Episode 73

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Published on:

16th Nov 2025

When Grief, DV & Single Motherhood Collide

From the outside, Erin looked “together.” Inside, she was running on fumes—grief, DV recovery, single motherhood, and years of crisis conditioning. In this unfiltered conversation, Erin walks us through the invisible side of survival mode: when your calendar is full, your smile is practiced, and your nervous system is shot. We get practical about the exit—mindset work that actually sticks, nervous system regulation you’ll use, and energetic boundaries that protect your peace without burning every bridge.

Highlights

  • Survival mode as a silent takeover: high function, zero capacity
  • “Peace feels unsafe” explained: why regulation must come before the big goals
  • Mindset hygiene: feelings ≠ facts, and how to redirect in real time
  • Boundaries without apology: protecting energy with family, work, and friends
  • Grief + DV + single mom life: rebuilding when everything hits at once
  • From badge to baseline: retiring “I’m resilient” as an identity

🎙️ What We Talk About

  • Self-Awareness: spotting crisis conditioning and autopilot behaviors
  • Reprogramming: thought audits, gratitude reps, and nervous system resets
  • Reinvention: living by values, not velocity; building a peace-first plan
  • Energy stewardship: answer later, say less, protect your mornings
  • The “30-minute rule”: micro-planning your comeback in chaos
  • Coaching vs meds vs both: Erin’s clinician POV on integrative care

🔑 Key Takeaways

“You can’t regulate a life you’re still rescuing.”
“Feelings aren’t facts—but they’re data. Use them.”
“Resilience is a skill, not an identity. Put it down.”
“Peace isn’t the absence of problems. It’s the presence of boundaries.”


💬 Connect with Erin

  • Instagram/TikTok: @erinkaley
  • Business: Reign Over Struggles (classes, masterclasses & events)


🔗 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
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.

Support This Show

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