Asserting your right to think independently and resist external pressure to surrender your judgment, as Sor Juana defended her intellectual authority.
Sor Juana resisted institutional attempts to silence or redirect her thinking, asserting her intellectual sovereignty in a world built to deny it to women. In recovery, defending intellectual sovereignty means rejecting coercive narratives—whether from stigma, family pressure, or internalized shame—that try to convince you that you cannot trust your own mind. Addiction often involves surrender of judgment (to substances, to compulsion). Recovery requires reclaiming your right to think for yourself, to question advice that doesn't fit your reality, to trust your own perceptions about what you need. This is not willful stubborness but mature autonomy. You reclaim the authority to examine your life and choices without needing permission from institutions, experts, or others who claim to know you better than you know yourself.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
Explore related journeys or tell Peri what you're working through.