You want to know something crazy? I used to use a drug to help me cover up all the inconvenient or uncomfortable truth in my life — including the truth that the drug itself was doing terrible things to me. For one thing, I had a boyfriend who hardly ever asked how I was doing, and never wanted to hear any of my stories, and would always send me home right after we had sex. He used the drug, and eventually I started using it with him, too — and not just so we could have fun using the drug together, but also because it tended to cover up some of the hurt I felt about how he was always pushing me away. But he wasn’t the only person pushing people away. As soon as I started using the drug on my own, I found it was like wrapping myself in layers and layers of bubble wrap, which protected me from feeling too much anxiety or anger or aggression towards people and situations that bothered me. Sometimes I would use the drug before the situations even happened, that’s how much I thought I needed the drug to protect me. But then something wonderful came into my life that made it impossible to use the drug anymore, because I would lose that beautiful opportunity, if I did. So guess what? I actually started living by the truth that I couldn’t use that drug anymore, and I quit. At first, I was afraid I would never feel good anymore, without it. I was also afraid there would be nothing to protect me from all the people and situations that bothered me. But actually, the opposite happened. I started enjoying myself doing the simplest little things. And I started feeling strong enough — very strong, actually — to deal with all the people and situations that bothered me. So you see, the truth turned out to be a very great relief, indeed. These days, I enjoy the truth about my true self so much, I think it might be where I want to live forever. ❤️‍🔥—Y.B.D.