Planting Seeds of Recovery
That boost in serotonin the brain generates when stimulated by opiates or alcohol also occurs when interacting with plants and soil.
On Thursday, Sandy Curry, director of Community Action Partnership in Butler, led a potted plant workshop at the Butler Art Center, 344 S. Main St. Her goal was to demonstrate how anyone, but specifically the people in recovery, can find different methods to cope with troubles, including addiction.
“If you care for that plant, eventually it is going to get to the point where it is going to be large and beautiful,” Curry said. “It's a metaphor for what you can do if you start very small and make small changes in your life.”
The art center, in partnership with Butler County Community College, hosts Hope is Dope nights every few months. This Growing Hope edition was designed to provide people in recovery with a good environment to find hope for the future through education and activity.
“People in recovery or in support of recovery get together and have some fun and enjoy each other's company,“ Ken Clowes, community initiatives center assistant at BC3, said of the Hope nights.
Clowes invites different organizations to lead activities at every month’s Hope night. Each month has a different theme, and offers a new way for individuals to deal with their addictions, and Thursday had attendees painting pots and then planting seeds in them once dry.
Painting and planting are both methods of relaxation, according to Curry. Curry said she hoped the painters would find solace in the activity Thursday, especially the revelation that dirt is somewhat of an antidepressant.
“Hope nights are all about helping you create endorphins that help you replace that high that you get from whatever your addiction is,” Curry said. “If you get out and touch dirt, breathe it in and get dirty, literally it helps you feel good.”
About 25 people attended the workshop, many clients at the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center on Old Plank Road. A woman from Erie who is in treatment at the Gaiser Center said she had always enjoyed painting, but had fallen away from it during addiction. However, painting has been helpful in her recovery.
“I grew up in an addicted family and used painting as an escape,” she said. “The only time my thoughts stop is when I’m painting. It saved my life.”
A man from Butler who attended the Hope night said he has been in recovery for over two months, and discovered that he could paint at the event. He also said he thinks he will like tending to the plants.
“We have a small area out back I can keep the plant in,” he said.
Curry also said she had grown up using food as a coping mechanism, which she considered an addiction that led to other health problems.
She said tending to plants can not only be a mood-booster, but growing food for yourself can help you live a more healthy lifestyle. Additionally, plants can be great companions, she said.
“If you are growing it yourself, you can control what you are putting in soil, you can control what you are putting on plants and you are eating something healthier for you,” Curry said. “Plants are non-judgmental. They exist but they are not going to form an opinion of you. It shows you that caring for them that you can make a positive change in your environment.”
