Chasing recovery: an autoethnographic/ethnographic study of running in recovery from addiction
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Date
2022-12-06
Authors
Menard, Ryan
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Abstract
Substance misuse, or addiction, is one of the most common issues facing individuals who use social work services (Smith et al., 2006), p. 109). The majority of Canadians who identify as being in recovery from harmful substance use report that exercise is one of the “[s]upports and resources” (McQuaid et al., 2017, p. 25) that helps them maintain this state. A growing body of research supports exercise as an adjunct treatment to conventional rehabilitation therapies due to a variety of benefits. This study sought to address the lack of qualitative research exploring how individuals use exercise to help maintain recovery from substance misuse use long-term. Because of my lived experience and privileged knowledge in this area, I used a combination of ethnography and autoethnography to answer the question: How does running fit into your life as a person in recovery? Data gathered through in-depth one-on-one interviews and my own personal history suggests ways in which running can holistically improve the lives of individuals seeking recovery from substance misuse in a number of areas. Foremost among these were: improved mental health coping and relapse prevention skills, surrounding oneself with pro-recovery social supports, and adopting a post-addiction subjectivity. Based on these findings, I suggest social workers include the promotion of running in their toolkits for working with individuals seeking recovery from substance misuse who are mentally and physically healthy enough to do so, except where those service users are also experiencing co-occurring eating disorders.
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running, autoethnography, addiction recovery, substance misuse recovery, ethnography, exercise