Episode 82

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Published on:

30th Nov 2025

Healing the “I’m Only Worthy If I’m Achieving” Wound

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 About

  • Giada’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 safe
  • The moment she realised she was hoping for no new client enquiries because her system was overloaded
  • Why CBT helped some symptoms—but didn’t touch the deeper survival mode running in the background
  • How RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) and nervous system regulation helped her reach the actual root
  • Being 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 everyone
  • Leticia’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 system
  • Why 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 Matters

So 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 who you’ll be without the hustle—this conversation is your invitation to stop surviving and start actually living.


💬 Connect with Giada

  • Website: craftycopy.co.uk
  • LinkedIn: Giada – Messaging Strategist for Women Entrepreneurs
  • Best fit for: Women entrepreneurs who are ready to own their brilliance and attract perfect-fit, high-level clients with unapologetic, magnetic messaging


🔗 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