Dallas Bragg examines why people use crystal meth to escape the exhaustion of performing different versions of themselves for others. He argues recovery means integrating those fragmented personas into one authentic self, not just quitting the drug.
Aren't you exhausted with trying to keep up with all your different personalities? Never really knowing who you truly are. You're forming all these different personas based on the expectations of the community or the upbringing that you had. It's no wonder that using crystal meth helps you feel like, ah, I can finally be myself without having to think about what anyone else thinks of me. I can unleash everything inside me and be that sexual, confident, powerful being that I'm supposed to be. Using Crystal Meth is a shortcut to finding out who you truly are deep inside. Recovery is about integration. You're integrating all these different personalities because in each one is a part of you, a fractal of you. You put those together into wholeness and you begin to be your authentic self.
