RE: I've powered down 3 times since I joined in July 2016. There will not be a 4th.
We all power down at various points in our steemit life and for various reasons, including Ned and Dan, but if there's even the slightest chance you'll some day restart your steemit account, you shouldn't power down too far. I've observed friends who have done what you did and it is almost impossible to come back to your former status - mind you, my wife did, but she's now powering down again and so am I. There are many reasons why but basically there are limits to everything, so my advice is know what you're getting out of first before enduring the heartache of trying to get back in. Personally, I think the last hardfork ruined steemit for content creators like myself, but I'm still going, I'm still trying, and life for me ain't been a crystal stair, lol. And no, I'm not going to tell you to keep on steeming - hate that! Just know what lies ahead and be prepared for some rough patches. I hope it works out for you.
The biggest difference for me now, is that now I won’t be eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping Steemit. I was obsessed. But now, I have a full-time job so I can do this on the side. I was posting like a madman specifically to pay bills. That’s not the way to do this. This affords me the ability to be more patient with my trades, and to be more mindful about what I’m taking out of my investments. In fact, this time around I plan on investing my own money rather than just whatever I snowball here.
I hear you - been there, done it. As a writer I needed to establish a genuine social media platform - no fake followers etc. I did it, especially on Twitter, amassing a huge following, but it cost me. Sounds like you came to the same conclusion and things should go better from here on :)