Olivia Eyre

Breakthrough

In Breakthrough, I’ve depicted a vision God gave me when I was struggling with the fear of how to overcome maladaptive daydreaming. Maladaptive daydreaming is a condition where one escapes into elaborate fantasies for long periods of time, often in response to negative situations, and in place of real human interaction. For me, it became an unhealthy coping mechanism—one I had relied on since the age of four. It felt impossible to let go of, simply because I couldn’t imagine life without it.In the vision, I saw myself as a little girl in a familiar lake, wearing floaties, with Jesus in the water beside me. What I understood in that moment was this: what I feared would be the hardest task—breaking this addiction or "crossing the lake"—was, in fact, going to be as easy as floating, because God was with me. Even though I had never quite learned how to swim, the fear of drowning was met with reassurance. I didn’t have to do it in my own strength. This piece captures that moment—a spark of fresh hope. On the left, I’ve depicted the safety of the dock, the familiar. On the right, the green and blue piano represents the unknown I was journeying toward. The shattered glass echoes both the image of a shipwreck and the brokenness of the dream itself. Above, the image of breakthrough takes form—a bird symbolizing freedom and transformation. For me, it represents the breaking open of maladaptive daydreaming: what once felt shameful is now the place where beauty takes flight. It speaks to the process of learning to spread your wings in the dark, and the truth that we are not simply defined by the end result, but by every stage that brought us there.