As I’ve mentioned, E2 is hosting a charity Fantasy Football league where the league fees ($600) are donated to the winning team’s selected organization. E2 is matching the total to allow the winning team’s charitable organization to receive $1,200 in financial support. Each participant can pick any charitable organization in any area of life (not intended for only mental health awareness). Every week (I’m SO behind!) I will write an article highlighting each organization represented and give a brief overview of the services provided. My wife Samantha and I are honored to be able to have this platform to raise awareness and support for these deserving organizations and are so grateful for the participants this year who are graciously donating!

As I’ve mentioned, E2 is hosting a charity Fantasy Football league where the league fees ($600) are donated to the winning team’s selected organization. E2 is matching the total to allow the winning team’s charitable organization to receive $1,200 in financial support. Each participant can pick any charitable organization in any area of life (not intended for only mental health awareness). Every week (I’m SO behind!) I will write an article highlighting each organization represented and give a brief overview of the services provided. My wife Samantha and I are honored to be able to have this platform to raise awareness and support for these deserving organizations and are so grateful for the participants this year who are graciously donating!

Cameron has selected Til Valhalla Project (TVP) and it’s certainly most deserving of recognition! Valhalla refers to “the hall of the fallen" in Norse mythology and the entire title represents a saying for those who serve of “Until we meet again in Valhalla.” Korey Shaffer, a USMC veteran, started this project with his wife to honor those soldiers who have fallen, regardless of their cause of death.

This is the first year of many more to come, where E2 is hosting a charity Fantasy Football league where the league fees ($600) are donated to the winning team’s selected organization. E2 will also match the total to allow the winning team’s charitable organization to receive $1,200 in financial support. Each participant can pick any charitable organization in any area of life (not intended for only mental health awareness). Every week, I will write an article highlighting each organization represented and give a brief overview of the services provided.

I strive to be the best version of myself everyday. I set goals, have expectations for myself, and work hard to “win the day”. This all sounds good, so why am I struggling? Why am I beating myself up at every moment of adversity? Why do I feel like I have failed?

I am not embracing the imperfections within my life.

As clinicians, we are trained to use a variety of therapeutic techniques so we can be adept in multiple ways to best serve our patients in their time of need. I have found that I gravitate toward Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as my foundation in sessions. It is an excellent treatment modality for a variety of topics or areas of concern. Without getting too far in the weeds, this type of therapy builds upon a core principle that our thoughts impact our feelings, and our feelings impact our behaviors. Let me give you an example:

Social Workers are celebrated for their dedication and service in the month of March. While I am not technically a social worker, I am employed with that title and take pride in the role and profession. However, I wanted to take a different approach for this article. You will find many articles throughout this month written about the hard work, dedication, and other admirable traits that my colleagues have which make them uniquely qualified for this role. But I wanted to take some time and describe what we are not. I feel that there are unrealistic expectations of a social worker at times and wanted to process these thoughts.

I am one week away 6 months without an energy drink. I have been at this stage before, but I am focusing on noticing changes in my thought process, behaviors, and physical sensations to avoid reverting back to drinking 3-4 cans of that anxiety-inducing garbage a day. Here is what I learned so far:

Over 12 years ago, when my wife and I announced we were engaged, I received a lot of marriage advice and counsel from people I considered or still consider invaluable in my life. A prevailing theme in these conversations were about the difficulty of marriage/relationships and the need to be adaptable. I heard stories from others that exemplified their strength and love in marriage, even in the most difficult of times.

I have a complicated relationship with caffeine and my drink of choice is an energy drink. I want to write a series on this topic that outlines the progress I have made in a concerted effort to abstain from energy drinks. It’s a fluid idea, but I want to discuss my thoughts at various stages in real-time.