Bill Brenner

Freaking Out A Mouse With OCD

by Bill Brenner November 14, 2012 OCD

While I finish recovering from Typhoid fever (that’s what it felt like, anyway), I give you this video by Steven A. MacLeod. Two observations: 1.) The portrayal of an OCD sufferer is accurate. 2.) The kid in this video is mean. http://youtu.be/HeXTMzP7ijk

Starting Over

by Bill Brenner November 9, 2012 Fitness

In a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve been starting everything over this past week. Not in big, drastic ways, but in little ways that will hopefully add up to something good. Mood music: [spotify:track:3IRovqSVYx3CNtDWRebsET] There’s the afternoon tea I’ve been drinking instead of Red Bull and more coffee. There’s the meditation and yoga. And there’s the significant tightening of my food plan. What’s the reason for all this? I attribute some of it…  [Read More]

To a Friend: Your Pride Is Killing You

by Bill Brenner November 8, 2012 Mental health

A longtime friend is letting a bout of depression hold him back. He needs a helping hand but won’t ask for it because he’s too proud. This post is for him and anyone else living under the delusion that not getting help is a sign of strength. Mood music: [spotify:track:2FEfAIvMfp24ZBRVCZIiBZ] I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there many times myself. I’ve had bouts of depression that made me lose interest in everything except…  [Read More]

Five Takeaways From Election 2012

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2012 Political discourse

It’s no surprise to see my friends’ reactions on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. Obama supporters are elated; Romney supporters are bitter. One person lamented that “things will never be OK again!” Mood music: [spotify:track:5Qy0zLjQy3czoj0yZ7DFkk] I feel for those who wanted a different outcome. This election season was particularly heated among friends and family. I saw a lot of relationships tested and damaged. Some were accused of hate speech, bigotry and conspiracy-spinning. That certainly happened in…  [Read More]

Time for Tea

by Bill Brenner November 6, 2012 Addiction

This is going to shock a lot of you, given the steady flow of coffee you’ve watched me drink day after day, but try to stay calm. I’m drinking tea, and lots of it. Mood music: [spotify:track:4NlR3rwvLtLcLuKZxIiYp4] This change wasn’t planned. No doctor told me to do it or risk a heart attack. And I haven’t given up my beloved java. In recent days, I’ve started splitting the day between coffee and tea: coffee in…  [Read More]

Life in a Place of Death

by Bill Brenner November 5, 2012 Gratitude

As regular readers know by now, I’ve been taking a class on how to keep my attention on the present. Saturday was an all-morning session that included a silent, hour-long walk through Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Mass. A lot of us tend to see cemeteries as a place of death. But I found a lot of life there, instead. Mood music: [spotify:track:4s4S5JJGfqXGlNY6eQZWQB] This wasn’t a new experience for me. There are three cemeteries within…  [Read More]

Stop Thinking You Have the Whole Story

by Bill Brenner November 2, 2012 Communication Skills

I’m watching a lot of people go apeshit this morning over a restaurant receipt someone posted online. Apparently a single mom was too poor to tip her server on a meal that cost $138.35. Have a look: Mood music: [spotify:track:40xbKf7Zdf27jO00tcqTkG] It looks real enough, but I’ve grown skeptical of most online pics these days. It’s easy to fake images these days. But real or not, somebody posted it to get a reaction, so I’ll take…  [Read More]

Election 2012: A Disney Production

by Bill Brenner November 1, 2012 Political discourse

There’s a lot of anxiety in the air. Many people are biting their nails over next week’s presidential election. Just as many are freaked out because George Lucas sold his Star Wars franchise to Disney. Disney taking over Star Wars? Among true sci-fi fans, it’s cause for major depression. As for the election, half the population will be proclaiming the end of the world this time next week. Mood music: [spotify:track:7Kho44itYaCQZvZQVV2SLW] Yet the American and…  [Read More]

Halloween Ho-Hum

by Bill Brenner October 31, 2012 Mental health

Some of my friends go bonkers for Halloween. They run an endless torrent of zombie apocalypse memes on Facebook. They revere the holiday above Christmas and Easter. Good for them. It’s more of a ho-hum holiday for me. Mood music: [spotify:track:3iuftv60t76f8Lps5TZPXl] It would be easy to tell you I’m down on Halloween this year because so many people are suffering this day from the damage Hurricane Sandy left them with. But the truth is that…  [Read More]

Another ‘Crazy Mike’ Facebook Page? Jerks.

by Bill Brenner October 30, 2012 Political discourse

Last year, I found a disgusting Facebook page making fun of someone with a serious mental illness. The site was taken down, but now there’s a new page dedicated to the man locals call Crazy Mike. I want the creator and those who like the page to know something. By embracing such a page, you are making a much broader statement: either that you don’t understand the suffering a person experiences from mental illness or…  [Read More]

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