Dallas Bragg describes Final Stage Floyd, someone who appears fine but secretly uses substances or hookup apps monthly around time off, creating guilt and fatigue. Floyd is stuck between wanting to quit and maintaining a hidden life, which stalls his career and relationships. Bragg urges him to get a new phone number, leave social media, and tell the person he fears most before seeking professional help.
This week's Tina archetype is Final Stage Floyd. Floyd has managed to avoid a rock bottom. He uses about once a month, managing his PTO to have long weekends, or maybe he's a light user. He's in and out on a weeknight, but then he pays for it for the next week between ruining his gym routine, feeling the guilt, and of course body fatigue. He is functioning on the outside, but he is right on the precipice of stepping one level deeper. And worse than that, his life is at a standstill. He can't seem to move forward at work or in his relationships or any of his goals because he is carrying the weight of the secret life on his back. He knows he needs to stop, but he just can't seem to let it go. He will make a declaration and block all the numbers and delete Grindr, but secretly he has a plan B. He knows where to find the blocked numbers when he really wants to use. He is stuck in what I call buffering— one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake— waiting for something to happen that would make him decide to stop, like getting fired, or his friends finding out, his family disowning him. He is living with a low level of anxiety, trying to balance both lives. He is in the final stage. He can stop or he can go deeper, and he truly doesn't know which way he wants to go. If you're Final Stage Floyd, take immediate action. Get a new number, disappear from social media temporarily, and tell someone right now who you are most scared to tell that you're having a problem. Admit you need help and get that help today.
