Becoming UnDone – Episode 143

Guest: Morgan Detrixhe
Host: Dr. Toby Brooks
Title: Morgan Detrixhe's Journey: From Struggle to Sobriety and Redemption
Release Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this powerful, candid conversation, Dr. Toby Brooks welcomes former student and athletic trainer Morgan Detrixhe to discuss her journey through athletic injury, addiction, and ultimately, to recovery and redemption. The episode explores perfectionism, the hidden struggles behind high-achieving facades, the shift from shame to self-compassion, and the transformative role of community, faith, and vulnerability. Morgan’s willingness to recover “out loud” is both testimony and encouragement to anyone navigating their own undoing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life, Athletic Dreams, and Identity

• Origins in Lubbock, Texas

  • Morgan details her active childhood and early dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, supported by family and shaped heavily by sports culture.
  • Quote: “For whatever reason, my dreams were to become a professional soccer player. I really thought that that was going to happen. It took reality and several injuries and whatnot for me to shift my mindset.” (05:20)

• Injury and Redefinition

  • Morgan suffered a devastating knee injury (women’s “unhappy triad”: ACL, MCL, meniscus) in high school, followed by a car accident in college, which both necessitated a significant reevaluation of her identity and aspirations beyond being an athlete.
  • “I had to help kids get back into their sport after they have an injury…because I just felt like I couldn’t do it anymore.” (08:02)

2. College, Grad School, and the Two Worlds of High Achievers

• Shifting Peer Circles

  • Post-injury, Morgan discusses drifting from athletic circles to party crowds, a move fueled by the loss of her athletic “tribe” and the search for belonging.
  • “That party crowd was still in Lubbock. And that’s where I drifted to.” (15:54)

• Performance & Perfectionism

  • Even while struggling privately, Morgan excelled in grad school and clinical work, perfectly masking her inner turmoil.
  • “We do. We have these two different realities…to the outside world, they see us as fun, organized, respectable professionals, and then inside we’re actually just falling apart.” (19:03)

• The ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ Effect

  • Morgan references recovery literature comparing the double life of high-functioning individuals in addiction.
  • “I was able to get stuff done as a college student, but I did get involved with this crowd…It calls us Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” (19:03)

3. Addiction’s Hidden Toll: Genetics, Stress & Societal Perceptions

• Family Warnings and Genetics

  • Growing up warned about alcoholism on both sides, Morgan admits not realizing her risk until much later.
  • “They warned me early on in high school, like, we’re going to be careful. You know, we have alcoholism on both sides of our family. And I just…thought I was a normal kid getting engaged with the partying life.” (10:39)

• Brooks on Societal Change

  • Dr. Brooks contextualizes addiction as a chronic brain disease rather than moral failure.
  • Quote: “Addiction is increasingly understood as a chronic brain disease…It hijacks neural pathways…” (12:01)
  • Adds that 50–60% of risk for alcohol use disorder can be genetic.

4. Professional Highs, Personal Lows

• Achieving Career Goals—but at a Cost

  • After grad school, Morgan secures a dream job with FC Dallas but soon finds herself overwhelmed—working 60–90 hours/week and failing to manage her drinking.
  • “I was working 60–90 hours a week and getting paid 40 and just really having a hard time with work-life balance.” (29:32)

• Rock Bottom

  • Despite attempts to “self-will” sobriety, the cycle worsens; Morgan cannot envision life either with or without alcohol.
  • “I just really hit this place where I couldn’t imagine my life with alcohol anymore, but…I couldn’t imagine not living with it. And I just really felt torn.” (29:32)

5. Seeking Help: Recovery, Faith, and Community

• Turning Point & Treatment

  • Morgan leaves her job, enters a treatment clinic, takes four months to recover, and reevaluates what matters most.
  • “I left my job at FC Dallas, and I took four months to kind of get my life together and reevaluate things.” (31:33)

• Recovering Out Loud

  • Morgan describes embracing vulnerability and sharing her story to help others escape shame.
  • “If someone would have planted the seed in me at a younger age, maybe I would have been able to catch on faster…So I started to be more recovery out loud.” (32:49)
  • “If we let people know that there’s a way out, then they don’t have to be alone anymore.” (39:03)

• The Role of Faith

  • Rediscovering spirituality was central to her transformation.
  • “I wouldn’t be here without a higher power. And I found God. And I’m really grateful for that.” (42:10)

6. From Scar to Service: Reimagining Success & Paying It Forward

• Life After Addiction

  • Morgan describes her rebuilt life—owning a home, being engaged, forming close friendships, serving at work—and marvels at joys she’d once dismissed as impossible.
  • “I never thought I could have a healthy relationship. I never thought I’d get married…But now I live a life where I’m vulnerable with others.” (48:37)

• Giving Back

  • The importance of helping other young women, being a beacon of hope for those struggling with addiction.
  • “Let us love you until you can love yourselves. They literally said that.” (54:43)

• Healing is Social

  • Community, especially among women who've been through recovery, is highlighted as crucial.
  • “Without them, that would have…who knows, you know, what would have happened. So I’m very grateful to them.” (54:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Mask of Functional Addiction
  “We have these two different realities…to the outside world, [they] see us as fun, organized, respectable professionals, and then inside we’re actually just falling apart.” — Morgan (19:03)

• On Recovery & Service
  “We like to say give service to those who are struggling and to give what we were given so freely out of someone else’s free time, give that to others.” — Morgan (45:07)

• Perfection vs. Acceptance
  “If you could go back in time and talk to Morgan without the scars, what would you tell her?”
  “Not to be afraid to make mistakes, but to learn from those mistakes. And it’s okay to make mistakes—you have nothing to be ashamed of.” — Morgan (51:11)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [05:20]: Morgan describes her athletic upbringing and soccer dreams.
• [08:02]: The impact of injury and the initial shift from player to helper.
• [15:54]: Discussion about identity loss and the drift towards party culture.
• [19:03]: Living a double life: professional success and hidden addiction.
• [29:32]: Hitting rock bottom: Overwork, unhealthy coping, and feeling trapped.
• [31:33]: The decision to seek help and commit to treatment.
• [32:49]: Choosing to recover publicly and shatter the stigma.
• [39:03]: On the importance of letting others know “there’s a way out.”
• [42:10]: Morgan’s spiritual awakening as cornerstone of recovery.
• [48:37]: Newfound gratitude for simple joys and close relationships.
• [54:43]: Community support in early recovery—“let us love you until you can love yourself.”

Closing Reflections

Dr. Brooks and Morgan close by reflecting on purpose, scars, vulnerability, and the joy of new dreams. Morgan shares that while she’s grateful for her hard-won material successes, the true gift of recovery is her ability to live openly, serve others, and be present for her future goals, including hopes of motherhood.

Song for the Journey

“Who Are You” by The Who, or an energetic EDM track—something upbeat and reflective of identity and growth. (56:47)

Contact & Support

Morgan invites anyone in need of support to reach out via social media or directly by email.

Summary Takeaways

• Addiction does not discriminate—Even high achievers with outward success can struggle profoundly.
• Stigma prevents healing—Open conversations and “recovering out loud” reduces shame and plants hope.
• Community, faith, and service—are foundational in building a life beyond addiction.
• Perfectionism is not the answer—Growth and fulfillment come from embracing imperfection and being honest with oneself and others.

For more: undonepodcast.com/ep143, Instagram: @morgan, Email: mndrygmail.com.