I have been going through a similar-ish kind of experience, mine related to PTSD and nothing to do with running, but experientially adjacent. The part of this that leapt out to me was you mentioning how living through this changed you; "Recovery has taken three years, and the person who emerged from it feels different: less extreme, lighter, more compassionate, perhaps even deeper."

This I recognise very much, this new version of me has much deeper compassion and understanding of others, something I always lacked and tried to develop. I am autistic so that was always very difficult to cultivate, but going through what I did, and having to understand what was happening to me, made me realise that everyone has something they are trying to cope with and make sense of, and gave me great patience with other people's strange behaviour and decisions.

And lighter, I hadn't realised until I read you say it, but the experience has made me lighter in my mind, I am more grateful for the things I used to take for granted, my family and friendships, the landscape around me, a nice walk.

Recovery and rehab (mental, physical and emotional) is very slow going, but continues to go in the right direction. Glad to hear you are making good in roads in your own recovery. The key is to compare yourself to yesterday, not the 'old you'. So keep going my friend, all the best, and thanks for sharing!