This is beautiful. It's a delicious tone =) I can't come up with any other adjective for it.
Some Critiques:
- As others have already mentioned, the smoke stands out a little too much. However, this isn't exactly a bad thing - since it refocuses the viewer. People usually pay attention to what's brightest, and where the action's at. In this case, the smoke has both. It trails upwards almost in a tour of the main character, making a pretty neat media effect here. I like that. All in all, I doubt your intention was to make the smoke your main focus. But that would take a little more effort to chance with your layers situation as you said. For what it's worth, it turned out fairly nicely :).
Some Really Nice Points:
- I love your background. It fits perfectly with the scan. The color scheme, the title, everything presents the theme with powerful emotion.
- Your choice of background images is almost random, making this seem even more emotional. Reminds me of dramatic flashbacks in movies and such.
- This paper has deep feeling to it, as I mentioned in the last few comments ^^. Yet in its complex message, you managed to keep the entire peace almost simplistic. I really like that - not too much grunge, not too many background images (you leave spaces for the mind to wander around, much like taking a deep breath and looking up at the sky)..but just enough to make it complete. Nice.

I really enjoyed the wallpaper, and I hope to see more in the future :).
Btw - I can understand what you meant by pouring your feelings into your work. Personally I don't think I would be satisfied with a piece unless i *did* feel that way. I hope your grey days turn to bright yellow ones soon. Get yourself some chocolate ;) always made me feel better.