The Withdrawal Is The Truth

You can always tell when a system is trying to detox.

Things get loud.

Things get defensive.

The excuses start flowing faster than the change.

That’s not failure.

That’s withdrawal.

And withdrawal is proof that the addiction is real.

Detox looks Like discomfort!

When an organization starts naming racism, things don’t get better right away.

They get messy.

People panic.

They misinterpret the discomfort of unlearning as proof that the effort is “divisive” or “dangerous.”

Let’s be clear -

Healing is painful.

Detox hurts.

And no one escapes the symptoms.

Just like the body craves its old high, so does the system.

It craves the comfort of silence.

The hit of unchecked control.

The numbing effect of performative DEI statements with no real accountability.

So when people ask,

“Why does equity work feel like it’s dividing us?”

I tell them:

It’s not division. It’s highlightingyou where you were already divided.

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The Myths That Keep the High Alive

Here are a few common withdrawal symptoms that mask themselves as logic:

“We need more data before we act.”

Translation: We’re addicted to stalling.

“This isn’t the right time to have this conversation.”

Translation: We’re addicted to comfort.

“Let’s focus on unity instead of calling out harm.”

Translation: We’re addicted to denial.

You don’t ease out of addiction by negotiating with it.

You face it.

You sweat it out.

And you build something new in its place.

This Pain Is a Sign You’re Waking Up!

Recovery is not a clean process.

It’s rage.

It’s regret.

It’s sitting with truths that should have been seen sooner.

It’s grieving how long we let the harm continue just because it felt normal.

But withdrawal is also when the healing starts.

It’s the turning point between unconscious harm and conscious transformation.

You can’t skip it.

You can’t bypass it.

And you can’t do it alone.

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Reflection: Is Your System in Withdrawal or in Denial?

Ask yourself and your team:

What discomfort are we trying to avoid?

Who gets punished when they name the harm?

What part of our “culture” is actually just code for maintaining the high?

If you’re in the middle of the mess—good.

It means you’re not numb anymore.

The withdrawal is the truth.

Don’t run from it.

Move through it.

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Read previous posts:

📍 This Is Your High

📍 Still High

Blog 4 coming soon…

#HighOnEmpathy #RacismIsAnAddiction #SystemRecovery #CultureShift #LeadershipInCrisis #BoldEquityWork #DetoxIsDisruption #TruthTelling #HealthEquity #NnekaSederstrom