Why People in Recovery Often Find Motivation in Fitness

About six months ago, Selina Burzler went to a friend's house for a dinner party. The next thing she knew, she was waking up, bleary-eyed in her own apartment. "I was home, and the bike I went to dinner with was there, but I had no recollection of the journey," Burzler tells PS. "I lost all my credit cards and my ID. That was the day I decided, it can't go this way anymore."

That week, she confessed the true extent of her substance use to her therapist. "I told her, 'I want to live a sober life,'" Burzler says. Ten months before, she had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which helped Burzler reframe her urges to use substances and alcohol as part of "a constant chase for dopamine." (Dopamine, a chemical produced in the brain, can function like a "reward center," and research shows those with ADHD tend to have lower levels of dopamine in general).

Burzler and her therapist began looking for constructive routines and activities to undercut the cravings she was still feeling, while also allowing for healthy boosts of dopamine.

One of the first things Burzler tried was running. "I figured: 'I need a goal. I need to get my dopamine from somewhere. I've always wanted to run the half marathon, why not now?'" the now-30-year-old remembers thinking. Quickly, running became a meditative practice for Burzler. "Now, any time I have cravings, I put on my shoes, and I run," she says.
Like Burzler, many people with substance use disorders find solace in fitness while getting sober, says Scott Strode, who's in long-term recovery from substance use and who started a national sober active community called The Phoenix, which is free for anyone who's been sober for 48 hours.

Strode says fitness can help folks who are on sobriety journeys and in active treatment for several reasons: movement has "transformational" mental health and physical benefits, but it also brings people together in an accepting, non-judgemental community.

To read the full article, visit the POPSUGAR Fitness page.