Dallas Bragg argues that addiction's hardships—relapse, lost jobs, broken relationships—aren't just damage but preparation to help others heal. Those wounds create the empathy needed to guide people through their own recovery.
What if all your Tina experiences were preparing you to be a wounded healer? Wounded healers transform their pain into purpose. They can achieve deep empathy and compassion that others can't because they've been there. They have the wounds to show it. They felt the sting of relapse, the hopelessness, losing relationships, jobs. They've walked through the darkness and emerged the other side? What if your purpose is to facilitate the healing of others? If that feels deeply resonant with you, if you feel a shift in your body just listening to it, take that calling and turn it into desire to quit. Take it into energy that you need to say no when the craving hits, the strength to move forward. Maybe you are the next wounded healer.
