Well, in general terms, I could say yes. Even two months ago, I was thinking I might have reached a stage of virtual freedom, since my feeling good was constant or very easily recovered after some episode. Let’s say that feeling good was becoming my baseline. But after a while, I began to notice that I was returning to a neutral feeling as a baseline. Trying to detect what caused this regression, I find that there are aspects of my identity that haven’t been fully resolved (I know there’s no total solution until the final extinction occurs). And some of them have narcissistic characteristics, such as an inflated sense of self-importance or the need for recognition (an aspect we’ve already discussed here). For example, certain (work-related) events occur in which if I’m not taken into account as I consider I should be taken into account for a decision, then I got upset or very upset, sometimes for some couple of hours (and had a recent event that lasted almost a day). The good news is that it takes me less and less time to detect it, recognize it, and turn it around. But I still see a need for more investigation to root out these reaction patterns and achieve a more stable baseline.
And something I keep in mind and try to achieve is the ability to experience a PCE without the need for certain conditions (the two PCEs I have recorded as such have been after taking psychotropic substances). For this I notice that I have a particularly difficulty going from feeling good to feeling excellent. And where I find right now the most effective way to get close to this is through the naivete that gets activated after the more intimacy is allowed with my partner. In those moments, several EIs or even EEs have emerged, but not yet PCEs.