You Are Not Broken; You Are Adapting To Survive

Send us Fan MailYour mind won’t stop replaying the same worries, mistakes, and “what ifs” and you keep wondering what’s wrong with you. I start Held and Becoming into Your Power with a poem called “Rumination,” because that looping mental noise is often the first clue that something deeper is asking for your attention, not your punishment. I’m Michele Gorman, a writer who spent years looking like I had it all together while privately carrying shame, self-criticism, and the belief that love had to be earned. We talk about the patterns so many of us know too well: overachieving, perfectionism, people pleasing, and giving away our power in exchange for acceptance. Then we slow down and ask a more honest question: what if those aren’t personality traits at all? What if they’re survival strategies shaped by early relationships and a nervous system that learned to scan for safety? You’ll hear a clear, accessible breakdown of attachment theory and how the nervous system learns “Is it safe here?” from the very start, plus what changes when love feels inconsistent, conditional, or absent. I also share another poem, “Old,” and offer one reflection question to sit with after you press stop: where in your life might you be searching for acceptance outside of yourself? If this resonates, subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation on the nervous system and relationship patterns, and if you know someone stuck in the overworking loop, share this episode and leave a review so more people can find their way back to themselves.