body, and your future after being betrayed by the very people who were supposed to keep you safe.🎙️ What We Talk AboutHow survival mode can feel like permanent exhaustion while you still keep pushing yourself to functionThe “performance review” relationship with her mother and why nothing was ever good enoughReading The Body Keeps the Score and finally understanding why her body was screamingThe difference between ketamine treatment and classic psychedelics like mushrooms/LSD in trauma processing (from her experience)How psychedelic medicine can surface stored memories and emotions in a way traditional talk therapy often can’t reachThe moment she stopped trying to satisfy her mother and chose herself insteadWriting her book “The Offering: A Physician’s Journey through Abuse, Psychedelics, and the Freedom of Forgiveness” and why she ripped out a whole chapter to write a success chapter insteadThe radical act of forgiving herself—not for what happened, but for carrying shame that was never hers🔑 Key Takeaways“Healing is possible. So many people feel broken. But you can heal.”“I realised I was never going to satisfy my mother—and my life changed when I stopped trying.”“Psychedelic medicine didn’t erase my trauma. It helped me finally feel the anger and terror I’d been swallowing for decades.”“My mother wasn’t just looking away. She was collaborating. And I needed to stop protecting her more than I protected myself.”📖 About the Book – The OfferingTitle: The Offering: A Physician’s Journey through Abuse, Psychedelics, and the Freedom of ForgivenessDr. Dawnmarie’s book weaves:her high-achieving, “on paper successful” lifethe brutal reality of her childhood and young adulthoodher journey through PTSD, psychopathy, and complex traumaand her healing through psychedelic-assisted therapy and self-forgivenessIt’s part memoir, part clinical insight, and part offering to anyone who’s ever felt too broken to heal.🌐 Connect with Dr. Dawnmarie Risley-ChildsBook: The Offering: A Physician’s Journey through Abuse, Psychedelics, and the Freedom of Forgiveness🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the a...

In this episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, I sit down with mentor, international speaker and author of a dozen books, Kam Knight, to dismantle one of the most frustrating parts of survival mode: knowing what you want, knowing what to do… and still not doing it. Kam breaks down internal resistance as a very real part of the brain built to keep you “safe” (AKA stuck), and we explore how this plays out for high-achieving women who are spinning, over-functioning, and constantly postponing their own desires “until later.”💥 In This Episode, We Talk About:What survival mode looks like when you’re busy, driven, and still not moving toward what you actually wantThe difference between the part of your brain that creates desires and the part that allows you to act on themWhy you can genuinely want something and still feel blocked, frozen, or constantly “not ready”How beliefs, identity, comfort zones, habits, core needs and authority issues all feed internal resistanceThe sneaky “tricks of resistance” like “I’ll do it later,” “after this I’ll stop,” and “once life calms down”Why affirmations sometimes don’t work—and how to tweak them so they actually landThe power of self-talk statements like:“I am a do-it-now person. I easily do things now. I easily accomplish my goals right away.”“I am deserving, have permission, and can have good things.”How to use questions (instead of mental self-assault) to redirect your brain toward solutions:“How can I become a do-it-now person?”“What would it look like to give myself permission?”🔑 Key TakeawaysWanting something does not automatically mean you’ll move toward it—resistance will always put up a fight.Not all the thoughts in your head are “truth”—some of them are literally resistance speaking through you.Survival mode often feels like being productive and busy… while going absolutely nowhere that matters.Your beliefs about what is possible for you matter more than what you believe is possible in general.You cannot out-hustle an identity that doesn’t believe it deserves what it wants—you have to reprogram it.🌐 Connect with Kam KnightWebsite & Course: Conquer Internal Resistance to Achieve Your Next Goal – kamknight.comFree Guide: 5 Ways to End Procrastination and Sabotage – text FLOW to 26786🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership🎧 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Podcast on YouTube ✍🏾 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Newsletter on LinkedIn💬 Book a 1:1 Session with Leticia 📖 Order Survival Mode Exit Plan Book 😉 Join the free FB Group a...

Survival mode doesn’t always look like chaos on the outside — sometimes it looks like the “strong one,” the over-functioning one, the one who can read the room before anyone says a word. In this episode, Tenya shares how growing up with a bipolar mother, constant emotional chaos, and unspoken expectations put her into survival mode long before she had language for it. We walk through anxiety, depression, the moment she considered crashing her car just to get a break, and how the “acceptable” healing paths — meds and talk therapy — left her numb but not free. Desperate for something different, she Googled “holistic emotional healing,” found the Emotion Code, and stepped into energy work, muscle testing, and inherited trauma release. What she discovered? She’d been carrying emotions that didn’t even belong to her. We talk about energy, grief, complicated mothers, boundaries, and the radical idea that you are your first job — not your kids, not your parents, not your partner, you.🎙️ What We Talk AboutHow survival mode started before she was even 8 years oldGrowing up with a bipolar mom, chaos at home, and learning to walk on emotional eggshellsThe moment anxiety and depression resurfaced when motherhood “slowed down”How she used work, TV, drinking, smoking, and distraction to outrun her feelingsBeing offered “more meds” and “a CBT app” when she was already numb and overwhelmedGoogling “holistic emotional healing” and stumbling into the Emotion CodeWhat muscle testing actually is (and why your body is way more honest than your mouth)Inherited emotions: carrying your parents’ and ancestors’ stuff without even knowing itThe difference between conscious work (journaling, therapy) and energetic work — and why both matterGrieving a mother you weren’t close to, and why grief doesn’t always look like people expect it toSetting boundaries with parents and family without buying into “but they’re your mom/dad” guiltRedefining self-care as “I am my first responsibility, my first best friend, my first priority”🔑 Key Takeaways“You’re worth spending your time on. Period.”“Our bodies want to thrive — they’re just buried under everything we’ve absorbed.”“You don’t have to ingest something to begin healing. Sometimes you start by listening.”“Just because someone is family doesn’t mean they get unlimited access to you.”🙌 Why This Episode MattersSo many women in survival mode blame themselves for not “getting better” with the tools they were handed: just talk, just pray, just take the pills, just push through. This episode cracks that wide open. We talk about the parts of healing people still whisper about: when meds help but also numb you, when therapy isn’t enough on its own, when grief is complicated because the person you lost also hurt you, and when choosing yourself means disappointing the people who think they own you. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing “all the work” but still feel blocked, stuck, or disconnected from your own body — this conversation will help you see that you’re not failing. You’re simply ready for deeper tools, better boundaries, and a different way to exist.💬 Connect with Tenya🌐 Website: designyourexistence.com✨ Instagram / socials: via her site🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the

This episode is not light. It’s not soft. And it’s not going to let you sit comfortably behind your assumptions about mental health treatment. Lisa survived more than 100 ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) treatments, a practice still used — and often unregulated — in the U.S. and around the world. She shares how depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, panic attacks, and anorexia led her into a medical system that promised help but delivered brain damage, memory loss, and the erasure of her identity.This episode covers:Losing 20 years of long-term memoriesForgetting the years her son grew upGetting lost while running because her brain couldn’t process directionsHaving to train a service dog to guide her back homeThe stigma, judgment, and discrimination she still facesRunning a marathon with a brain injuryWriting a book as a form of advocacyAnd becoming a fierce voice for the people who cannot speak for themselvesIf you’ve ever doubted your own strength, this story will rewire something in you.🎙️ What We Talk AboutThe dark truth behind shock therapy and why its machines are not regulatedWhat it feels like to lose your memory while your life keeps happeningNavigating deep depression, bipolar disorder, anorexia, panic attacks, and stigmaThe moment she realized ECT caused permanent cognitive injuryHow her service dog became her lifelineFeeling unseen, unheard, and misunderstood in medical systemsHow movement, running, and community helped her fight backWhy running a marathon became her act of rebellionWhat reinvention looks like when your brain has been altered against your willAdvocating for others still being forced into ECT🔑 Key Takeaways“I lost my memories, but I did not lose my will.”“Not all disabilities are visible — and not all treatments are safe.”“Running was my way back to myself. Writing was my way back to the world.”“Shock therapy took my memory. My resilience rebuilt my life.”🙌 Why This Episode MattersThere are thousands of people living with the invisible aftermath of ECT — memory loss, trauma, cognitive damage, shame, and stigma. Most suffer in silence. Most never get to tell their story. Lisa refuses to stay quiet. This episode is not just awareness — it’s a call for compassion, for advocacy, and for a medical system that stops harming the people it claims to save.💬 Connect with Lisa📖 Book: Shocked — authorlisac.comFacebook: authorlisac.com🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership🎧 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Podcast on YouTube ✍🏾 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Newsletter on LinkedIn💬 Book a 1:1 Session with Leticia 📖 Order

In this soul-shaking episode, Leticia sits down with Lena, a speaker and emotional intelligence consultant whose entire life shifted three and a half years ago when every buried emotion, fear, memory, and childhood wound erupted at once. What she thought was depression was actually the collapse of years of survival mode. What she thought was “just burnout” was her nervous system screaming for release. This conversation dives into emotional suppression, spiritual awakenings, ancestral trauma, nervous system pressure, and what it actually looks like to purify your energy and feel your emotions instead of running from them.Highlights include:How the inability to relax is a MAJOR sign of survival modeThe moment Lena’s entire emotional backlog surfacedWhy triggers aren’t about other people — they’re about unhealed memoriesHow emotional suppression becomes a coping mechanismWhy self-awareness is the first step to exiting survival modeHow to feel emotions without drowning in themWhy reprogramming feels like “one step forward, two steps back”The truth about reinvention and why you can’t go back to who you were before the traumaHow to protect your energy without abandoning your healing🎙️ What We Talk AboutThe emotional collapse that forced Lena to finally face her woundsSpiritual awakening vs ego death — and why both can feel terrifyingHow childhood trauma resurfaces as adult anxiety, fear, burnout, and overthinkingThe danger of living in “potential” instead of realityEmotional triggers as memories — not reactions to peopleHow to sit with painful emotions without fleeing or numbingThe risk of surrounding yourself with emotional vampiresReinventing yourself after trauma instead of trying to “go back”The power of allowing your emotions to move through your bodyWhy healing requires presence, patience, and self-compassion🔑 Key Takeaways“We’re not reacting to the person — we’re reacting to a memory.”“Feeling is the healing. The only way out is through.”“Your nervous system can’t lie. It tells the truth your mind keeps trying to escape.”“You can’t go back to who you were before the trauma — but you can become someone more whole.”🙌 Why This Episode MattersToo many women believe emotional breakdowns mean they’re failing. In reality,...

In this raw conversation, Leticia sits down with Giada, a marketing message strategist and mentor who helps women entrepreneurs own their brilliance and attract high-level, perfect-fit clients—without shrinking or apologizing for who they are. Behind her expertise is a lifelong journey through OCD, generalized anxiety disorder, undiagnosed autism, a narcissistic parent, and childhood abuse that quietly wired her nervous system for survival, not ease. They unpack how overworking, endless to-do lists, and constant self-pressure weren’t “just her personality”—they were trauma responses rooted in the belief: “I’m only worthy if I’m producing.”In this episode, we explore:✖️ Why recovery isn’t linear—and why “slipping back” doesn’t mean you’re broken🧠 How OCD, GAD, and undiagnosed autism masked as “high standards” and “being driven”💔 The impact of growing up with a narcissistic parent and impossible expectations⚡ How survival mode shows up as overworking, dreading new enquiries, and never feeling “done”🌬️ What nervous system regulation actually looks like in daily life (beyond buzzwords)👑 How women are conditioned to shrink, be liked, and put everyone else first—and why that has to end🔁 Leticia’s three phases of exiting survival mode: Self-Awareness, Reprogramming, Reinvention🎙️ What We Talk AboutGiada’s story of living with OCD, GAD, and undiagnosed autism—and why the symptoms kept “shape-shifting”The cocktail of experiences that created her core belief: “I’m only valuable if I’m achieving and perfect”Growing up with a narcissistic parent: walking on eggshells, keeping the peace, shrinking to stay safeThe moment she realised she was hoping for no new client enquiries because her system was overloadedWhy CBT helped some symptoms—but didn’t touch the deeper survival mode running in the backgroundHow RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) and nervous system regulation helped her reach the actual rootBeing diagnosed autistic in adulthood—and grieving 30 years of thinking “I’m the problem”The bigger cultural conditioning for women: be small, be pleasing, be liked, be humble, carry everyoneLeticia’s three phases: Self-Awareness (spotting the patterns), Reprogramming (challenging the narratives), Reinvention (choosing who you are now)Practical regulation tools: pausing, breathing, grounding, touch, and finding what actually works for your systemWhy your brain will fight change—even when the change is healthier—and how to keep going anyway🔑 Key Takeaways“Survival mode is when old beliefs and old pain are running the show—and you don’t even realise they’re calling the shots.”“Overachieving isn’t just ambition; for many of us, it’s the trauma response that finally got rewarded.”“Your nervous system doesn’t understand logic—it understands patterns. You have to teach it that ease is safe.”“Reinvention isn’t a one-time event. You get to decide, moment by moment, who you are now—and you’re allowed to choose differently every time.”🙌 Why This Episode MattersSo many high-achieving women quietly live in survival mode, calling it “having high standards,” “being driven,” or “being a perfectionist.” Meanwhile, their nervous systems are fried, their boundaries are non-existent, and their worth is chained to productivity, people-pleasing, and performance. This episode is a reality check for every woman who built her identity on doing more, giving more, and never being too much. If you’re exhausted from proving yourself, terrified to slow down, or scared of...

In this episode of Survival Mode Disrupted, Leticia sits down with spiritual coach and psychic Tracy Fance, who proves that trauma isn’t always loud, dramatic, or headline-worthy. Sometimes it’s adoption, constant criticism, emotional instability, and a life that makes you feel “never enough.” Tracy shares how being adopted, bounced between homes, and raised by highly critical parents shattered her self-worth and led to years of wrong jobs, wrong relationships, and survival-driven decisions. From watching a partner nearly die at 17, to navigating toxic dynamics, to healing through spiritual work and community, Tracy shows what it really looks like to move from autopilot to awareness.This conversation dives deep into everyday trauma, post-lockdown burnout, the school system, generational pain, and the uncomfortable truth that most people are in survival mode without even realizing it. If you’ve ever dismissed your story because “other people had it worse,” this episode will call you out with love and invite you to finally take your pain seriously.🎙️ What We Talk About:What “everyday trauma” looks like when it isn’t abuse, assault, or a single big eventHow adoption, divorce, and critical parents quietly wire you for “I’m not good enough”The ripple effect of early trauma on partners, jobs, self-worth, and decision-makingWhy community and safe people are essential for breaking survival patternsLeticia’s three phases of exiting survival mode: Self-Awareness, Reprogramming, ReinventionThe way family systems, past pain, and even spiritual beliefs can keep you loyal to your own sufferingCOVID as a collective global trauma—and why so many people are stuck in post-lockdown limboHow the school system, “good girl” conditioning, and corporate life create quiet, chronic survival modeJournaling as a powerful, practical tool to expose your stories, patterns, and hidden beliefs🔑 Key Takeaways:“It’s not always the big, dramatic trauma that breaks you. Sometimes it’s the drip, drip, drip of never feeling good enough.”“Most people are in survival mode and have no idea—because their trauma looks ordinary.”“The person you became to survive will not be the person who leads you into your breakthrough.”“You don’t have to stay loyal to the environments—and the people—that are slowly killing your spirit.”🙌 Why This Episode Matters:So many women minimize their pain because they weren’t “attacked,” “beaten,” or “publicly destroyed.” But the truth is, being criticized every day, emotionally abandoned, guilt-tripped, compared, or ignored is trauma—and it shapes how you love, work, and see yourself. This episode is a wake-up call for anyone who’s been living on autopilot, numbing with scrolling, hustling, or people-pleasing while telling themselves, “It wasn’t that bad.” If you’re ready to stop gaslighting yourself and finally honor what you went through, this conversation is your mirror and your permission slip.💬 Connect with Tracy:Website: tracyfance.comFind her on social media as Tracy Fance or Tracy Fance Soul HealerFree journaling guide available via DM / message request🔗 Resources & Links:💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership🎧 Subscribe to