Unfiltered Truth

This is where I go deeper than short videos. These posts are raw, honest, and based on lived experience — childhood sexual abuse, trauma, addiction, and recovery. No filters, no pretending, just real insight into what it actually feels like and what it takes to start dealing with it. If something here resonates, take your time with it. You don’t have to have it all figured out — sometimes understanding even a small part of it is where things begin to shift.

Blog

Person sitting alone in a dimly lit room looking reflective, representing the emotional and mental challenges of alcohol recovery beyond willpower.

What Actually Helps When You’re Trying to Stop ...

If you’re trying to stop drinking, you’ve probably heard the same advice over and over. “Just stay strong.”“Keep busy.”“Think about the consequences.” And while some of that can help in...

What Actually Helps When You’re Trying to Stop ...

If you’re trying to stop drinking, you’ve probably heard the same advice over and over. “Just stay strong.”“Keep busy.”“Think about the consequences.” And while some of that can help in...

Close-up of a person in a hood looking directly ahead with a serious expression, representing lived experience and resilience, alongside bold text about supporting recovery work through The Recovery Initiative, speaking, advocacy, and “Buy Me a Coffee”

If This Work Matters to You, Here’s How You Can...

Everything I do now comes from lived experience. The speaking, the writing, The Recovery Initiative — it’s all built on the same thing. Real conversations about trauma, addiction, and recovery...

If This Work Matters to You, Here’s How You Can...

Everything I do now comes from lived experience. The speaking, the writing, The Recovery Initiative — it’s all built on the same thing. Real conversations about trauma, addiction, and recovery...

Man sitting alone on a shoreline looking out to sea, appearing reflective and weighed down, representing guilt and emotional burden linked to trauma, with text reading “The Guilt That Didn’t Belong to Me”

The Guilt That Didn’t Belong to Me

For a long time, I carried guilt I couldn’t explain. It sat there in the background, constant. Sometimes quiet, sometimes overwhelming, but always there. A feeling that I’d done something...

The Guilt That Didn’t Belong to Me

For a long time, I carried guilt I couldn’t explain. It sat there in the background, constant. Sometimes quiet, sometimes overwhelming, but always there. A feeling that I’d done something...

Man sitting by the sea with head in hands, appearing overwhelmed and deep in thought, representing anger linked to trauma and emotional pain, with text reading “The Anger I Didn’t Understand”

The Anger I Didn’t Understand

For a long time, I thought I just had a temper. That I got angry quicker than most people. That I overreacted. That I couldn’t control it properly. Sometimes it...

The Anger I Didn’t Understand

For a long time, I thought I just had a temper. That I got angry quicker than most people. That I overreacted. That I couldn’t control it properly. Sometimes it...

Man sitting alone by a window with head down in a dimly lit room, representing emotional isolation and silence, with text reading “Why I Stayed Silent and What It Cost Me”

Why I Stayed Silent (And What It Cost Me)

I didn’t stay silent because it didn’t matter. I stayed silent because I didn’t know how to speak. What happened to me didn’t come with instructions. There was no moment...

Why I Stayed Silent (And What It Cost Me)

I didn’t stay silent because it didn’t matter. I stayed silent because I didn’t know how to speak. What happened to me didn’t come with instructions. There was no moment...

Man sitting alone in a dim room looking overwhelmed and lost in thought, representing the internal experience of trauma, with text explaining how trauma feels and shows up in everyday life

What Trauma Actually Feels Like (Not What Peopl...

When people hear the word trauma, they often picture something obvious. Something dramatic. Something you can clearly point to and say, “that’s what caused it.” But that’s not always how...

What Trauma Actually Feels Like (Not What Peopl...

When people hear the word trauma, they often picture something obvious. Something dramatic. Something you can clearly point to and say, “that’s what caused it.” But that’s not always how...