Here’s the truth nobody wants to admit: sometimes recovery feels like one step forward, two steps back. You think you’re winning, and then boom — a craving, a bad day, a moment that makes you question everything. But guess what? That’s not failure. That’s part of the damn process. My Setback Story: When the Ground Gave Way I remember a point in my recovery when everything looked good on paper. I’d hit a few months clean, was checking all the “right” boxes, and telling myself I was solid. Then, out of nowhere, I had a day that felt like a total collapse. A craving hit me hard, my anxiety spiked, and I found myself spiraling into old thought patterns faster than I could catch them. It felt like I’d blown it all — like all the work was for nothing. But looking back, that day was a brutal, honest teacher. It forced me to face the parts I’d been ignoring: the unresolved trauma, the gaps in my coping skills, the isolation I hadn’t admitted to myself. That setback wasn’t a dead end....