Corby Jackson is the Senior Clinical Director for the Existential Counselor Society. Professionally, he has a passion for helping addicts overcome substance abuse and alcohol dependency through a 28-day program that provides individual therapy focusing on identifying the behavior patterns that cause addiction. “It is my belief that…it’s what you’re allowing around you and yourself to be responsive to that feeds into your addiction.” This program is designed to address those external factors through individual treatment sessions paired with an alumni group that meets every Thursday to discuss health topics and how participants feel mentally and emotionally.
Outside of helping participants in their journey to sobriety and mental health, Jackson has found passion in other areas of his life, including his devotion to his health. In 2017, Jackson found himself in the hospital every three months at 835 pounds with sleep apnea, prediabetes, COPD, asthma, pulmonary embolism, low potassium, imbalanced testosterone, and high blood pressure. After his last hospital visit for pneumonia, in October 2019, Jackson began developing anxiety and the fear of death.
He then realized a serious need for a lifestyle change and began an exercise routine of walking one mile every day. The first year, Jackson lost 178 pounds with no weight loss assistance, but in the second year, at 665 pounds, he was still suffering from health ailments. He then decided weight loss assistance would help reduce his health issues faster, so he underwent gastric bypass surgery. As a result of the surgery, Jackson successfully accelerated his weight loss efforts and has lost a total of 400 pounds.
To assist in maintaining his weight loss achievements, Jackson has redefined the value food has in his life. “My family [and I were] big eaters. We would always have big meals…food was a reward, food was for good, bad, sad you know you got a bad grade, let’s get some pizza…these were the social norms for my family in how we celebrated. That’s no fault to my mom and my dad, I just think it’s more their upbringing as well as what they saw.”
Jackson went from eating for comfort and reward to eating foods that nourish and replenish him. “Food isn’t…a reward. Food is [for] nourishment. And that’s when I started to realize I can’t celebrate with the same things I was doing that harmed [me].” He began to realize that the idea of being able to have a cheat meal because “you deserve a reward” was the very thing that was killing him, and he wanted to be freed from the loop of “I ate [well] all this time I can cheat.”
If feelings of insatiability with his new eating habits became too overwhelming, Jackson would ask himself, “[If] I’m eating this, what am I gaining in my life? I have the ability to live longer; I also feel refreshed,” as a way to stay motivated in his life transformation.
For additional motivation, Jackson relies on the support of his friends and followers on social media to hold himself accountable. His journey is posted on Instagram, and he makes consistent updates on his progress. If someone does not see him walking, they will check on him, letting him know people support his journey.
Since the beginning of his journey in 2019, Jackson has transformed from a man who “lacks purpose and drive” to a man who has given value to every aspect of his life. “My health is wealth…if I were to die today, what will my existence be like? What would people say about me? Would their memory be solely based on the food and my weight or my size, or would it be based on my inspiration; my ability to help others?”
Interestingly, his weight loss journey further perpetuates his desire to help others. Jackson can empathetically apply the wisdom from his own experiences to better understand and serve in his role as clinical director. “I address myself [as] an addict when it comes to my eating disorder, and I can solely relate to [the participants]. I was sneaking. I was manipulating. I was lying. I was hiding. I was omitting things to avoid being vulnerable and authentic.”
Developing a mentality of being “rigorously authentic with yourself” has assisted in his efforts to facilitate changes in his program’s participants. “What’s the point [in] hiding or lying to yourself if it’s only going to harm [you] and make you think [what you’re doing] is acceptable?” This idea of avoiding authenticity is one of the leading behavioral patterns he works to change in the program’s members. His health journey enhanced his skills and abilities to be an effective vessel for healing within his profession.
Furthermore, he experienced many additional benefits from his weight loss journey that include improvements in the appearance of his hair, skin, and nails. “My hair is a lot better; it’s not as dry. Skin is a lot lighter. I used to have a lot of dark spots on my face, but it has cleared up…nails…they’re…clearer…my hands are skinnier. I can see veins.” It was hurtful whenever he was told that it was difficult to find veins because of his size during his many hospital visits.
Aside from becoming a stronger inpatient rehabilitator, developing a healthier relationship with food, and undergoing an overall change in his physical appearance, his health and confidence have also improved tremendously. His blood pressure went from being dangerously high to 121/82. He can sleep throughout the night and has more energy to exercise. “I do feel a lot better, I have a lot more confidence…in the mirror, my reflection, I feel happy. I’m not disgusted. I’m more like, ‘You’re getting there. Keep going. Don’t quit. Don’t make this [about] you’re-not-going-to-be-enough…No, you’re enough right now. Keep pushing.'”
This self-motivating mantra gave birth to Jackson’s greatest strength: consistency. “My mantra in life is: My consistency outweighs my doubts…[I can now] try things without quitting on myself.” He believes that if he remains consistent in his efforts to change his lifestyle, he can move further away from his struggles with food and weight gain and closer to true liberation from the prison of his eating disorder and image issues.
However, every aspect of this weight loss journey has not been pleasant for him. Once his relationship with food changed, his relationships with many people around him also changed, and he lost many friendships. He found himself surrounded by people who either enabled his eating disorder with phrases like “your weight’s fine” or who “placed periods in [his] life” by telling him, “You’re going to die by 30.”
“The reality is you have to be in control of the narrative…if you arent in control of that narrative, then people are going to place periods at the end of your life. And when people place periods at the end of your life they’re going to have you live up to [their] expectation of behaviors. Let me control my narrative. Let me be consistent in what I’m doing for myself. Because the focus is: if I want to live, I have to do anything that’s possible. It’s not for anyone else it’s for me and what I want to do to live. And that’s what I’m trying to promote to people: you control your narrative by defining how you want to live for yourself. Don’t let anyone else control that for you.”
Aside from controlling one’s narrative, Jackson also imparts wisdom on how one can motivate themselves to begin taking steps to a leaner, healthier future. “The first step is to just take a step, make a movement…it is building that foundation of movement but also defining what this weight-loss journey is going to be because it’s [a] journey…build some routine or foundation that you believe in, that you created so you can have ownership of it…when you have ownership of it, you’re not going to want to cheat on it…because this is something you built for [your]self.”
Standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, he aspires to lose another 100 to 160 pounds to achieve his goal weight of close to 290 pounds.
Jackson changed his life by taking control of his narrative. He believes in sharing these life-changing values with others.
Written by Hyleia Kidd
Source:
Interview: Corby Jackson on Jan. 20, 2022
