Episode 69

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Published on:

9th Nov 2025

Autopilot Isn't Peace

Survival mode looks different on everyone—but it often sounds like autopilot. Gemma’s body forced a full stop (transverse myelitis) after years of people-pleasing and “doing it all.” In that pause, she rebuilt—using humanist psychology, somatic awareness, and ruthless alignment to her values. This episode shows you how to exit the conveyor belt and design a life and business that actually feel like you.

  • Survival mode = automatic living; alignment requires conscious choice.
  • Your body will hit the brakes if your mind won’t.
  • Values are a compass; expectations are a cage.
  • Talk therapy helps; add emotions + somatics for real traction.
  • Self-permission is the doorway to reinvention.

🎙️ What We Talk About:

  • The two Spanish “to be’s” (ser vs estar) as a map out of survival mode
  • Gemma’s forced pause: illness, young motherhood, and the identity audit
  • People-pleasing as a trauma response (and how to retire it)
  • Humanist psychology & social coaching: mind + emotions + body entry points
  • Therapy vs “just talking”: why somatic tools matter
  • Leticia’s 3-phase exit (Self-Awareness → Reprogramming → Reinvention) applied
  • Building a values-led business (not a shiny, misaligned prison)
  • Acceptance, choice, and designing rhythms that fit your nervous system


🗣️ Why This Episode Matters:

High-achieving women are praised for enduring misalignment. That praise keeps you stuck. This is your permission slip to stop performing “fine,” listen to your body, and build a life—and business—that doesn’t require self-abandonment.


🔑 Key Takeaways:

“Autopilot is not peace—it’s avoidance with good PR.”
“Your values are a compass. Expectations are someone else’s map.”
“When the body says ‘stop,’ it’s wisdom, not weakness.”
“Reinvention is permission, repeated.”


💬 Connect with Gemma:

  • Search “Gemma Lee Edelman” across platforms (website, LinkedIn, IG, FB).
  • She offers 1:1 work, workshops, and retreats focused on clarity, connection, and values-led living.


🔗 Resources & Links:



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About the Podcast

Survival Mode Disrupted with Leticia R Francis
Disruptive Unapologetic Conversations about Survival Mode
Survival Mode Disrupted is not just a podcast. It's a rebellion.

A raw, unfiltered space where we finally stop pretending we're fine and start telling the truth—the truth about the trauma we've carried, the identities they had to wear to survive, and the radical decisions we made to break free.

Because here's the deal: survival mode isn’t just a season. It’s a damn identity. One that so many were forced to adopt just to get through life, to stay safe, to stay needed, to stay sane. But eventually, it starts costing you more than it protects. Your peace. Your purpose. Your power.

This podcast is for the disruptors—the people who were told to stay small, stay silent, stay grateful for crumbs… and said “hell no.”

Hosted by Leticia, The Survival Mode Disruptor herself—a trauma recovery mentor, speaker, and woman who has lived through the fires of abuse, betrayal, and breakdown and still chose to rise—this show dives deep into the unapologetic exits from survival mode that no one talks about.

You’ll hear from women (and a few brave men) who walked away from toxic relationships, soul-sucking careers, generational dysfunction, religious trauma, cultural expectations, and the lies they were taught to believe about themselves. Not because it was easy—but because staying would’ve killed something sacred inside of them.

These are the stories of bold pivots, quiet courage, and messy but miraculous rebirths.

Each episode is a conversation—a disruption—meant to wake something up in you. Whether it’s a guest sharing the moment they chose themselves for the first time, or Leticia dropping a truth bomb that makes you question everything you’ve normalized, this podcast is here to shake the foundation of your survival mode identity and replace it with something truer. Something freer.

We’re not here for surface-level self-care tips or fake empowerment slogans.

We’re here to talk about what it really takes to:

Reclaim your voice after being silenced.

Reinvent yourself after being broken down.

Rewrite your story when everyone else wants you to stay the same.

Release the guilt of choosing YOU.

This is for those who are done performing. Done pleasing. Done pretending.

It’s for the ones ready to exit survival mode—not slowly, not quietly, but disruptively and unapologetically.

You won’t leave this podcast the same.
You’ll cry. You’ll rage. You’ll laugh.
You’ll see yourself in every story.
And more importantly, you’ll remember who the hell you are.

Welcome to Survival Mode Disrupted.
It’s not just a podcast.
It’s a movement.
And your exit begins here.

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About your host

Profile picture for Leticia Francis

Leticia Francis

I am not here to inspire you—I am here to activate you.

As a Survivor, Keynote Speaker, and Trauma Recovery Mentor, I know what it’s like to fight battles no one sees. I also know that breaking free is possible. My work is about disrupting survival mode, exposing trauma-driven success cycles, and giving women the blueprint to reclaim their lives.

🔹 200+ podcast features & speaking engagements
🔹 Global Women of Choice Award Winner 2022
🔹 Creator of the Survival Mode Exit Plan
🔹 Host of Survival Mode Disrupted Podcast