absolutely, you and the OP have explained it so succinctly. Coming out of that cave has felt like a rebirth of sorts, raw and exposed beneath a beating sun.

In my case, it has involved reframing 27 years of barely scraping by. Almost fully isolated, hikikimori-style by the time I turned 21. I had to make a little world for myself. After spending the past 6 months peeling back layers of my psyche, I realized the true "me" was the "me" no one saw. The person I was on esoteric music Discords at 3:00am is... me. The world was only exposed to a muted, monochromatic exterior after years of unexplainable traumatic experiences. Without those sporadic Discord visits over the years, I think I would've lost myself in reality.