49 20 6C 6F 76 65 20 79 6F 75 2E
My Recovery and Healing Server.
> life_of_every_party.ps1
> death_of_every_relationship.ps1> toxic_patterns.ps1. > self_awareness_and_living_amends.ps1> sobriety_and_recovery.ps1> healing_and_unmasking.ps1// Core Information System //This week, I finally stopped arguing with permanence. Not the things I can change—I know that dance well—but the things I can’t. Chronic conditions. Lifelong diagnoses. Bodies and brains that don’t magically “turn around” if I just try harder. In IFS terms, I hit a trailhead where perfection, fear, shame, and denial were all standing guard. Acceptance isn’t giving up. It’s making peace. Before I can walk forward and live meaningfully with what’s permanent, I have to befriend the parts that are terrified of imperfection and rejection. When those parts feel safe, they don’t block the path anymore—they offer wisdom,…
One of the cruelest parts of bipolar disorder is never fully trusting good feelings. Is this joy—or the start of hypomania? Is it real, or is it a glitter-bomb that’s about to explode into consequences? Right now, I can see that some recent “good” feelings were actually mild destabilization during a medication change. Not a crisis. Not euphoria. Just enough hypomania to make a mess. Awareness doesn’t erase the frustration, but it gives me a chance to course-correct, repair, and keep moving forward. This is the work: learning to hold joy carefully without letting fear—or denial—run the show.
On paper, I’m “stable.” My mood is steady. No swings. No spirals. But underneath that stability is a brutal reality: crushed energy, flat dopamine, and relentless akathisia. For years, one side effect quietly dictated my life and drove me to self-medicate with alcohol and kratom just to function. I finally named it for what it was—and chose a different path. This med change isn’t about chasing perfection; it’s about survival. I’ll take a few hard months of transition over another cycle of substance use, crisis, and hospitalization. Stability that destroys your body isn’t stability. It’s a trap.
Jessica isn’t a bully. She’s a protector with a sharp tongue and outdated intel. For years, she roasted me in the mirror, commented on everything, and called it “help.” Ignoring her only made her louder. What changed wasn’t silencing the voice—it was listening to it. Jessica was frozen in time, using criticism as armor. Once I showed her I was grown, safe, and capable, the tone shifted. Less attack. More collaboration. Turns out the inner critic isn’t the enemy. It’s a scared part that never got the memo that we survived.
Five days ago, I began a different kind of climb — not up a mountain, but through a medication change that could finally free me from akathisia. Years of medication-induced restlessness pushed my nervous system to the edge and drove me toward substances just to survive daily life. Now, with careful medical support, I’m starting a slower, steadier transition toward relief. It’s early, and I’m cautious, but so far the ground feels solid. This weekend alone at a lookout has given me the quiet space to listen to my body, trust the process, and hope for a future with fewer…
Six years ago, that smile wasn’t real—I was flat, numb, and buried under a stack of psychiatric medications that dulled everything human in me. I was surviving, not living. Hospitalizations, psychosis, loss after loss followed. Then, unexpectedly, a research trial changed the trajectory. A Vagus Nerve Stimulator didn’t save me overnight—but it gave me a foothold. From there, I rebuilt slowly and painfully. Today, I’m present. I still live with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD, but they don’t own me. If you’re in the dark right now, hear this: hope can arrive quietly, sideways, and late—but it can still change everything.
Trending PostsTrending Tags40mm abandonment accountability alcohol sobriety amends anxiety anxious attachment avoidance bass music bellingham washington bellingham waterfront bipolar disorder black and white photography boundaries breakups buffalo cannabis sobriety childhood trauma codependency community courage CPTSD crying dance doing the work downtown bellingham ego death electronic music emotional sobriety estrangement family fear freedom friendship full color photography gratitude grief guilt happiness healing healing journey horns forward identity transformation integrity internal family systems joy kratom sobriety letting go little squalicum pier lived experience locust beach long distance walking losing-love loss love major life changes mental health mindfulness mindful photography new beginnings no contact ocean therapy ownership Pacific Northwest parental wounding parts work patterns peace peer support performing personal growth photography platonic relationships psychiatric hospitalization psych meds psychosis radical acceptance recovery rejection relationship damage relationships rescuing resilience Ricoh GRIIIX secure attachment self-compassion self-discovery self-love selfies shadow work shame slow photography sobriety starting over transformation trauma truth unconditional love unkillable vulnerability