The Anxious Achiever Do You Speak Mental Health? Exploring Mental Health Literacy with Kent Coules & Donna Volpitta
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Apr 23, 2026 
Donna Volpitta, educator and co-founder of a mental health literacy collaborative, outlines brain-based resilience and prevention in schools and workplaces. Kent Coules, newsperson in long-term recovery, shares his high-functioning alcoholism story and habit-change journey. They discuss why coping habits mask anxiety, how addiction and achievement culture connect, and why teaching mental-health language matters.
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Habits Live In The Deep Brain And Need Replacement
- Habits are three-step loops: stimulus, behavior, and perceived reward, lodged in primitive brain regions.
- AA meetings succeed because they substitute a new behavior (attending) that delivers the same reward of relief as drinking did.
First Year Sobriety Pink Cloud Then Real Feelings
- Kent described the "pink cloud" first year of sobriety where everything felt euphoric, followed by a lull after meeting the one-year goal.
- Once honeymoon faded, normal human feelings and stressors surfaced and required new coping skills.
Connect With Recovery Community Immediately
- If you're struggling with addiction, connect with people in recovery who understand the experience and attend meetings frequently early on.
- Use community support because peers provide practical empathy and replacement behaviors that clinicians alone may not.
