For student athletes, finding balance can be difficult. Stress is common, and many student athletes don’t know how to cope with that stress in a healthy manner. This often leads to the use of drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism for handling stress. Over time, an addiction can develop. Fortunately, there are specialty treatment centers that can help student athletes get back on track. At Fresno State, student athletes are sent to First Steps Recovery after testing positive twice on random drug tests.
At First Steps Recovery, student athletes often enter outpatient programs so they can continue to keep up with their academics and athletics. This may feel like another responsibility to add to everything else. However, it is important to understand that recovery is meant to free the individual from their burdens long-term. By seeking treatment, a student has a better chance of creating a healthy life and not relying on substances.
Balancing Recovery and Responsibilities as Student Athletes
When first starting recovery, it can be overwhelming to try to figure out how to balance treatment with school and sports. It can help to remember that recovery is meant to free one of their stresses and unhealthy habits. Making active choices to better one’s life and value one’s mental and physical well-being is also important. Having this mindset going into recovery can be crucial in staying motivated to balance different aspects of one’s life. By keeping the purpose of recovery in mind, a student athlete can avoid becoming overwhelmed by their various responsibilities.
Some of the more common scenarios in which student athletes use drugs or alcohol include during social outings, when self-medicating for pain or anxiety, and when experiencing insomnia. The culture of sports, especially the social culture, also invites substance use. However, being in recovery and working toward a sustainable, sober life means student athletes must find other ways to socialize with teammates and friends. Likewise, finding healthy coping mechanisms to support pain, anxiety, and sleep habits is crucial.
Another way to help balance recovery and responsibilities is by focusing more on one’s athletics. As student athletes, schedules can become overly packed, which can decrease motivation. However, physical exercise can be an area of emphasis during this time, as it pairs well with active recovery. Those who participate in regular exercise have lower rates of substance use disorders (SUDs). By placing a greater focus on one’s athletics, a student athlete can prioritize their physical health over other responsibilities while in recovery.
What Is Outpatient Treatment at First Steps Recovery?
Clients who cannot take time away from their responsibilities for inpatient care are encouraged to join an outpatient program. Typically, clients will go into an intensive outpatient program (IOP). IOPs provide clients with the same services as inpatient care. These clients are required to spend a certain amount of time per week attending the treatment program. The length of an IOP is dependent on the individual, but it will likely last 60 or more days.
First Steps Recovery’s IOP provides clients with many resources. This includes mental health assessments, educational resources, individual counseling, group and family therapies, medication if needed, case management, and safe and sober transport. Having these amenities and services available provides a comprehensive and personalized approach. For student athletes, certain situations or stressors are unique to them, and First Steps Recovery addresses these for optimal recovery.
What Can Outpatient Treatment Look Like for Student Athletes?
Because IOPs do not require clients to stay on the facility’s campus, student athletes can fit their treatment program into their academic and athletic schedules. For instance, a student athlete may go to their classes, have practice, then head over to the campus for a group therapy session. On other days, clients may head over to First Steps Recovery for a nature-based holistic therapy.
Regardless of the therapies and treatments clients participate in, the IOP is meant to blend well into one’s existing schedule. Student athletes may feel like their days are packed. However, having a clear-cut schedule and maintaining focus on one’s recovery goals makes recovery less overwhelming. First Steps Recovery’s IOP is meant to benefit one’s life, not derail it or cause more stress.
Student athletes are supported every step of the way in their recovery journeys by a team of therapists, doctors, and specialists. Alongside these resources, clients are encouraged to build a support system with peers in the IOP. This way, student athletes can give and receive support as they embark on the recovery journey with others.
Benefits of Treatment for Student Athletes Long-Term
While creating this sober, sustainable life is the main focus of recovery, recovery also provides other long-term benefits. Student athletes regain clear focus on their life goals by eliminating toxins from their bodies and focusing on productive goals. Because a student athlete’s life can be hectic at times, recovery also teaches them much-needed skills. They learn to breathe and ground themselves in the present moment rather than allow stress to overwhelm them. Being grounded in the present moment and focusing on physical and mental health paves the way for a successful, productive life.
Here at First Steps Recovery, we understand that not every client can take time away from their responsibilities to join an inpatient program. However, recovery should be a priority, which is why we offer an intensive outpatient programs (IOP). The IOP provides clients with quality treatment while balancing their life’s responsibilities. This program is beneficial for student athletes at Fresno State who are balancing both academic and athletic responsibilities. Recovery keeps student athletes focused and grounded, allowing external stressors to wash away as they create a healthy and sober life. IOPs allow student athletes to attend sessions that fit best into their schedules while not being overwhelming. To learn more, please call us at (844) 489-0836.
Dr. Curl is the Medical Director and primary on-site provider for First Steps Recovery. He is a Board Certified Internist and Addiction Medicine Specialist having attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital with Harvard Medical School. Following several years work as an internist and physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation). Dr. Curl completed the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Howard University in Washington DC and participated as a RAM Scholar (Research in Addiction Medicine). While part of the fellowship, Dr. Curl pursued research investigating the barriers to expanding and improving medication for opioid use disorder. Following his fellowship, Dr. Curl spearheaded the Opiate Use Disorder outpatient clinic and worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Howard University Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Curl completed his Board Certification in Addiction Medicine.
