Episode 89

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Published on:

7th Dec 2025

From Cliffhanger to Calm: The Neuroscience of Survival Mode

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 normal

Suzy breaks down:

  • How trauma has shaped human behavior for thousands of years
  • Why we learned not to rock the boat, speak up, or express emotions
  • How epigenetics passes trauma down 8 generations
  • Why most adults don’t know what safety even feels like
  • Why your nervous system pushes you into fight, flight, freeze or fawn before you can think

She 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 About

  • The “stress cliff” model — and how it explains overwhelm, burnout, shutdown, and poor coping habits
  • Why humans have been conditioned for survival, not thriving
  • How trauma lives in the body long after the mind forgets
  • Emotional unavailability in parents & its generational impact
  • Why your nervous system mistakes chaos for comfort
  • Freeze mode vs laziness — the truth behind shutdown
  • How trauma influences weight gain, overeating & self-neglect
  • The danger of normalizing “I’m fine”
  • Why healing must include body-based processes
  • Post-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 Matters

Too 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 Suzy

Website: fromsurvivingtothriving2.com.au

Program: From Stress to Bliss (10-module somatic trauma program + weekly group)


🔗 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