Dallas Bragg says relapse isn't failure but a spotlight showing what needs healing. He asks three questions about unmet needs, avoided emotions, and self-beliefs that drive use, arguing compassion and curiosity work better than willpower or self-judgment.
Relapse isn't evidence of your brokenness. Relapse is information about what hasn't happened yet, what hasn't been healed. It's necessary. Relapse is a spotlight illuminating exactly where your attention is needed. Relapse is an opportunity for profound awakening. Instead of running from the discomfort with self-judgment, we can approach it with genuine curiosity. What unmet need was I attempting to fulfill when I used? What emotions was I trying to avoid feeling? What belief about myself was activated before I used? These are the powerful questions that will unlock and leverage your using patterns. And please stop blaming your willpower. These patterns are the result of old stuck pain organizing our behavior so we no longer have to feel it. By meeting relapse with compassion rather than contempt, we create the safety necessary for true healing to occur.
