10/01/2026
I was talking to someone today who shared that since getting sober, he’s been struggling. He’s trying so hard to be a great leader, to be an example for his kids, to be present, and yet there are days where he feels depressed and just wants to hide under a rock.
And he’s not alone…many people experience this when they finally decide to stop suppressing - I’ve experienced this myself.
And I don’t just mean getting sober.
I mean when you finally stop running from yourself. When you stop filling every second with something. When you stop reaching for the thing that helped you not feel whatever was underneath it all.
Because I think sometimes we expect that when we make the “right” changes, we’re just going to feel better.
But sometimes you stop suppressing and you actually feel worse for a while because now you can feel everything that was there.
And I just want to say this because I know someone needs to hear it.
There is nothing wrong with you for feeling.
That heaviness isn’t a flaw that needs to be fixed. It’s communication.
Maybe instead of immediately trying to get out of it, we get still with it.
What is this trying to tell me?
What have I not allowed myself to feel?
What have I been carrying that I finally feel safe enough to acknowledge?
We’re so quick to think that healing means we should be happier, lighter, more positive, more put together. And that’s not always what it looks like.
Sometimes healing looks like finally sitting with the s**t (pardon my language) you’ve spent years trying not to feel.
And not running this time.
Not abandoning yourself this time.
Just sitting there long enough to listen.
You don’t have to have it together every day. You don’t have to turn every heavy feeling into some beautiful lesson while you’re in it.
Sometimes you’re just being asked to feel.
And maybe that’s not you going backwards.
Maybe for the first time, you’re actually here.
Nubbia
Iya Ajelu Opayemi Thera Thank you for capturing this moment ✨🙏🏻💛
