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

Redefine Your Identity for Longterm Recovery

11 May 2025 · 1 min

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In this segment, Dallas Bragg explains that a person's identity heavily influences their brain's decision‑making, especially in recovery contexts where outdated self‑labels keep individuals stuck. He introduces a practical tool called the “evolving identity document.” Viewers are instructed to take a full page, split it down the middle, and list past identity statements on the left (prefaced with “I was someone who…”) and emerging, desired identity statements on the right (prefaced with “I am becoming someone who…”). Each past statement should have a directly corresponding future statement. Bragg advises reading the left column aloud in past tense and the right column in present tense every day to reinforce the new identity and support long‑term recovery.

Chapters

Your brain makes decisions based on your identity. I'm a runner makes getting up for a run easier than I'm trying to run. The problem in recovery is that we often carry outdated identity labels that keep us stuck. So go deeper on this. Create an evolving identity document. Take a full page and draw a line down the middle. On the left, write, I was someone who, and complete it with aspects of your using identity. On the right, write, I am becoming someone who, with the emerging elements of your new identity. For each was statement, write a directly corresponding becoming statement. Read both columns out loud every day, but read the left column in past tense and the right column in present tense.