There are five critical stages in your journey from surviving to thriving, and understanding where you are changes everything. In this episode, I walk you through each stage: Surviving, Unhealthy Coping, Healthy Coping, Healing, and Thriving. I explain why most people get stuck in unhealthy coping (using work, scrolling, or even success to avoid their feelings), how to transition to healthy self-regulation in just weeks, and why healing isn't about eliminating triggers, it's about feeling safe with them. Most importantly, I reveal why you must follow these stages in the right order, because skipping steps or doing them out of sequence can actually be harmful and re-traumatizing. In this episode, we explore: The 5 stages from surviving to thriving and why the order matters Why high performers often use achievement as an unhealthy coping strategy How to transition from unhealthy to healthy coping in just weeks (not years) What healing actually is—meeting your triggers to transform blocks into superpowers Why trying to thrive without healing first creates fake thriving and spiritual bypassing Actionable Takeaways: Identify which stage you're in right now and what you need to move forward Learn one healthy coping mechanism this week—breathing, grounding, or regulation technique Understand that your unhealthy patterns aren't bad; they're just outdated coping strategies looking for better alternatives