Wednesday Mar 18, 2026

How Trauma Shapes Behaviour and Identity with Jess Cunningham

In this episode of the On a Mission podcast, I’m joined by Jess Cunningham, TV personality and founder of Belief Coding.

Jess talks candidly about her time on the hit BBC show The Apprentice, the biggest opportunity of her life, when suppressed memories of childhood abuse surfaced out of nowhere, just as she was stepping into the limelight for the first time.

Trying to hold it together on the outside while everything internally was starting to unravel. What you see on the surface rarely reflects what’s actually going on behind the scenes, and this conversation shows you why.

We get into self sabotage, addiction and identity, and the messy reality that most people are reacting without even realising it. Jess doesn’t shy away from the dark moments as we dive into how Belief Coding originated and why she believes most people are stuck solving the wrong problem.

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Key moments include:

✔ The exact moment suppressed memories of abuse came back, just as she was about to go on The Apprentice.

✔ Holding it together in public while everything internally was starting to break down.

✔ Why she was chasing validation and trying to prove herself on a national stage.

✔ The reality behind her behaviour on TV and what was actually driving it.

✔ How unresolved trauma showed up through self sabotage, addiction and identity.

✔The link between childhood experiences and the patterns people repeat in adulthood.

✔ Why most people are reacting to life without understanding why

✔ How Belief Coding came from trying to make sense of her own behaviour.

✔ The uncomfortable truth that people are often solving the wrong problem.

✔ What changes when you stop avoiding it and actually face what’s underneath.

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