Published June 15, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

Sometimes we get so caught up in the noise—so lost in the day-to-day grind of content, comps, comments, and chaos—that we forget to look up and ask why we started this in the first place.

So today, I want to bring us back to our roots. To the reason Collectors MD exists at all. To the mission that started it all.

Collectors MD was born out of a very personal struggle—one that I didn’t want to admit for a long time. A struggle with control, with identity, with spending, and with the emotional rollercoaster that this hobby can so often become. And when I looked around for support, I realized it didn’t exist. No one was talking about the mental health side of collecting. No one was holding space for the darker parts of the hobby. So we built it.

At its core, our mission is simple: To bring support, awareness, and accountability to a space that often blurs the line between collecting and compulsion. To help collectors reclaim control, find clarity, and rediscover their “why.”

We’re not here to tear the hobby down—we’re here to rebuild trust within it. We’re not anti-cards, anti-fun, or anti-investment. We’re pro-intention. Pro-mental health. Pro-community.

We believe collecting should feel meaningful, not overwhelming. Grounded, not chaotic. Creative, not compulsive.

This movement was never about going viral. It’s about telling the truth—even when it’s messy. It’s about asking hard questions, shining a light into dark corners, and reminding people they’re not alone. It’s about creating space for healing, reflection, and better decisions moving forward.

So if you’re feeling burnt out, lost, ashamed, or like you’ve veered too far off course—this is your reminder:
You don’t have to keep spiraling just because you’ve already started. You can stop. You can breathe. It’s never too late to ask for help.

Collectors MD exists so you don’t have to walk through that alone.

Let’s get back to the root. Let’s get back to the mission.

#CollectorsMD
This movement started with truth—and it continues with intention.

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At its core, the mission of Collectors MD is simple:

It’s to bring support, awareness, and accountability to a space that often blurs the line between collecting and compulsion.

We aim to help collectors reclaim control, find clarity, and reconnect with why they collect in the first place.

We’re not anti-hobby. We’re pro-intention, pro-mental health, and pro-community.

This movement is about creating space to talk honestly about the hard stuff—compulsion, debt, burnout—without judgment or shame.

Because collecting should feel meaningful, not overwhelming.

And our mission is to make sure no one has to go through it alone.

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly

https://www.instagram.com/p/DK7bc1kscQb/

Published June 14, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

Recovery is already hard work. It requires patience, honesty, and the courage to face your patterns head-on. And just when you’re starting to find a little rhythm—life shows up. Something unexpected happens. Something painful. Something completely outside your control.

And then something else hits. And another thing. Because that’s how it always seems to go. When it rains, it pours.

A bill you weren’t ready for. A fight you didn’t expect. A wave of loneliness or shame that sneaks in when you thought you were finally doing okay. Suddenly, everything feels fragile again—and the ground you’ve been rebuilding starts to crack.

That old familiar urge creeps in: rip something, buy something, just escape for a second. It’s not even about the card or the item or the money. It’s about comfort. Control. Relief. When the world feels unfair, our nervous systems crave something—anything—to quiet the storm.

And the spiral starts to feel reasonable.

But here’s the thing: the spiral always offers fast relief, and always leaves deeper damage. The fallout might not come right away—but it always comes. And you know this—because you’ve lived it.

That’s why, when life hits you mid-recovery, the most important thing you can do is reach out. Text someone in your support group. DM someone who gets it. Drop into a meeting—even if you feel like you don’t belong there that day.

You do. That’s what Collectors MD is here for.

Recovery is not about perfection. It’s not about feeling great all the time. It’s about staying honest, especially when everything in you wants to hide. It’s about choosing connection over compulsion. It’s about proving to yourself, one moment at a time, that you don’t have to go backward just because the world threw you sideways.

The spiral is always there. So is support. You get to choose which one you step into.

#CollectorsMD
When things fall apart, don’t fall in alone.

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Published June 13, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

There’s a pattern many of us don’t always notice at first.

We start buying more—ripping, browsing, bidding, spending—during the moments when we’re most vulnerable—when everything else feels out of control. Not because we’re feeling joyful or intentional, but because we’re stressed, overwhelmed or agitated. The collecting becomes a release valve. A way to escape the noise, the expectations, the pressure.

When we’re outside, busy, or surrounded by structure, we might have healthier outlets—exercise, active hobbies or just simply getting fresh air or talking to someone. But when we’re stuck at home, overstimulated or under-supported, we often reach for the thing that gives us a quick hit of control. Something that feels like ours. Whether it’s a slab, a hobby box, a pair of sneakers, a rare comic book—anything with a digital checkout button—it becomes a shortcut to relief.

But it’s temporary. And once the dust settles, the tension is still there—only now it’s joined by regret, shame, and/or a depleted account.

This isn’t just about buying too much. It’s about how we cope when we’re under pressure. When we’re feeling under-appreciated, misunderstood, or boxed in, we chase something that gives us a sense of agency. But the problem is, that “quick fix” often leaves us feeling more trapped than before.

And this is how the cycle builds—slowly, silently, and often in the background of everyday stress.

The answer isn’t always abstinence. For some, that’s the necessary path. But for others, it starts with a pause. A question. A moment of clarity before the click, the swipe, the spend:

What do I actually need right now?
Space? Peace? Respect? Connection? A reminder that I matter?

Collecting can’t solve those needs. But self-awareness can. Community can. Replacing avoidance with intention can.

You’re not broken for trying to cope. But the collection can’t carry what your heart hasn’t unpacked.

#CollectorsMD
Before you buy, check what’s buying your attention.

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Published June 11, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

Relapse is one of the hardest parts of recovery—because it makes you question everything. You start wondering if any of your progress was real. If all the work you’ve done has been undone in one impulsive decision. If you’re just destined to keep slipping.

But here’s the truth: relapse is a part of recovery. It’s not ideal. It’s not something to ignore or downplay. But it also doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Recovery isn’t about being perfect—it’s about learning how to return to center when life knocks you off balance. It’s about building new patterns, not pretending the old ones don’t still whisper to you. And sometimes, despite our best intentions, we listen to those whispers. We get pulled back in.

That doesn’t mean your story ends there. If you slipped—whether it was a late-night binge, chasing a break or product you couldn’t afford, or spiraling back into habits you swore off—take a breath.

You are not broken. You had a moment. It doesn’t define you. What matters now is what you do next.

Use this moment. Reflect on what triggered you. Reach out for support. Remind yourself of your why.

Just don’t make it a routine. One slip doesn’t have to become a spiral. You owe it to yourself to get back up. You’ve done it before—and you can do it again.

Relapse isn’t the end of your recovery. It’s a checkpoint. A reminder that you’re still in the fight.

And today? Today is a new day. A new chance. A clean slate.

Collect with intention, not compulsion. Keep showing up.

#CollectorsMD
We don’t expect perfection. We expect persistence.

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