This blog post, like all blog posts at this site, is about treatment for and recovery from substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. But we are going to start by talking about cars.
Cars are an important part of American culture, and over the years the look of cars on the road has changed over and over. If you consider vehicles decade by decade, you can see changes in style and technological innovations that continue to drive our fascination with cars.
In the mid-1960s, a new kind of car burst onto the stage. It was called the “pony car.” One car restoration site defines a pony car as “an affordable, compact, and stylish coupe or convertible that exudes a sporty and performance-oriented aura.” The quintessential example? The Ford Mustang.
Now, the Mustang is certainly not the only pony car to roll off of a car company’s assembly line, but it is unarguably one of the most—if not the most—beloved of the pony cars. How beloved? Well, since the 1964-and-a-half Mustang, there have been seven “generations” of the vehicle—and it is still going strong.
What does any of that have to do with substance use disorder treatment and recovery? Let’s rev up our engines and find out.
The ‘Make’ Is the Foundational Aspect
When you talk about the “make” of a car, you are referring to who manufactures that car. Lots of manufacturers have produced pony cars over the years including Chevrolet (the Camaro Z28), Dodge (the Hemi Challenger), and Pontiac (the Trans Am).
In that sense, the make of a car is fundamental. A whole bunch of cars share the same make—and each manufacturer has plenty of fans and plenty of detractors.
When it comes to recovery, we are big fans of a particular “make.” We believe a recovery grounded in abstinence from drugs or alcohol combined with a commitment to making good choices in various areas of your life is the best option. Those are the things that define recovery at its most foundational just as a manufacturer’s name stands for something foundational about a car company.
The ‘Model’ Defines the Details
For our purposes, we are using Ford as a stand-in for a recovery built on abstinence and good choices. That’s the “make.” But Ford makes a lot of different cars—and each of those cars has its own characteristics. Ford cars have included the Model T, the Fiesta, the Taurus, and, of course, the Mustang.
Choosing your favorite model is akin to designing your approach to recovery to meet your specific needs. Just as one person might pick a model based on seating capacity and another person might focus on fuel efficiency or safety, different people might emphasize different things as they work to keep their recovery intact.
For example, some people may find journaling to be a helpful practice in recovery. Others may find mindfulness or yoga to be of use. Some might lean into regular exercise, while others are intentional about getting enough sleep. All of those things—and many, many others besides—can be useful in recovery, but they won’t all be equally useful to, or handled the same way by, every individual.
That means the “model” of your recovery will likely be different from someone else’s—and that is okay.
The ‘Model Year’ Represents Continuous Change
Even a person who confidently affirms that their favorite car is the Ford Mustang is likely to be asked a follow-up question: What’s your favorite model year? Odds are you could find a Mustang enthusiast who would make a case for every year from 1965 to the present—and you could also find plenty of people who think that any given model year is no good. (For what it’s worth, here’s one publication’s list of nine great Mustangs.)
What we want to note about model years, however, is that they emphasize how things change over time. When it comes to your recovery, that might mean that something that works well for you in the early days of your journey gets replaced by a different practice later on that works better for you at that time. Eventually, you might go back. Or you might press ahead to other options as you continue to work toward lasting recovery.
Just like every model year of a Mustang is a Mustang—no matter how they have changed over time—every version of your recovery is your recovery.
Make This the Initial Model Year of Your Recovery
At Wooded Glen Recovery Center, located in Henryville, Indiana, we help individuals leave drugs or alcohol behind so they can rebuild their lives and reclaim their future. We are also equipped to address mental health disorders—including anxiety, issues grounded in trauma, or depression—that may be intertwined with a substance use disorder.
Trying to get through life while in the grips of a substance use disorder is like trying to go on a road trip in a car with no engine. When you are ready to get back behind the wheel of your own life, we are always here to help.