Breaking the Cycle
Clayton Musgrove. Photo by Shanna Paxton Photography for Strophy Foundation.
Breaking the Cycle: Clayton Musgrove's Journey from Generational Patterns to Personal Triumph
We’ve all inherited family traits, and they can make us recognizable to others. Your height (or lack thereof), hair and eye color, musical ability, sports prowess, and double-jointed thumbs can all be passed down. Chances are you’ve been told you’re just like mom, dad, grandpa, or Great Aunt Mary in some way.
But some traits—and recognition—are more complicated. For Clayton Musgrove, it was being called out during a visit to DUI/Drug Court where officials had worked with several other members of the family. In his case, however, time in the program brought very different results and he’s breaking out of generational patterns one day at a time.
Musgrove attended DUI/Drug court in 2015. As part of the legal wrangling, Ellen, a program director said simply “I’m going to offer you the chance at a new life,” he recalls. He chose to attend the therapeutic courts as a way to both get clean and retrain his mind and thinking patterns.
“You can’t process things when you’re loaded,” says Musgrove. “Treatment taught me how to use logic, cope, feel, and problem solve as a sober person. It takes a while for the brain to heal but it changed my life. I’ve learned how to forgive, talk it out, and look at myself; things I didn’t know before. Because of that I’m still clean and sober.”
From the start, Musgrove was told by program facilitators that it’s going to be tough, but you can do it. And the future is bright…literally. He’s now an electrician for the state of Washington with advancement opportunities ahead. “I have a good job and I’m working on things because I had the chance to invest in myself.”
The Strophy Foundation helped fund EMDR therapy to address underlying trauma. The American Psychological Association explains that EMDR uses targeted eye movement. “Unlike other treatments that focus on directly altering the emotions, thoughts, and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory and is intended to change the way the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms,” say APA experts.
He’s one of the founding members of the DUI/Drug Court’s meeting groups. These sessions are only open to alumni of the system and helpful both as continuing support and encouragement for new participants. “It shows them that we made it out,” says Musgrove, “That we have jobs and lives and a future.”
The key to success, says Musgrove, echoes something he learned as a national champion martial artist. “You only get out of something what you put into it. When you’re using, you’re typically so focused on the next time you can use. When you learn to focus that drive on life, we can become successful. The brain tells you it’s hard, go get loaded instead and avoid the crushing reality of responsibility. But when I look back, I see that I was so selfish and insecure, I should have just trusted the process.”
“Life isn’t easy,” admits Musgrove, “you’ll fumble but pick yourself up and learn by it. We tell new group members that this isn’t any harder than what life will throw at you. Anyone can do it if they make the decision to succeed.” And that’s advice worthy of sharing with future generations.