Not sure I agree fully with the "time spent in the water" not seeming bad - I think I simply recognize it for what it was, while acknowledging the trauma and cascading effects that I'm unwinding 30+ years after the fact.
Perhaps you mean that you are no longer attached to the trauma and can view it "objectively"
More important to me now is unwinding the physical manifestations of trauma/anxiety that I never recognized as well as eliminating the behaviors (people pleasing, self deprecation etc...) that attract toxic attachment.
Woke up and thought "alright this is stupid, I need to get stuff done" and as though it were magically manifesting out of thin air I had a normal train of thought, my emotions were mostly in check, and I had motivation that I hadn't felt in years.
Almost like cracking a knuckle, but in my own brain. GP's comment resonates very hard.
Just another perspective to lean on when understanding others.
Once you confront it in the most absolute sense, something akin to ego-death occurs, and you make a decision about whether it is worthwhile to continue.
Everything comes from and swings back to chaos. Embrace it and you will be free.