Recovery X was built on the smile of one man on a summer day in 2015. For many, a simple smile wouldn’t be given a second thought, but for Eli Glaser, it was a revelation. Eli Glaser is a Springfield business owner, husband, and father of 5 but under that picture-perfect exterior was depression, anxiety, self-loathing and overwhelming addiction to painkillers that started with a back injury. For a couple of years, Eli managed to keep his addiction a secret from his friends and family but a drug-induced seizure in November of 2014 had exposed him. Eli lost his job, friends disappeared, his family was disappointed and distrustful, but he continued to use the prescription drugs to numb the pain.
On Christmas 2014 the Glaser family had reached their breaking point and decided right then that Eli needed immediate intervention. From the outside, it may have looked like a picturesque family celebrating the holiday, but inside it was Eli’s wife, parents, and siblings telling him, in no uncertain terms, that either Eli entered a treatment program or be homeless and cut off from everyone, including his own children. Eli eventually agreed and entered a treatment program in Florida.
By May 2015, Eli was back in Springfield, sober but struggling with his depression and anxiety. It was then that his sponsor invited Eli to begin working out with him. Eli went once, then a couple more times, soon he was working out 3 times a week, then every day. He was pushing his body to the limit of physical exertion and loving it. It was during this time, as he was driving to work, Eli realized he was smiling. Not because of a joke, or any happy event, he just felt happy. It was a new and exciting feeling for someone who had spent the last years being unable to even envision happiness without the help of pills.
That was when Eli began thinking about what was the difference in his recovery. How was it this time he had managed to find hope in sobriety when only 6 months ago his very perception of himself was based on being a user? Eli noted the biggest difference came after he began his exercise program. He didn’t feel stuck at home, he had a place to go where he felt encouraged and accepted. Eli was setting goals, making gains and achieving results. His self-loathing had been replaced with pride. His anxiety seemed to seep from him while he worked out, as the very sweat of a hard workout. He began to research the benefits of exercise, while simultaneously encouraging others in the recovery community to join him at the gym. Eli found solid research supporting the benefits of regular exercise during addiction recovery.
Research tells us that when an addict is taking opioids, the opioids will release dopamine at level 10 times greater than the body’s natural levels. This causes the brain to be flooded with stimulation, waking up all neurotransmitters. This is what creates the “high” feeling. With the habitual use of opioids, the brain will compensate for that regular stimulation by shutting down receptors, making them more immune to the drug’s effects. This not only causes an addict to need more of the drug to achieve that same high but as the brain shuts down more receptors a person’s ability to feel and self-control is diminished. However, when a person stops using, their body doesn’t automatically begin waking up brain receptors again.
This is where the benefits of fitness come into play. Research has shown that the human body releases dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, when engaging in strenuous physical activity, this effect is commonly referred to as a “Runner’s High”. While the high itself may be short-lived, the impact exercise has on the body’s ability to make, release, and regulate those feel-good chemicals is long term. This research is the heart of the Recovery X program.
It was also during this time that Eli met Lance Cartmell, Springfield Firefighter who also shares a passion for fitness and a dedication to the community. Together they shared their experiences, research and ideas, then began formalizing a plan to create a fitness program designed specifically to help those in recovery maintain their sobriety.
2 years later, Recovery X has helped over 300 program participants through our partnerships with McKinley Hall and the Central Community Center. Every week Recovery X holds four fitness classes at McKinley Hall, as a regular part of their treatment program. Recovery X also offers a free, public fitness class daily Monday-Friday, at the Central Community Center, for anyone living in Clark County, in any stage of addiction recovery. Each class is one hour long and includes weight training, strength/skill-building, cardio, meditation, as well as a period of time for group reflection.
Recovery X also hosts regular Sober Funday events for the recovery community and their families. These events have included dinners, bowling, a kickball tournament, ice skating, a movie night, and of course, special workout sessions.