Fear and anxiety

Kiera Wilmot Case: Proof We’ve Gone Off the Deep End

May 2, 2013 Fear and anxiety

You want an example of how fear has pushed society off the deep end? Check out the case of 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot. Mood music:  Out Ta Get MeGuns N’ RosesAppetite For Destruction A student of Bartow High School in Florida, Wilmot did something worthy at least a few weeks of after-school detention: She mixed a few chemicals [...]

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Williams-Sonoma’s Overreaction to Boston Bombings

April 26, 2013 Fear and anxiety

I wish I could appreciate Williams-Sonoma’s decision to pull pressure cookers off the shelves in Massachusetts following the Boston Marathon bombings. It was done to show some respect for those who might be traumatized at the sight of a pressure cooker, which the bad guys used as their bombs. But the move was foolish. It’s [...]

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TV News and Depression: How I Learned To Turn It Off

April 21, 2013 Depression

This week’s news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and the aftermath only hardened the feelings I express below. I have nothing but contempt for the big three: CNN, Fox and MSNBC. Local news did a far more admirable job covering this tragedy. Mood music:  TV PartyBlack FlagDamaged I find myself increasingly outraged at what [...]

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The Worst Abuse of All

April 8, 2013 Fear and anxiety

I’m taking a lot of abuse lately, the kind that leaves me mentally tired and physically aching. It’s not abuse from family, work colleagues or law enforcement, however. I’m doing it to myself. Mood music:  Mistreated – LiveRainbowLive In Munich 1977 In the past, I’d binge myself sick in times of uncertainty, but these days [...]

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Human Tourniquets And Freaks Who Love Them

March 29, 2013 Communication skills for the crazy

I originally wrote this three years ago. Looking at it again, it’s an important post describing a time when not even best friends were safe from my insanity. I’ve updated it for the present.  Mood music:  TourniquetMarilyn MansonAntichrist Superstar You know the type. They hang  out with people who act more like abusive spouses than [...]

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This Time, Anxiety Won

February 23, 2013 Fear and anxiety

A confession: This past week, I’ve done a miserable job using my many coping tools to manage OCD and anxiety. What makes this particularly sinister is that I’ve just finished a week of vacation with the kids. Mood music:  Hysteria – LiveDef LeppardMirror Ball – Live & More Everything I’ve told you in past posts [...]

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What’s Your Phobia?

February 18, 2013 Fear and anxiety

I’ve recently come across a couple of interesting phobia lists, and being the OCD head I am, I decided to carefully go through the lists to see which applied to me. Mood music:  Crazy Train – Remastered Original RecordingOzzy OsbourneBlizzard Of Ozz (Expanded Edition) The Phobia List is a straight-up dictionary of phobias, in alphabetical [...]

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Naming Winter Storms: Good Intentions, Bad Idea

February 8, 2013 Fear and anxiety

Here we are, waiting for another “potentially historic” storm to strike the Boston area. Two feet of snow is expected, along with high winds and five-foot snow drifts. Fair enough. It’s winter and we haven’t had a significant snowfall yet. But I’m baffled by the logic behind naming these storms. Mood music:  Rider In The [...]

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Bullet-proof Backpacks, Whiteboards: Logical Or Lunacy?

January 24, 2013 Fear and anxiety

After what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School, would you buy your child a bullet-proof backpack? If you’re a teacher, would you want to have a bullet-proof whiteboard? A couple companies think so. Mood music:  JeremyPearl JamTen A friend who happens to be a teacher brought these to my attention yesterday, and my first reaction was [...]

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When Living in the Past Is Your Only Sanctuary

December 13, 2012 Fear and anxiety

I had coffee with a friend and former coworker recently, and we reminisced about some of the colorful characters we’ve worked with. One person we particularly admired has suffered through a life of depression, fear and anxiety and is mostly a recluse these days. Mood music:  AfraidMötley CrüeGeneration Swine When this person does surface to [...]

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