Cornhole can help produce dopamine, relieving stress and anxiety
Two by two, people crowded around a bunch of cornhole boards placed around Diamond Park in Butler on Thursday evening, Aug. 14, generating a fair amount of friendly competition — prizes from area businesses were on the line for the top-placing teams.
The event also generated a fair amount of dopamine in the brains of the participants, which, actually, was the goal of the annual cornhole tournament, organized by a community group that aids people in recovery. Many of the event’s competitors came from organizations like the Grapevine Center, Care Center and Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, to find ways to feel the effects of dopamine coming from a natural source.
“It helps provide a sense of community and belonging, particularly for people who are recovering from substances who often isolate themselves and feel isolated,” said Ken Clowes, Butler County Community College’s Community Initiatives Center assistant. “Besides a chance to have some fun and get together and community, it takes away from that stuff. It helps them feel like they belong.”
Clowes organizes area events regularly through Hope is Dope, and the cornhole night has become a popular one, not only because of the entertainment that comes from the game, but also because local businesses chip in prizes for winning teams. Like the other Hope is Dope events, the cornhole tournament was free to attend, in order to get attendance from as many people in recovery as possible.
“This event doesn’t raise money, but we do have a lot of local businesses donate the prizes,” Clowes said.
Some teams playing cornhole that evening were friends who planned to team up for the game, while others paired together more spontaneously, having to develop their team dynamic on the fly.
JB Miller, care specialist with the Care Center, said before throwing his first bean bag that he and the staff of the center try to get its clients out and about semi-regularly, to experience the positive effects that Clowes described.
“We’re focused more on mental health, but there’s people here in recovery for substance abuse too,” Miller said. “I like to get out in Butler … get folks out for events like this.”
Other events organized for Hope Nights include speaker jams — open mic events that let people share their stories of recovery — and holiday meals — prepared dinner events where people can dine alongside one another, whether or not they are in recovery.
Clowes said any group outing can be beneficial to a person in recovery, because they activate parts of the brain that are also affected by drugs. He explained that he uses Hope is Dope to provide these feelings to people in an environment where they can feel included.
“In our classes we talk about producing your own natural endorphins and dopamine, and all the different ways you can do that,” Clowes said. “Having fun with a sense of community produces endorphins and dopamine, so that can open the range up to just about anything — sports, art.”
Hugh Miller, a frequent attendee of recovery-based events, said at the cornhole night he enjoys Hope Nights.
Wayne Patterson, of Butler, who also attends Hope Night events, said there are a lot of opportunities for people in recovery to get together.
“There’s a lot of recovery here in Butler,” Patterson said. “You’ve got the VA up there, you’ve got all kinds of places to go.”
