Exercise for Pain Relief: Does It Work?

When people struggle with addiction, one thing that becomes more difficult is pain management. In most cases, they can’t take the opioid pain medications that doctors usually prescribe. As a result, they have to count on a more holistic approach to pain relief such as exercise. Aerobic exercise, in particular, can be beneficial in reducing the severity of chronic pain, improving overall physical and mental health, and aiding in weight loss. However, does exercise for pain relief really work? It is important to consult a doctor before starting an exercise program to ensure it is safe and tailored to individual needs.

Exercise for Pain Relief

Exercise for Chronic Pain Relief: Does It Work?

When people suffer from pain, doctors say that one of the best ways to manage it is to keep moving. This is because tendons and muscles get weak and stiff when people don’t use them. The design of the body is for performing activities rather than just sitting.

As a result, exercising is a great way to manage arthritis, as well as back, leg, and other pain, naturally. Best of all, people can manage their pain without taking potentially addictive medications. It’s the perfect option for those struggling with addiction.

Exercise for Pain Relief

A lot of people don’t understand how exercise helps them manage pain. One reason is that it releases endorphins in the brain. This chemical triggers a reward response and blocks pain signals throughout the body.

Since exercise releases endorphins, it’s a good way to manage drug cravings too. Because of that, the benefits of exercise are twofold for those who struggle with both drug problems and pain. It can be hard to believe that something as simple as exercising can bring relief. However, it’s true.

Get Into a New Habit

Beyond pain relief, exercising also gives people a new hobby to enjoy. Finding new hobbies is ideal for those who are in recovery from addiction. They need something to fill the void that drug or alcohol use leaves behind when they stop using. Exercising is a wonderful way to feel better, relieve pain, and fill idle time.

Health Benefits Beyond the Body

Exercise for pain relief provides more benefits than just the physical ones. People who exercise typically enjoy spiritual and mental benefits as well. Exercising is also an excellent method of reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. In general, they feel better about themselves after they exercise.

Find Out More About Holistic Treatment

At Driftwood Recovery, we know how important holistic pain relief is. Whether you need pain relief that fits addiction recovery or just natural, holistic pain relief, we can help. In fact, we offer a number of fantastic programs to suit your needs. Some of our programs and services include:

• Residential treatment
• Holistic recovery
• Intensive outpatient rehab
• 12 Step treatment
• Group counseling
• Individual therapy

Find out how exercise for pain relief can help you manage pain without medication. Remember that you don’t have to live with pain just because you can’t take traditional pain medication. Call us today at 866-426-4694 for more ways that we can help you.

“Trauma is any difficult experience that rises to the level of Changing the Brain.”

Whether it’s through reduced functioning, hyperarousal, or changes in mood, thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors, trauma impacts how we interact with the world around us. Unfortunately, we can get so caught up in defining the minutia of “what constitutes trauma” that it can be easy to lose the forest for the trees. Simply put, trauma is a neurobiological issue with psychological consequences. Neuroscientists can now measure observable changes in the brain that are the direct result of traumatic experiences – and those changes have a considerable impact on how we perceive threats in our daily lives. As the Driftwood clinical team undergoes extensive training around EMDR protocols this summer, I was curious to learn more about why EMDR is so effective at treating trauma and a whole host of psychological issues. So I sat down with senior clinician Natalie Hisey to discuss the training she facilitated with her supervisor and EMDRIA-certified instructor, Lillian Ramey.

HOW DOES TRAUMA CHANGE THE BRAIN?

Natalie explained that typical memories are stored in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. In the event of a trauma or accumulation of traumas, the amygdala (responsible for our fight, flight, freeze response) overwhelms the brain. It prevents the hippocampus from properly storing difficult memories. The hippocampus serves as our memory’s receptionist, cataloging and holding events from the day during REM sleep. When memories are not filed correctly, they remain blocked or unprocessed – like a misplaced folder jammed into the wrong filing cabinet.

The result is a limbic system that reacts like it’s constantly in danger, even when the perceived threat has long passed. Logic, perspective, and clear memories take a back seat, and emotion takes the wheel. Effective trauma treatment should re-train our brain’s receptionist to store these troubling experiences in a way that doesn’t disturb normal brain function. One of the most effective and efficient ways to heal the limbic system is through EMDR therapy.

WHAT IS EMDR?

If changes in the brain characterize trauma, trauma treatment should address those brain changes. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is one of the most researched psychotherapy methods proven to help the brain recover from trauma and distressing life experiences. According to EMDR International Association, when distress from a disturbing event remains, the disturbing images, thoughts, and emotions may create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment or of being “frozen in time.” EMDR therapy helps the brain reprocess these maladaptive memories and allows routine healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the original event’s fight, flight, or freeze response is resolved.

EMDR utilizes a process known as bilateral stimulation. Practitioners instruct clients to think about a target memory while tracking the therapist’s fingers from left to right with their eyes. Bilateral stimulation mimics the process that occurs during REM sleep; this side-to-side motion has been found to enhance memory reprocessing, improving the speed at which clients can recover and find peace around unimaginable pain.

EMDR therapy is broken into eight phases. The first phases involve gathering information around the memory, assessing emotional distress, and creating a safe place (a resource for calming the system back down after entering the target memory.) Then, reprocessing and desensitization occur, where the therapist and client bring up the trauma, initiate eye movement, and install a new, more positive belief associated with the memory. The final phases are about all about how the client will respond to that trauma in the future, with the goal of “turning down the volume” on the client’s emotional reactivity.

WHY IS EMDR SO EFFECTIVE?

The message from EMDR is this: “Your trauma is over and can remain in the past. You are safe in the present moment.” The result is a desensitization of the specific emotional reaction and reprocessing of the memory in a more positive light. Clients can process through distress quickly and develop a robust treatment plan without needing much language to describe what’s bothering them. They are not forced to spend too much time digging around in the trauma but rather target specific emotional reactions to a perceived threat. It’s amazing how well the brain responds to EMDR – it’s as if the brain wants to heal itself, it just needs the facilitation of a skilled practitioner and a safe place to do the healing.

EMDR is appropriate across all lifespans and can help treat many mental health conditions in addition to trauma, like eating disorders, substance use disorders, and relational issues. By the end of the summer – thanks to Natalie & Lillian – Driftwood clinicians will be trained in EMDR protocols for trauma, substance use, chronic pain, and couple’s therapy. Click here to learn more about EMDR protocols and training through EMDRIA or contact admissions for more information about working with an EMDR-trained Driftwood clinician.

The Limbic System

Image courtesy of Psychosocialsomatic.

While the rest of us were sleeping, Driftwood clinicians Jacob Umanzor, Michelle Whetstone, Natalie Hisey, and Vanessa Kennedy logged on to a London-based webinar at 3:30 AM to train in a treatment modality few therapists genuinely understand. This training aimed to equip mental health professionals with the necessary skills to undertake mentalization-based work with families. Vanessa, Natalie, Jacob, and Michelle represented a minority of American providers confident enough to take on this often-elusive subject. So, what is Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT), and how does it apply to family work at Driftwood?

Mentalization-Based Treatment with Families (MBT-F) – developed by psychologist Peter Fonagy – is an imaginative mental process that supports clients and family members in overcoming relational roadblocks and gaining a deeper understanding of each other’s points of view. Because mentalization-based work occurs at the core of all effective therapeutic processes, the therapist’s role is to understand, model, and reinforce effective mentalizing.

The training was hosted by the Anna Freud Centre, a leading UK research hub for mental health interventions with children and families. Named for the daughter of Sigmund Freud and founder of child psychoanalysis, the center builds on Freud’s legacy of transmuting psychoanalytic theory into evidence-based practices for family work. Michelle, Natalie, Jacob, and Vanessa learned new methods from Fonagy and his colleagues for engaging clients and families in activities and exercises that confront and alter problematic relationship patterns.

I enjoyed watching these clinicians turn their insights into action during this month’s Courageous Family Program, Driftwood’s monthly two-and-a-half-day workshop for clients and their family members. Here’s what I learned:

What is Mentalizing?

Mentalizing refers to our capacity to interpret behavior in relation to mental states, such as needs, desires, thoughts, and feelings. We say it is an imaginative mental activity because it requires us to conceptualize what’s going on inside the mind – what goals, intentions, or reasons lie beneath human behaviors. Mentalizing extends beyond empathy because it requires us to make sense of the complexities of our own mental states and the mental states of others. Self-awareness is a crucial first step in mentalizing, but it doesn’t stop there.

Mentalizing is a skill we all naturally possess. It is crucial to our sense of self, emotional intelligence, social resiliency, and cognitive flexibility. However, mentalizing veers off-course when we assume the mental states of ourselves or others without curiosity. Difficulties with mentalizing play a role in a wide range of common mental health challenges like depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and personality disorders.

Why is Mentalizing Important for Family Work?

The treatment team’s first task in family work is to understand the entire family’s dynamics and how they intersect with a client’s mental health condition. For example, there may be dynamics within the family that inhibit a client’s ability to progress in their recovery. In a dysfunctional family dynamic, this might look like unspoken expectations, passive-aggressive communication, enabling behaviors, or judgmental assumptions.

In childhood, we’re taught how to mentalize by our primary attachment figures. As adults, we may still mimic the judgments, assumptions, and non-verbal cues modeled by our parents. If we haven’t learned how to mentalize effectively, it’s because we haven’t seen it enough in action. We can heal from ineffective mentalizing with the help of a skilled therapist. Effective MBT-F practitioners slow down communication between family members and model emotional vulnerability in real-time. Therapists step into the role of the attachment figure and use mentalizing as a platform to heal these primary attachment wounds. The result is a working model for how this family can interact in a healthy manner.

Courageous family work requires a curious, non-judgmental approach to the familial patterns that blind us. It creates an environment where family members can express themselves without previous roadblocks to communication. Healthy dynamics might look like direct and kind communication, transparency, taking responsibility for one’s own emotions and responses, and expressing appropriate boundaries.

What are the core principles of effective mentalizing?

I wanted to learn to mentalize my own family like a pro, so I asked Driftwood Clinical Director and Mentalizing Guru Jacob Umanzor to give me a few tips that he learned from his MBT-F training. The following are some of the core principles of effective mentalizing in family work:

1) Genuine Curiosity. Curiosity means entering a childlike state of wonder. The challenge is to proceed as if everyone we interact with is the expert of their own mind. It is not our job to tell others how they feel. But, if we can leave our assumptions at the door, we’re creating a safe space for everyone to share vulnerably.

2) Awareness of Impact on Others. Mentalizing goes beyond empathy. It creates an understanding of the impact of one’s behavior on the people around us. Unfortunately, instability in mental health and substance abuse can make it hard for us to be aware of our impact on others. Shame, guilt, and remorse will naturally come up when our behavior doesn’t align with our values. When we feel reactive, the challenge is to sit with that shame and ride the wave of discomfort.

3) Perspective Taking. If our minds are too rigid, we limit our ability to see from someone else’s eyes. Holding space for and being open to others’ experiences helps increase our understanding of them as fallible human beings, just like us.

4) Capacity to Trust. To create a sense of safety for others, we must first trust one another to be honest. For example, if another person states the intention behind their behavior, we should take them at their word.

5) Narrative Continuity. The typical family culture is to not talk about breakdowns in communication or conflicting narratives about the past. A shared family narrative can add to a sense of connection – but we can’t know someone else’s experience until we ask.

Want to learn more about Driftwood’s approach to family work? Read about the Courageous Family Workshop and find links to family resources.

Maintaining sobriety following treatment can be arduous work, but at Driftwood, we believe life must be enjoyable to sustain long-term recovery. According to Mason Aselage, Director of Recovery Services, “Recovery is about more than abstinence. It’s about building relationships, having new experiences, and most importantly – rediscovering what we love about life.” Along with Alumni Coordinator Evan Thornton, Mason has developed a philosophy of enjoyment for Driftwood’s Alumni Program that doesn’t take itself too seriously. As a result, alumni meetings, social gatherings, and service opportunities are characterized by joyful reunions and fits of uncontrollable laughter. The fun, relaxed atmosphere that Evan and Mason have created brings necessary levity to the heavy, emotional work of early recovery.

As of March, Mason and Evan have organized a series of sober hangouts with increasing success: from wakeboarding, to paintballing, to awareness walks, to party barges. This month, they undertook their most ambitious challenge: leading a four-day camping trip in Big Bend National Park.

Last Thursday, fourteen former clients and Driftwood staff set out from Austin, TX, on an eight-hour drive west. The group’s energy was electric from the start; everyone was giddy to get going and had no complaints about the long journey ahead. Some in the group were experienced hikers; a few had no experience camping sober. This range in mastery led to hilarious moments as the group pitched their tents in the Chisos Basin, but everyone came together with incredible teamwork. Of course, no outing would be complete without the Driftwood Culinary experience, so the Drifters were lucky that chef, Peyton, agreed to come along to help cook meals by the campfire.

The group rose early for a 14-mile hike around the south rim of the basin. From start to finish, the weather was perfect for early fall in the desert. Most alumni had never hiked such a long distance before, so there was a collective feeling of accomplishment by the end of the day. That night, Mason led a recovery meeting where alumni reflected on the day’s experience. In addition, each person wrote a letter to themselves that they would send out in one year, with words of compassion and encouragement to help them through times of struggle.

The highlight of day three was a guided rafting trip on the Rio Grande. What would usually take a full day took only half the time because the water was so high. The group was all laughs as they sped down the river between towering, red canyons. The day concluded with a two-mile hike to Balanced Rock, followed by live music and country cooking at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua.

As the vans pulled out of the campsite on Sunday, an alumna thought to herself that the only low of the trip was not seeing a bear. The group observed a snowy white owl the night before, and expectations had become very high between the perfect weather and the clear, starry skies. As she thought this, one of her friends pointed out the van’s window to a black bear outside their campsite. Mason had given them the challenge of creating their own joy, and by the end of the trip, the Driftwood alumni group had proven themselves powerful manifesters.

About her colleague, Evan Thornton says, “I am so grateful for Mason. He is a joy to work with, and his guidance and ideas have made the alumni program grow exponentially.” The same may be said for Evan, who has stepped into her new role and navigated challenging circumstances with maturity and grace. Together, Evan and Mason make an unstoppable team – proving that outside the heavily structured treatment environment, opportunities for fun and connection abound!

Driftwood’s Alumni family is a peer-driven network that provides accountability, service, and encouragement for long-term recovery post-treatment. Our Alumni Coordinator, Evan Thornton, and Director of Client Services, Mason Aselage, encourage Alumni to remain engaged with the Driftwood family by organizing ongoing meetings, socials, and service opportunities.

Upcoming Events

• Family Support Group with Lauren Walther: 2nd & 4th Mondays @ 6:30 CST
• Six Flags Fright Fest in San Antonio on 10/14 @ 6 PM
• Paintballing in November (date TBA)
• Holiday Party at Driftwood on 12/10 from 5 PM – 8 PM
• H&I Meetings Weekly on Mondays @ 7 PM CST – on campus and online.
• Alumni Meetings Weekly @ 7 PM CST – in person and virtual.
• Quarterly Workshops featuring consulting psychologists like Ted Klontz and Stevie Stanford.

Connect with Us

• Download the Driftwood Recovery App – which consolidates all alumni information in one place. To learn more about upcoming events, visit the events page in the app or the community tab to see announcements in your feed.
• Request Access to the Private Facebook Page.
• Email ethornton@driftwoodrecovery.com or maselage@driftwoodrecovery.com for more information.

“The most important lesson I learned in 2021 is that human beings can reconstruct their narrative with more ease than one might think; we just need to take the time to implement a few simple practices. Often, people in recovery harp on acceptance as the key to emotional health. But it’s important not to slide into resignation, expecting life to happen to us (as if we have no power over the outcomes in our life). Pain prompted me to seek out others who achieved the growth I craved – spiritually, physically, and financially. I observed what these spiritual titans were achieving and emulated their daily practices. With a bit of repetition, the changes were remarkable.”

Paul Manley, Executive Vice President & Partner at Driftwood Recovery, tells us why 2021 turned out to be his best year yet, and how we can all implement life-changing strategies to shift our narratives in 2022.

Spend enough time around someone who has a clear sense of who they are, and that infectious energy starts to rub off on you. The stories they tell about themselves and their comfortability with owning their identity have a sort of gravitational pull. The inevitable question becomes unavoidable: “If this person is so confident about who they are, what kind of person am I?”

Paul Manley is just this sort of person. His enthusiasm for self-improvement is magnetic. So, we were surprised to learn that he struggled to discover his sense of purpose in early adulthood. What prompted his shift from pain to progress over the past year? We asked him to share a few practices he established in 2021 that helped him level up to his next stage of spiritual healing:

Five practices that changed my life this past year:

1. Make time to understand what you want. When people set goals, their first mistake is not setting aside time to figure out what they want. It’s essential to be intentional. I’ve found journaling to be a valuable exercise for discovering short and long-term goals. I still set aside time in the morning to write down what aspects of my life I want to improve. Writing down my vision makes it more tangible and gives me a good jumping-off point. If I do not understand the desired outcome, I cannot create the road map to achieve my goal.

2. Make your vision clear. Once I determine what I want, I write my vision down in the form of an extremely specific intention statement. The vision statement helps me create a story of who I am that I can turn back to; this is the essence of my new narrative. Rather than writing “I want to be a person who….” I write, “I am a person who….” Wanting comes from a place of incompleteness but acting as if makes it so. Establishing this core sense of identity is essential because it reinforces the type of person you want to become.

3. Access your emotions. Ask yourself: How would I feel if I started to check off the goals on my list? Get as specific as possible. It helps me visualize myself taking small steps to accomplish my vision: what my environment looks like, what thoughts I might have about myself, what I’m wearing, etc. When I have difficulty accessing the emotions related to a specific goal, I turn to intentional meditation to access my gratitude for every stage of the journey. Taking that extra time to get quiet and turn inward allows me to feel whole and appreciate every step along the way.

4. Put your intention statement somewhere you can see it. Create a visual cue to accompany your vision you can review every day, multiple times a day. This visual stimulus is critical because what catches your attention creates intention. Placing my intention statement in plain sight allows me to stay grounded in the outcome and not lose sight of the result. Understand that your goals may change along the way; what’s important is the feeling that the intention statement elicits. I hang up words and pictures on my bulletin board that define success for me: adventure, love, leadership, and so on. These are values that I can aspire to every day that make me feel more complete.

5. Remember: structure comes before freedom. Long-term growth does not always produce immediate results. I must establish the routine of acting before starting to feel the benefits. The most effective change comes from repetition. It’s a common misconception that structure and routine are the antitheses of freedom. In reality, structure begets freedom. When every action comes from genuine intention, you create meaning in the mundane and free yourself from practices that no longer serve you. I have also found that when I am consistent with structured spiritual practices, my relationship with time changes. It no longer feels like there are not enough hours in the day. Instead, things start to fall in place with exceptional timing.

Driftwood’s Culinary Director, Jason Donoho, provides us with festive mocktail recipes as we plan for the holiday season.

Pear Rosemary Tonic

Ingredients

● Ice as needed

● 2 oz Pear Rosemary Syrup (Combine 1 diced pear and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary with 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar. Bring to a simmer and let infuse off the heat for 30 minutes. Strain and store in the fridge for up to 30 days.)

● 1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

● Fever Tree Tonic Water or your favorite brand to Top

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in the order listed in a glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Ginger Orange Punch

Ingredients

● Ice as Needed

● 2oz Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

● 1oz Ginger Simple Syrup (Combine 1 cup peeled fresh ginger slices with 2 cups water & 2 cups sugar. Bring to a simmer and let infuse off the heat for 30 minutes. Strain and store in the fridge for up to 30 days.)

● Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale to Top

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in the order listed in a tall glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

Spiced Coconut Golden Milk

Ingredients

● 1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk

● 1 tsp Turmeric

● 1 tsp Cinnamon, Ground

● 4 Tbsp Honey

● 1 pinch Sea Salt

● 1 pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients with a whisk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, careful not to boil. Serve warm in a mug with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon to top.

Pineapple Coconut Mojito

Ingredients

● Lime juice as needed for the rim of the glass

● Coconut Flakes as needed for the rim of the glass

● 4 sprigs of fresh mint leaves

● 2 oz fresh lime juice

● 4 oz fresh pineapple juice

● 4 oz Coconut Water

● Ice as needed

Instructions

Dip the rim of a glass in lime juice and then the toasted coconut, fill with ice. Place 4-6 fresh mint leaves at the bottom of the glass with the lime juice and muddle to lightly crush the mint. Add the coconut water and pineapple juice. Garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of the mint.

A Pulse of 2020’s Impact on Mental Health in the U.S

“As human beings, we experience difficult emotions—sadness, anger, disillusionment—when faced with a traumatic experience. Giving ourselves permission to feel these emotions and seeking support to help us cope with them are important tools to develop resilience.”

Resilience is one of many psychological concepts that has been given a great deal of attention in recent years. All you have to do is Google “resilience,” and the first article that appears organically is “Building Your Resilience,” written by the American Psychological Association (APA), followed by many other how-to articles. Since mental health has become commonplace conversation and something that even some public figures are opening up about, self-empowerment through resilience has become ubiquitous. The strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity is an enigma that we as human beings long to understand. Our very own Dr. Vanessa Kennedy, PhD, told us what resilience means to her, some examples from her personal experience, and five myths she commonly sees associated with the subject. Her thoughts were also featured in a FAST COMPANY article.

PM: How would you define resilience?

VK: Resilience is the process of coping well with adversity and moving forward in an adaptive way. When we face challenges, loss, or traumatic experiences in our lives, we may subscribe to some common myths about resilience when struggling to make sense of our overwhelming mix of emotions.

Q: How could one practice resilience within their own life?

VK: Resilience involves coping with the aftermath of an event, but it is also about preventive care and wellness. Cultivating positive thoughts and supportive relationships goes a long way in helping us to deal with challenges when they arise. When we can focus on solutions, immerse ourselves in activities we enjoy, build trust in our relationships, and have a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, we have laid the groundwork for handling a difficult experience.

PM: Do you have a quote to sum up resilience?

VK: A mindset that empowers us to look at adversity as an opportunity to grow and change is beautifully demonstrated by the Latin phrase “succisa virescit,” which when translated states “that which gets cut down, grows back stronger.”

PM: Can you give any examples of resilience from your personal or professional life?

VK: I worked at the Menninger Clinic for 8 years in Houston, TX, where I was born, raised, and attended college. My parents live in a suburb of Houston, as did two of my siblings and much of my extended family. My whole life was essentially rooted there. Selling our house in Houston and moving to Austin, TX, with my eight-month-old baby boy, an eight-year-old stepdaughter, and a new job with a residential treatment center that wasn’t even officially open yet definitely required resilience! I needed to feel the stress mixed with excitement mixed with sheer terror of helping to get a new program off the ground and create something meaningful. I relied on established support from friends and family back home cheering me on, as well as the hope, creativity, and enthusiasm of the new team of caring individuals I met, who wanted to build a unique place that would benefit others. I feel very grateful to have adapted to a major transition in my life. I’ve been able to cultivate work relationships with new people who helped me to grow and change, and the experience has allowed me to evolve into a more versatile and independent version of myself.

PM:What are the common myths about resilience you see?

VK:

1) “I need to be strong.”

The process of resilience involves distress. As human beings, we experience difficult emotions – sadness, anger, disillusionment – when faced with a traumatic experience. Giving ourselves permission to feel these emotions and seeking support to help us cope with them are important tools to develop resilience.

2) “You either have it or you don’t.”

Resilience is not a genetic trait. While research suggests that confidence in your abilities and problem-solving skill are key ingredients in developing resilience, these elements can be learned and cultivated through the encouragement we receive from others, the actions we take, and the way we choose to think about our distress.

3) “I should be able to do this on my own.”

Research shows that resilience is just as much about having supportive relationships as it is about our internal strengths. Opening up about how we are doing, allowing others to help us, or watching how others have coped with adversity can remind us that we are not alone.

4) “I should feel better by now.”

Having resilience is not like turning on a light switch. It may be more like strengthening muscle groups in the body – there may be some areas of life that improve while others may take more time or effort. For example, a person who loses their home to a fire may furnish a new home, but it may take much longer to emotionally accept the loss or help family members adapt.

5) “I want things to be like they used to.”

Some adverse or stressful events may change things so that they do not go back to “normal.” Adapting involves developing a “new normal” in which we can evolve and even thrive. Divorce, moving to a new place, obtaining a life-altering injury, or losing a loved one are examples of events that change our world permanently, but can present an opportunity for growth.

Links Related to Article

Fast Company: These 5 Myths About Aging Might be Hurting Your Ability to Cope

An Interview With Peter Fonagy on Building Resilience

Ted Talk on Resilience

“We truly have seen the contagiousness of personal development, and when more people engage in personal development, more people begin enjoying life”

It is said that crises can create opportunities. External pressures can bring companies to a turning point, after which, they either mature into organizational health or begin to disintegrate.

At Driftwood Recovery, a series of constructive crises (including a period of unexpectedly fast growth, a leadership restructuring, and a global pandemic) got CEO Peter Fluor, COO Brad Kennedy, and Executive Vice President Paul Manley thinking about the treatment center’s organizational wellness. The three began meeting every week, Manley says, to discuss and re-evaluate organizational goals, to exchange ideas candidly and constructively, and make sure that Driftwood’s culture is healthy.

Perhaps one of the most beneficial things for the organization has been the leadership team’s journey to personal development through individual therapy and team/group therapy. “We truly have seen the contagiousness of personal development, and when more people engage in personal development, more people begin enjoying life,” touts Manley. “Peter got us to start working with a pHD named Ted Klontz, who holds a monthly phone session and a quarterly in-person intensive to insure clear lines of communication.” Having a clinician objectively orchestrate their relationships on both the personal and professional level has allowed them to become a much more congruent team.

In the past, Fluor says, he sometimes found himself “witnessing, and therefore participating in, a fear-based culture: one where people carry out tasks because they’re afraid of what will happen if they don’t, and not because they’re taking ownership of their work.” At Driftwood they work hard to give everyone a voice, and avoid micromanaging. “We want people to use their creative freedom to contribute to the program’s success, to weigh in on whatever the objective is. The leadership team gives people a direction, and then they run with things, put their own spin on them, get excited about what’s in front of them.”

Early in Driftwood’s life, Manley says, “I was spending so much time at work, or thinking about work, that I couldn’t talk about anything but work; it was my entire identity.” That kind of focus is unsustainable over the long run; managers that demand it of themselves will burn out; managers that demand it of their employees are signing up for long-term organizational instability. He and the other members of the leadership team are taking steps, he says, to ensure that everyone at Driftwood can develop both within and outside the company. (Alumni Coordinator Nick Borges, for instance, is working toward a master’s degree in social work while he works at Driftwood.)

“One moment that stands out is a Driftwood family-weekend workshop,” Kennedy says, “we were all introducing ourselves to the visitors, and Danielle Cobb, our Lead Care Coordinator, started describing Driftwood’s take on attachment based treatment. I thought: how cool is that? I’d never worked in a place where the direct care staff was given the chance to articulate the clinical philosophy so well, and I saw that our staff members were finding their voice.”

Moments like those are the result, Kennedy says, of eliminating unnecessary hierarchy in the workplace. “Certainly, we all have different roles to play,” he says. “But we’re a team. Everybody’s voice matters. And just as we want to know, understand, and accept all of our clients, we want the same for our staff. We want to deeply understand the people we work with—to collaborate enough that we can, for instance, design a growth plan with them in mind that benefits both them and the organization.”

During weekly leadership meetings, Manley says, “a majority of our conversations are about the staff: how we can help them, how we can empower them. Brad is always looking at training opportunities for the clinical & care coordinator staff, and he has done a great job at creating space for the staff to have a weekly process group, so that we can match the intensity of the work we are asking our clients to partake in.”

“I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” Fluor says, “of remaining principled and remembering our collective purpose. When we get off-track, we hold one another accountable. When we disagree, we look for advice from a neutral third party.”

“If we get preoccupied with some sort of internal competition,” he says, “we’re totally missing the point. We’re here to be a resource for people who are struggling. If we are distracted by some sort of turmoil, we’re not being of maximum service.”

The three have brought past experiences from previous organizations and have tried to mold a culture based on a majority of the pros, while leaving behind the cons. Fluor says he’s been “amazed by the productivity and the sense of accomplishment, the comfort and the camaraderie that’s created when people feel trusted and respected.” The three are now looking to create a program manual in order to share their journey, organistructure and give an inside view to the culture they feel so fortunate to be a part of.

Links Related to Article

Organizational Health: A Fast track to Performance Improvement

Harvard Business Review: The Culture Factor

Forbes: Why Culture is Becoming More Important

Inc: The Importance of Building Culture In Your Organization

“When you find your tribe, you can rely on people—and you have to show up for them”

This is the eighth in a series of posts introducing the people who make up Driftwood Recovery’s community of caregivers.

Through these conversations, you’ll get a chance to meet the people on Driftwood’s team—from its executives to its care coordinators. You’ll learn about the programs they facilitate, and about how their work serves Driftwood’s overall treatment philosophy. You’ll learn about the various paths that brought them here. And you might pick up a book or Austin restaurant recommendation.

In this post, Kuraĝo editor Matt Williamson talks with Driftwood’s Alumni Coordinator, Nick Borges.

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Matt Williamson: You had kind of an interesting path to your current job here at Driftwood.

Nick Borges: I used to work in corporate finance. I came to Austin to go through treatment. I knew, when I got out, that I didn’t want to be in finance at all. I’d always been a foodie, so for the short term, I figured I’d do some sort of restaurant work.

I was initially hired here at Driftwood as a sous chef. I worked in the kitchen for about eight months. During that time, I had a lot of one-on-one contact with the clients: getting to know them, giving them feedback about my own recovery—what’s worked for me, what hasn’t worked.

In that eight months, I figured out that direct care was the path for me. I got a job offer from another company in Austin; I’d be managing all of their sober living facilities. And I was going to accept it.

The Monday after I put my two weeks in, Peter Fluor sat me down and said, “Listen, what do you want to do?” I hadn’t had that initial conversation with him. I told him that I wanted to go into direct care, that I wanted to be more involved with the day-to-day operations, to be in the trenches a bit more. And he said “What if you became Driftwood’s Alumni Coordinator?”

I didn’t even think about it. I said: “absolutely.”

MW: Did you know what the job title entailed? Is “alumni coordinator” a position at other residential recovery places?

NB: At the good ones, yeah. I knew a little bit about the job just from my own experience in treatment. But I knew that a lot of things needed to happen at Driftwood that weren’t happening elsewhere.

I was going to be the first Alumni Coordinator here at Driftwood, so the scope of the job was open to some extent, and I was able to build the program.

MW: Without throwing anyone under the bus . . . what are some of the things you thought Driftwood should do that other places weren’t doing?

NB: I think the biggest piece is the continual support that’s provided after you leave treatment.

My own experience after completing treatment was that I got one call from the alumni coordinator. I never heard from him again. There was also a calendar of events that was emailed to me. That was the extent of my contact with the treatment center.

MW: It sounds like the kind of contact you’d have with a college you graduated from. You get the alumni magazine, and an occasional call reminding you about the five-year reunion.

NB: Yeah. We wanted to do something totally different. Once a person comes to Driftwood—whether they’re a resident, a former resident, a family member of a resident, or a staffer—we want them to feel like they’re permanently part of our community.

My part of that is to provide three kinds of opportunities for alumni: opportunities to be of service to others, opportunities to have fun in recovery, and opportunities to find fellowship.

MW: Can we talk about all three of those separately? What’s the service component?

NB: We’ve set up alumni groups, chapter groups, in Houston and Austin, and we’re working on starting one on the west coast. The Austin group comes out to Driftwood regularly—they bring a meeting to the residents, and come out and have dinner with them. Alumni get to know the residents and provide a sense of what recovery looks like outside of the gates of treatment.

That’s one aspect of service. And next weekend, for instance, we have Recovery in the Park. It’s an event that takes place every year during Recovery Month. A bunch of people who have gone through recovery or who work in recovery get together for food, music and fellowship. But we try and stay involved with all kinds of service projects in and around Austin.

MW: The second element of your job—helping alumni have fun—might sound less important to some people. But my impression, from talking to younger alumni here in Austin, is that it’s a big deal.

This city really emphasizes drinking. Austin brands itself as “the Live Music Capital of the World”—and getting drunk or high is part of the typical experience of going to shows—so drinking, implicitly, is part of Austin’s official identity. It seems natural for young people in cities like Austin or Portland or Miami to worry that being sober means that they’ll be excluded from most of the exciting things that are happening in town, that they’ll be excluded from the places where young people congregate.

NB: “How the hell am I going to have fun?”

The cool thing, to me, is that once you remove the drugs and alcohol, people find things that they never thought were fun before. They’re open to new experiences. They start rediscovering old interests.

The Driftwood alumni group goes to concerts, to dinners. We go rock climbing, and to the climbing gym. Hiking, kayaking. I try to go to Houston every month to meet the alumni chapter there. Last month, we all went out to the Astros game.

Austin does have this kind of connotation of a party scene, and drugs and alcohol are involved in fun in the city. But on the other side, Austin’s got the reputation of one of the best places to be in recovery. You can always find people who are trying to have fun without drugs and alcohol.

MW: I was talking to an alum about “the fear of missing out,” and how it motivates people to keep drinking and using. But then, if you’re drunk and high all the time, you’re missing out on everything other than being drunk or high.

NB: Whenever people ask “how am I going to have fun without drugs and alcohol?”—well, most of the time, you weren’t having fun when you were using anyway. “Fun” is going to look a lot different than it did before.

MW: The friendships people form when they’re sober are probably very different from the friendships people form when they’re drinking.

NB: When you’re relying on alcohol to get you through your social life, you might be hanging out with people you don’t even like—or who don’t know the real you. When I was using and drinking, I was so far from my true self that I was basically projecting a different person. And that projection was attracting people very different from the ones I really wanted to be around.

From the beginning of my recovery, I’ve made relationships that are so strong, and genuine, that it’s hard to compare them with any relationships I had before getting sober. I still have strong friendships with folks I grew up with, but even those relationships look a lot different than they did before I got into recovery.

MW: I guess that brings us to the third opportunity you mentioned: the opportunity for fellowship. Could you explain the categorical difference between “fellowship” on the one hand,’ and “fun” and “service” on the other?

NB: You find fellowship through service and socializing, so they’re related. But “fellowship” can mean going to a support meeting. It means being around like-minded people who understand your struggles and share some of your goals. We have a term in the recovery community “family of choice.” It’s like finding your own tribe.

When you find your tribe, you can rely on people—and you have to show up for them. You have a group of people who are going to call you on your bullshit when you need to be called out. People who are going to hold you accountable.

MW: You’ve talked a lot about the ways that you’ve grown since becoming sober. Can you share something that you’ve learned specifically from your work at Driftwood?

NB: So in addition to serving as Driftwood’s Alumni Coordinator, I work in Admissions, and I’m part of the Family Program team. When people come in, I’m often the person who walks them through the whole intake process. So a lot of my job involves working with the families of residents: talking to them, listening to them, and applauding them for taking this step for a loved one. Those conversations, and the ones I have with people participating in Driftwood’s family programming, really bring home why I’m here: to make sure that the alumni can thrive after they get through their initial treatment phase here.

This disease affects the entire family, not just the person who’s suffering directly from addiction.

If people are abandoned after treatment—or if they feel they’re drifting further and further from the community that helped them get sober—they’re at a much higher risk of relapse. As Alumni Coordinator, I’m helping people consolidate the gains they’ve made: turning this from a 30-day recovery process into a permanent recovery lifestyle.

I should mention also that this work has been enormously helpful in my own recovery.

MW: How so?

NB: Being a resource for people whose sobriety is fragile forces me to put that much more emphasis on my own recovery, so that I can show up in a good way for the people who depend on me. In general, meaningful responsibility helps you stay sober.

MW: I’m not sure I know anyone who’s juggling as many responsibilities as you are right now. Apart from your work life, you’re insanely busy.

NB: Yeah—I just finished my first semester in Texas State’s Masters of Social Work program. It’s a full-time program. Driftwood’s supporting me through the process—structuring my work schedule around my weekday classes.

MW: Is your plan to stay at Driftwood after you graduate?

NB: Absolutely. I love direct care. And I want to stay with the community integration piece of Driftwood’s program: working with people as they transition from residential care into healthy independence—helping people become their best selves, and thrive in life, through all stages of recovery.

kuraĝo

Nick Borges, Alumni, Long-Term Recovery, Family