Dallas BraggFormer crystal methamphetamine user, I help men who have sex with men break free from the addictive patterns associated with Chemsex. Currently expanding my expertise by seeking to become a Certified

Puppet Stage

10 Nov 2025 · 1 min

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In this monologue, Dallas Bragg introduces a specific phase of crystal meth addiction he calls the "puppet stage," where an individual's alter ego—formed from suppressed and rejected parts of the self—completely dominates their thoughts and actions. He explains that this alter ego seeks attention and satisfaction, gradually becoming the default "autopilot" for the addict. Bragg illustrates the phenomenon with a vivid example: a person driving to a party they consciously do not want to attend, yet another internal voice compels them forward. He emphasizes that reaching this stage signals a deep entrenchment in addiction and recommends daily accountability through a therapist or recovery coach to regain control and continue the recovery process.

Chapters

There's another stage of crystal meth addiction that I call the puppet stage. This occurs when you've allowed your alter ego to completely take over your faculties. All of us crystal meth addicts have an alter ego. This is made from the parts of ourselves we've rejected, the parts of ourselves that we've suppressed. That alter ego is going to do everything to satisfy its needs. It's going to do everything to be noticed because you're putting it in the dark. What happens because we're not doing the work in recovery, this alter ego slowly takes over and becomes our default. So for instance, you are in the car driving to the party, but in your mind you don't want to go. There is somebody else controlling your faculties and driving you to that party. That is your alter ego. That's your default. That's your autopilot that you have allowed to take over. Over. If you're this far into your addiction, it's going to take some daily accountability from a therapist or a coach like me.