Raw.Real.Recovered.

Most people might find this boring, but you know what I find fascinating? Neuroplasticity and brain mapping. Specifically, how habits are created and broken. I don’t know why, but early in my recovery, I dove into this topic like my life depended on it (which, in some ways, it kind of did). Maybe it was just a great way to distract myself, or maybe my brain was desperate to understand why it had been working against me for so long. Either way, I went all in.

And honestly? It blew my mind.

Neuroplasticity is basically your brain’s ability to rewire itself. Turns out, those self-destructive thought patterns and habits I had spent years reinforcing? Not permanent. The brain can literally retrain itself, but the catch is—you have to put in the work. You have to disrupt the old patterns, create new ones, and repeat them enough for your brain to say, “Oh, okay, this is the new normal now.”

It also explains why breaking bad habits is so damn hard. Our brains love efficiency, and if you’ve been doing something a certain way for years (even if it’s unhealthy), your brain is going to default to that because it’s familiar. It takes conscious effort to unlearn the old wiring and build something better.

I think I became obsessed with this stuff because facts have always made more sense to me than emotions. You can tell me to “just feel my feelings,” and I’ll probably roll my eyes. But tell me why my brain responds the way it does, explain the science behind it, give me tangible proof that change is possible? Now you have my attention.

(Probably also why I’m really good at detaching, but hey—that’s a whole other mental health issue for another day. Hahaha.)

Anyway, if you’ve never looked into neuroplasticity, I highly recommend it—especially if you’re trying to break cycles, heal from old wounds, or just understand why you do the things you do. Turns out, we’re not as stuck as we think we are