My Journey
My first time seeing a therapist happened after my first week discharged from an inpatient facility for substance use. With a significant transition in my life at the ripe old age of twenty years old, existentially I didn’t know what to think about regarding my situation and I certainly didn’t know how I felt about myself or my life in general. I was living with a feeling that I can most closely describe as dispirited. With my newfound sobriety and an eye-opening reality to what was going on in my life, I saw my first therapist. I talked to him about the things I would ignore, intentionally glaze over, and be in denial about- it was sobering. In the early weeks of my sobriety a conversation with my parents sparked a profound realization. My Mom told me that I generally was not a happy kid growing up. When she told me this, I was surprised! I was hit with confusion, I never took time to look back on my life to think that maybe there was discontentment or even sadness. How could this be? Was I a depressed kid, was I not happy? My life flashed before my eyes, but it gave me a good talking point with my therapist. We looked at my thoughts and how I felt about it. Was this why I abused substances? To be transparent, that big question of “Why am I an alcoholic, why am I an addict”, was a big motivator for me to seek therapy after inpatient. And in full transparency, that question was answered (but in a way that I wasn’t expecting). One of the reasons I continued my sobriety early on was because of therapy and the connection I had with that therapist.
My sobriety has instilled one of my life’s purposes. Which is to have a life of service. I’m fortunate that my profession, passion, and career gives me the ability to help you help yourself, sometimes at a lifesaving level. There is no job benefit better than that…it’s priceless. Though, like everyone, my job can still be a four-letter word (w.o.r.k :) because of that, there are other aspects of my life that also lead to my mission. My wife and I are involved in various forms of assistance to others in different areas of our lives. Helping others is a trait of ours as social workers but it has also been engrained in us from our families.
I’m glad to inform that my family is growing, as I’ve recently been blessed with a second daughter, and I couldn’t be happier as a girl dad. My daughters continue to teach me as much as I teach them. My wife and I have full schedules, but we enjoy the great outdoors. We love our getaway trips to the mountains in our favorite log cabins where we enjoy the fresh air, hike, swim and appreciate the little to no internet! We equally enjoy going to crystal blue waters to scuba dive. I was blown away when I realized the most vibrant colors, I have ever seen were underwater! The older I get (and the more kids I have) the less time I spend rock and ice climbing but it sure is a thrill for a hobby.
Creating the Recovery Collective LLC began as a passion project and created with the mindset that I can ultimately have more balance in my personal life with my family. Previously running a 24/7, 365-day facility prevented me from the flexibility…and the weekends that I now have. Not always being on call frees up my ability (and mental capacity) to be more present in all aspect of my life. For my family ,friends, and those I serve.