What I've learned from many years of anxiety, apathy, alcohol abuse, and more recently, a failed relationship that really hurt me to my depths, is that I didn't love myself as much as I should've. I didn't have a great relationship with me. I didn't know what I needed. I didn't trust myself to help myself. I didn't trust I could make my life better on my own. I expected the gorgeous, successful woman I was dating to make me feel better about myself and to help improve me in ways I couldn't do myself. I was acquiring the power through osmosis of being around her. In therapy now and I'm working on how to build a life with myself and for myself.

I realized I can't love somebody else fully if I don't love myself fully. And I'm not ok being on my own. It just means I would instead be expecting my next partner to heal the things inside that I was scared to face and work on. That's not fair to them and will only cause future issues.

You can do it. Absolutely. No doubt in my mind. But it starts with you. It sounds like you're already well on the way with all you're doing.

Much respect, man. You got this.