Addiction

We Need Routines, Part 2

by Bill Brenner February 28, 2011 Addiction

Here’s one reason February has been such a bitch: My routine has been so far off the rails that it has been hard to keep my perspective. It hurts the whole family-work dynamic. For a person in recovery, routines are beyond huge. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YzKLRM-pr4&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Being the restless, boredom-shunning soul that I am, I always look forward to the next trip. I always miss my wife and children during these outings, but it’s also good to…  [Read More]

Search and Destroy

by Bill Brenner February 20, 2011 Addiction

In the haze of my sickness of recent days, I’ve been listening to a lot of music. It’s not like I can do much else. This afternoon, I’ve turned my obsessions over to The Stooges. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFfnAvqf1pw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] The opening lines to “Search and Destroy” drag me kicking and screaming back to the mid 1980s, when destruction was my idea of a job well done. I’m a street walking cheetah with a heart full of…  [Read More]

When Honesty Is A Lie

by Bill Brenner February 16, 2011 Addiction

I’ve figured out another reason for my sour mood in recent days, and now is as good a time as any to get it off my chest. Mood music: A lot of people have been coming up to me here in San Francisco praising me for being “so honest, open and courageous” in this blog. It was a similar thing when I was in Washington D.C. for ShmooCon a couple weeks ago. I appreciate those…  [Read More]

Do Drunks and Recovering Addicts Mix?

by Bill Brenner February 14, 2011 Addiction

It can be tricky socializing with a recovering addict at a party. In some ways the guy who can’t drink or eat whatever he wants  is socially awkward. So how do you deal with someone like me? Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSih4o2YfmA&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] It’s a fair question, and one I’ve put some thought into since a good friend sent me this feedback: “As someone who knows several people who struggle with addiction issues I’m always hyper-sensitive to everything…  [Read More]

Snake on the Plane

by Bill Brenner February 12, 2011 Addiction

Tomorrow I get on another plane to another city — this time San Francisco. It’s time to go cover the RSA and B-Sides security events. I used to be a raving lunatic the day before a flight. Not anymore. Still, I feel uneasy this morning. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwzGvMwO-yg&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] My mind has been raw all week for a multitude of reasons. Mostly, it’s a case of winter getting to me. The sun is setting later each…  [Read More]

The New Slavery

by Bill Brenner February 8, 2011 Addiction

I reigned in my addictions to food and alcohol. I brought the compulsive spending down to a dull roar. But the Android. The Laptop. Technology is a new addiction and I’m a slave. In some respects, it’s strange that this is now my lot in life. For most of my adulthood, I was never an early adopter of the latest gadgetry. I didn’t own an iPod until late 2008, and it’s one of the older…  [Read More]

Even in Sobriety, Life Must Go On

by Bill Brenner January 26, 2011 Addiction

I’ve been posting lately about some of the dysfunction I encounter among people in AA and OA. I name no names, because our anonymity is vital. But some things are worth a rant or two. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpzIlWIF24k&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] I’ve ranted about folks who shove passages from the AA big book down my throat even when it’s obvious that they’re still messed up (See: Readings from the Book of Crap). I’ve also ranted about folks who…  [Read More]

Need More Proof It’s an Addiction?

by Bill Brenner January 19, 2011 Addiction

My new hero is a fellow Bostonian, Michael Prager. I mentioned him briefly yesterday as proof of what I’ve been writing here for the last year — that addictive behavior can latch onto food in destructive ways. Long before I realized I could only beat my addiction if I started treating it as such, and long before I started this blog, Prager was well on the road to recovery I now find myself on. There’s a…  [Read More]

See? I Told You It’s a Real Addiction!

by Bill Brenner January 18, 2011 Addiction

I’ve focused hard in this blog on blowing false notions to smithereens. One of those is the idea that compulsive binge eaters aren’t true addicts; that they’re just gluttons who lack discipline. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV-5eE_gpU8&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999] My argument — already supported by a growing chorus of medical and mental health specialists — is that this is a true addiction. I’ve lived it. I know it. And the only program that worked for me is the same…  [Read More]

When Recovery Becomes the Addiction

by Bill Brenner January 18, 2011 Addiction

I’ve noticed something interesting in the halls of recovery: Some folks cling to their program so tightly that their addictive behavior latches on to the program itself. In my opinion, this can get unhealthy. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvXkAIfJOEQ&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999] To find recovery in Overeater’s Anonymous (mine is a binge-eating addiction), the only requirement is to want to stop eating compulsively. It’s very simple. There is no “OA diet.” But there are a few different food plans people…  [Read More]

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