Dallas Bragg argues that staying sober from crystal meth requires more than meetings and meditation. Without examining core beliefs like feeling unlovable or fearing rejection, people stay stuck in a shadow self and often relapse, even after years clean.
You wonder why, after many days or even months or even years of abstinence from the substance, you still don't feel happy. You still don't feel fulfilled. You feel disassociated, like you're living somebody else's life, and you're wondering, "I thought sobriety was supposed to be the answer." Reason people go back out after years of being abstinent is that they're not living an. Integrity. They're not pulling all of their personas together, all of their parts, all of their beliefs, and bringing them out into the light and bringing them into alignment with who they truly are on the inside. You're checking boxes. You're going to meetings. You're meditating. You're journaling. You're cold plunging. You're saunaeing. You're doing all the things. But your heart isn't in it. You're holding on to the beliefs that got you into meth in the first place, like I'm unlovable, I'll always be rejected, need to be perfect to be loved, my parents did this and my family did that, and so I can't be normal, I'll always be betrayed, nothing ever works out for me, my true self is abnormal. As long as you hold those beliefs in the shadows of your soul, it doesn't matter if you're abstinent from crystal meth. You're not moving forward in your life. You're not healing. You're not experiencing what's out there for you.
