“I don’t even know how to describe what I carried, because it wasn’t one clear “issue.” It was like I had a background sadness + guilt, and sometimes it would turn into irritation, and sometimes I’d just feel heavy for no reason. I could function. Nobody would look at me and think I was falling apart. But inside, it was always there.

I had periods where I talked about my past a lot, tried to understand it, tried to forgive, tried to “process.” Some of it helped, but I still felt like the same emotional buttons existed. I’d get triggered by small things and then feel ashamed that I’m “still like this.”

With Vytas, what surprised me was how practical it felt. We weren’t just talking for the sake of talking. We were looking at what my mind keeps doing automatically and why it keeps doing it, and then shifting that.

I’m not going to say I’m a different person overnight. But the emotional weight isn’t running my day anymore. I can have a bad mood without it turning into a whole identity crisis. That’s the best way I can explain it. There’s more space in me now.“