Bill Brenner

Boredom: An OCD Case’s Worst Friend

by Bill Brenner July 13, 2011 Addiction

Last year I wrote about how boredom is one of the most dangerous things an addict can encounter. It’s equally true for someone with OCD. Mood music: The mood music today is especially fitting for the topic. Like the addict who is bored, the OCD case who is bored gets an itch and restlessness that causes you to search and destroy. I’m a street walking cheetahwith a heart full of napalmI’m a runaway son of…  [Read More]

The Brady Bunch Offended Me

by Bill Brenner July 12, 2011 Children's issues

Sherwood Schwartz, creator of “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch,” has died at age 94. Naturally, I’m remembering how I hated “The Brady Bunch” for giving me a fake picture of family life. Mood music: I hated “The Brady Bunch” because it made me so angry that my own family was never like that. But then no one’s family is really like that. I did like the movie adaptations that came out in the 1990s…  [Read More]

A Happy Memory From A Difficult Time

by Bill Brenner July 12, 2011 Addiction

It’s sometime in October 2008. I’ve just given given up flour and sugar to get control over a binge-eating addiction. Mood music: I’m irritable and sick, going through all the aches and pains that surface when toxins start to drip from the pores. I’m coming up the stairs from work, anxious to get all the chores that await me over with. I open the door to find Duncan sitting in his chair at the kitchen…  [Read More]

OCD and Crohn’s Disease Linked?

by Bill Brenner July 11, 2011 Crohn's Disease

A fellow OCD chronicler sent me two articles suggesting a link between OCD and Crohn’s Disease. I have both and several people have asked if I see connections between the two. This is my attempt at an answer. Mood music: From the beginning, I’ve tied the two diseases together in my journey. At various times, one disease has played off the other, sending me to the depths of insanity. Both certainly contributed to my developing…  [Read More]

Up Your Bucket

by Bill Brenner July 11, 2011 Music therapy

I’ve been enjoying a local band called Up Your Bucket of late. For someone who uses hard rock and metal as a coping tool, this stuff hits me where I live. The raw, loud, dirty nature of it goes to show — once again — that Boston’s music scene is among the best. I won’t attempt to describe them. I’ll just show you a couple videos from a show they did July 4. I’m a…  [Read More]

R.I.P. Betty Ford

by Bill Brenner July 9, 2011 Addiction

Former first lady Betty Ford has died at age 93. I wanted to honor her here, because her honesty and bravery about her own battles with substance abuse went far in smashing the stigma attached to addiction. ABC News said it best in its obituary: She lived in the White House in an era during which she was expected to simply serve tea and host luncheons but instead, she fought for women’s rights and spoke openly about…  [Read More]

A Lesson About Life From Roy Blount

by Bill Brenner July 8, 2011 Adventures in writing

I went with Erin to Concord, N.H. last night to hear a talk from writer and humorist Roy Blount Jr. Some of you might recognize the name from the NPR news/comedy quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!  Mood music: Truth be told, Erin is a bigger fan than I am. But I enjoyed his talk. Especially when he offered advice to a guy in the audience who sought advice for his son, an aspiring writer. Blount’s advice went…  [Read More]

Sean’s OCD Education

by Bill Brenner July 8, 2011 Children's issues

The setting: Our living room, where Sean and Duncan are folding laundry under my supervision. I’m nagging at the kids to get the job done. No getting distracted, I tell them. No complaining. Just get the chore done. Sean: “Dad, is this your OCD acting up?” Me: “What do you mean?” Sean: “You insisting that we get this done right now. Are you having an OCD moment?” Me: “No. If I were having an OCD…  [Read More]

Does This Post Offend You?

by Bill Brenner July 7, 2011 Communication Skills

This is a first: I was re-posting a piece of content on Facebook and got this push back: “This message contains blocked content that has previously been flagged as abusive or spammy. Let us know if you think this is an error.” Mood music: The post was about some old elementary school pictures that show the year-to-year effect of the Prednisone I took for Crohn’s Disease. In the post, I express gratitude for the support I got…  [Read More]

My Changes, Your Frustration

by Bill Brenner July 7, 2011 Family

Recovery over addiction, fear and anxiety has been a miraculous, beautiful thing. I thank God every day. But when a man changes, a whole new set of problems arise. The changes have been especially challenging for Erin. I’ll let her explain it from her perspective in a future guest post, but I can tell you this much: It’s a confusing, frustrating thing when your spouse acts one way for a bunch of years and then,…  [Read More]

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