December 2009

OCD DIARIES 12-30: The Break

December 30, 2009 Addiction

The author tries to take a break from writing, but chaos in the form of his two sons reminds him of another lesson worth sharing. Sean and Duncan have the audacity to fight over video games at this early hour, my usual writing window. Back before I found control over the OCD, this normal childhood [...]

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Insanity to Recovery in 8 Songs or less

December 29, 2009 Coping tools

The author shares some videos that together make a bitchin’ soundtrack for those who wrestle with mental illness and addiction. The first four cover the darkness. The next four cover the light. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a devoted fan of hard rock and metal music [See How Metal Saved Me]. I’ve found that the [...]

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OCD DIARIES: The 12 Steps of Christmas

December 29, 2009 Addiction

The author reviews the 12 Steps of Recovery and takes a personal inventory. There’s really no Christmas theme here, other than that the author found the headline catchy. I’m reconstituting my OA food plan quite nicely since the Christmas Eve scare. I’m lucky for not having slipped completely. Now I find myself thinking about the [...]

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Scaring the People in Your Life

December 28, 2009 Love

The author is hearing from a lot of old friends shocked to read about his past. Thing is, basket cases are good at hiding their craziness in public. To most of my family, the stories I tell in previous posts aren’t all that surprising. They were there. My in-laws may not have known everything that [...]

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OCD Diaries 12-27: Edge of a Relapse

December 27, 2009 Addiction

The author comes dangerously close to a relapse, but lives to fight another day. Mood music for this entry: “Accidents Can Happen,” by Sixx A.M.: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nan4Kdtz-9w&hl=en_US&fs=1&] It was bound to happen sooner or later. That moment where the addiction would come calling again. [Instead of retreading my history of addiction here, I'll point you toward [...]

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Fear Factor

December 23, 2009 Children's issues

In this installment, the author describes years of living in a cell built by fear, how he broke free and why there’s no turning back. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt This morning I led a meeting of Over-eaters Anonymous, a task that included standing before a [...]

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The Ego OCD Built

December 22, 2009 Lessons from the past

The author has an ego that sometimes swells beyond acceptable levels and OCD fuels the fire.  Mood music: Last night I got on here to explain that sometimes OCD is good for me, in the sense that it provides fuel for my professional ambitions. Some might look at the post and think I was letting [...]

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OCD Has its Benefits

December 21, 2009 Mental disorders

I’ve joked to people before that having OCD isn’t all bad. One benefit is that it gives you extra drive to get things done. Most of the time that drive is spent on all the wrong things: checking the door eight times to make sure it’s locked, going bat-house crazy when something on your desk [...]

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The Bridge Rats of Point of Pines, Revere

December 21, 2009 Lessons from the past

In this post, the author reviews the imperfections of childhood relationships in search of all his OCD triggers. Along the way, old bullies become friends. I used to blame childhood bullies and name-callers for all the things that led to an adulthood with OCD. I was bullied, you ask? You betcha. I was called a [...]

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Fear of Loss

December 20, 2009 Family

The author looks back at fear of loss and how he learned to enjoy the precious present.

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