Mickey pulls the mask off survival mode and names what too many of us were trained to hide: grooming, child sexual abuse, manipulation, addiction, homelessness, and violence. This is not trauma porn. It is truth, recovery, and responsibility. In this episode, we unpack the patterns that kept her stuck, the moments that cracked the denial, and the choices that rebuilt her life with dignity and power.

• Unfiltered: Mickey’s early grooming and the cost of silence
• Identity: Why “strong” became a mask that almost killed her
• Addiction: Numbing as a nervous system strategy, not a character flaw
• Abuse: How cycles repeat when trauma goes unaddressed
• Recovery: Radical honesty, safe community, embodied repair
• Liberation: What living beyond survival looks like in real time

🎙️ What We Talk About:

• How grooming hides in plain sight behind “helpfulness” and access
• The mask of high-functioning survival: working, smiling, dying inside
• Party culture, methamphetamines, crack cocaine, and the illusion of relief
• Homelessness, exploitation, and the shame that keeps women silent
• Family dynamics, unasked questions, and the ache of being unbelieved
• Naming abuse without self-blame while taking responsibility for healing
• Rebuilding a life: boundaries, community, and choosing self-respect daily

🔑 Key Takeaways:

“Survival mode felt like running in place. All sweat. No movement.”

“Numbing wasn’t weakness. It was my nervous system begging for relief.”

“Silence protects abusers. Truth protects the next generation.”

“Healing began the day I stopped performing strength and told the whole truth.”

🙌 Why This Episode Matters:

Too many high-achieving women are praised for composure while privately drowning. Mickey’s story confronts that culture head on and gives language to experiences many have been shamed into burying. If you grew up being “useful” instead of being nurtured, or if you learned to wear the smile so no one asked questions, this conversation will feel like oxygen. You are not crazy. You are not alone. You are not beyond repair.

💬 Connect with Mickey:

Mickey Parfitt Smith — Survivor, advocate, and truth-teller.

🔗 Resources & Links:

• 💣 Download the Survival Mode Exit Blueprint
• 👉🏾 Join the Survival Mode Exodus Membership
• 🎧 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Podcast on YouTube
• ✍🏾 Subscribe to Survival Mode Disrupted: The Newsletter on LinkedIn
• 💬 Book a 1:1 Session with Leticia
• 📖 Order Survival Mode Exit Plan Book
• 😉 Join the free FB Group Disrupting Survival Mode