Episode 41

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Published on:

8th Sep 2025

Losing 150 Pounds… and Finding Herself Again

Monica’s journey is one of radical reclamation—from silent suffering to powerful rebirth. After losing a child, supporting a husband with a traumatic brain injury, and caring for medically fragile kids, she gave everything to others… and lost herself in the process.

  • ⚠️ The day her doctor warned she might not survive
  • 💔 Losing a child, and how unprocessed grief fuels survival mode
  • 🍽️ Using food and busyness to numb pain
  • 🧠 Learning to trust herself again, one podcast and treadmill walk at a time
  • 🔥 Reclaiming her identity, voice, and autonomy through trauma-informed healing

This is a masterclass in grace, grit, and what it really takes to exit survival mode.

🎙️ What We Talk About:

  • The silent trauma responses no one talks about: overeating, over-serving, overfunctioning
  • Identity loss in motherhood, marriage, and caregiving
  • Why trauma doesn’t have to be “big” to be real
  • Breaking free from generational hustle conditioning
  • Self-trust, boundary setting, and reclaiming your voice
  • Rebuilding from burnout without shame
  • How to take bold, imperfect action even when you’re scared


🔑 Key Takeaways:

“I didn’t lose 150 pounds. I released the shame that kept me silent.”
“Trauma isn’t about the event—it’s about how your body responds to it.”
“You are not selfish for needing rest. You are human.”
“Healing starts the moment you stop shaming your survival.”


🙌 Why This Episode Matters:

This isn’t a weight loss story—it’s a soul reclamation story. Monica’s journey mirrors what so many women silently endure: giving until empty, smiling through grief, disappearing inside duty. Her raw honesty reminds us that healing is messy, nonlinear, and absolutely possible. If you’ve lost yourself along the way, let this be your permission slip to come back home.


💬 Connect with Monica:

🌐 Website: www.monicaconnollycoaching.com

📩 Email: monica@monicaconnollycoaching.com

📘 Facebook: Monica Connolly

🎁 Free Monthly Masterclasses + Resources


🔗 Resources & Links:


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Show artwork for Survival Mode Disrupted with Leticia R Francis

About the Podcast

Survival Mode Disrupted with Leticia R Francis
Disrupted 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.

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