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Free to Be Mindful Podcast
Stop Code Switching and Start Showing Up
September 15, 2026
Ep:
318
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Stop code switching and start showing up. Licensed therapist Vanessa De Jesus Guzman on the bridge generation for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Stop code switching and start showing up: that's what I'm learning to do as a first gen, Dominican, high-achieving woman who's spent years adjusting my voice for every room I walk into. In this episode, I open up about the bridge generation, what code-switching actually costs, and what changed the moment I decided to show up as my authentic self instead.
What You'll Learn
✅ Why the switching started long before she had a word for it, and why it never actually stops, it just changes rooms
✅ What it costs to spend years adjusting yourself so everyone else stays comfortable
✅ Why the timing of feeling "othered" looks different depending on where and how you grew up
✅ The unwritten professional and entrepreneurial rules nobody can hand you when your parents were never in those rooms
✅ What it looks like day to day to stop code-switching and let your full self show up instead
✅ One reflection to use this week to notice where you're still switching out of habit
Chapters
00:00 Code Switching At Home
00:45 Hispanic Heritage Month Theme
01:38 First Gen Bridge Skills
04:04 College And Othering
05:19 Entrepreneurship And Loneliness
06:52 Dropping The Switch
07:58 Authentic In Every Room
10:20 Guided Reflection
11:23 Share And Closing
GRAB AN OFFER
🎁 Free Resource: 120 Coping Skills: https://www.freetobemindful.com/podcast-120copingskills
💛 Coaching for the Mom CEO: https://www.amigamoms.com
💡 Coaching for Child Therapists: https://www.thekidclinician.com/
💚 Coaching & Community for Latinx Therapists: https://www.latinxpracticecollective.com/
ABOUT ME
I'm Vanessa, the therapist who helps high-achieving adults become the best version of themselves, not just at work, but in the rooms that matter most. I host the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, named the #1 Latino Mental Health Podcast in 2026 by Feedspot. I believe the people who give everything to everyone else deserve to stop surviving and start living intentionally.
CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL
🎧 Podcast: https://www.freetobemindful.com/podcast
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counselorvdejesus/
📋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/counselorvdejesus/
🎤 Speaking & Workshops: https://www.freetobemindful.com/speaking
DISCLAIMER
Free to Be Mindful Podcast episodes are for educational purposes only and should not be considered as or substituted for therapy or professional help from a licensed clinician.
Stop Code Switching and Start Showing Up | Ep318
[00:00:00]
Vanessa: So my son has a way of calling me out on things real fast. He'll say things like, "Mami, your podcast voice is not the voice you use at home." Because at home I have my Dominican mom voice. And when I think about it, I've been switching voices long before I even had the word code switching for it. I'm not quite my mom's Dominican voice, it's just more modernized, let's say.
I am a first gen, Dominican, ESL, eldest daughter, sister, mom, and wife. And if there's one thing that's true in nearly every single Latino household I've ever stepped into, that is that we carry all this with so much pride, so much pride, even when it's heavy.
And if you're listening to this in real time, today marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. And there's no topic that I wanted to open it up with more than this one. And that is the bridge generation, what it actually costs to [00:01:00] carry what we carry, and what I've learned to embrace instead, and that is my authentic self.
You're listening to the Free To Be Mindful podcast, the space for high-achieving women who give their best to everyone and are ready to keep some of it for themselves. I'm Vanessa, licensed therapist, speaker, and mom coach. I know what it takes to build a life you're proud of without losing yourself in the process.