Courage

A Lesson From Gabby Giffords

by Bill Brenner November 18, 2011 Coping tools

I recently watched Diane Sawyer’s interview with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly. To say I was moved would be an understatement. Hers is the story of a spirited fight back from near death. If you ever get the feeling you can’t do something or overcome big challenges, you should watch this. It will show you that nothing is too big to overcome. http://youtu.be/VOZgta88L5A

Give Veterans More Than Lip Service

by Bill Brenner November 11, 2011 Coping tools

People on Facebook and Twitter are honoring U.S. veterans with words of gratitude and awe. All well and good, but not nearly enough for the countless vets who suffer in silence. Mood music: [spotify:track:0dOg1ySSI7NkpAe89Zo0b9] In so many ways, we continue to treat our veterans like shit. We let so many of them live on the streets, without proper shelter or medication for the mental illnesses they caught from watching comrades get ripped apart by shrapnel…  [Read More]

Learn From My Mistakes

by Bill Brenner November 4, 2011 Addiction

In all my efforts to get sane a few years ago, I did a lot of stupid things. I’m sharing it with you here so you don’t make the same mistakes: Mood music: http://youtu.be/l4Xx_vjGnlo –Don’t try to control your compulsive binge eating problem by fasting. You won’t make it through the morning, and then you’ll binge like you’ve never binged before. –Don’t mix alcohol with pills that have the strength of four Advil tablets in…  [Read More]

Being A Misfit Is Your Saving Grace

by Bill Brenner November 2, 2011 Courage

We often come undone when we start comparing our quirk-infested selves to so-called normal people. Instead, we should celebrate our insanity and put it to work for us. Mood music: [spotify:track:3d8yD2C8kNbs54mL9wboE1] I used to despise myself for the things I thought were weird and out of place. The windmill hands. The inability to sit up straight in a chair. My big nose and ears. My laughter toward things others would consider serious and even tragic….  [Read More]

Teddy Roosevelt Did It All. What’s Your Excuse?

by Bill Brenner October 27, 2011 Courage

Today is Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday, which I bring up because his is the ultimate story about staring adversity in the face, grinning and spitting in its eye. Mood music: TR was a sickly boy whose asthma often left him struggling for breath. He could have used that as an excuse early on to avoid life’s big challenges. Instead, he lifted weights obsessively and built himself into a bull of a man who would live what…  [Read More]

A Depressed Mind Is Rarely A Beaten Mind

by Bill Brenner October 21, 2011 Coping tools

A report in USA Today says 1 in 100 adults have planned their suicide in the past year, a statistic that doesn’t surprise me, knowing what I do about depression. Mood music: I’ve suffered a lot of depression in my day. I’m experiencing a touch of it right now. I’ve never seriously considered ending it. But I can easily see how someone in that state of mind could head in that direction. From the report:…  [Read More]

Support Your Local Crisis Hotline Person

by Bill Brenner October 13, 2011 Courage

One of the byproducts of writing this blog is that old friends and strangers have reached out to me for chats about what they’re going through. Mood music: http://youtu.be/mso6N_eqg_k You could say I’m doing an increasing amount of unpaid, uncertified counseling. I’d like to think it’s just me trying to be a good friend and following up on what I do here. It can be a bit much sometimes. That’s not a complaint. It’s just…  [Read More]

The Way Of The Broken Soul

by Bill Brenner October 11, 2011 Courage

I went to see “The Way” with Erin and saw a lot of myself in the characters. You’d see a lot of yourself, too. Mood music: The summary of the film is this (stolen from IMDb): Tom is an American doctor who goes to France following the death of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees during a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of St. James. Tom’s purpose is…  [Read More]

Lessons Steve Jobs Taught Us About Life

by Bill Brenner October 6, 2011 Communication Skills

The news is full of analysis this morning about all the ways Apple’s Steve Jobs changed the world. Rightfully so. But he was also an interesting case study in human nature, and we can learn from what was good and maybe not so good. Mood music: Let’s put aside talk of the iPhone, iPad etc., and talk about the man. I’ll admit that I’ve always been hard in my judgement of Jobs. Sure I have…  [Read More]

Be Yourself, Even If People Hate You For It

by Bill Brenner October 3, 2011 Communication Skills

The more I talk to fellow recovering addicts and emotional defects, the more I realize we have one big thing in common: We want to please everyone and be loved for it. Unfortunately, it’s an impossible goal that can lead to crushing disappointment. Mood music: It’s an especially stinging problem in the age of social networking, where some people have learned to measure their worth by how many “friends” and “followers” they have. Facebook in…  [Read More]

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