Depression

Don’t Fall For ‘Learned Helplessness’

by Bill Brenner March 27, 2012 Addiction

I’ve been watching Ryan Katzenbach’s documentary “Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders.” Forget the haunted house bullshit. The scariest thing about this case is how mental illness can destroy a family. Mood music: I’m not talking about divorced parents and kids going off into the world without a moral rudder. This story ends with six members of a family dead and the seventh in prison for life. Well, OK — the story goes…  [Read More]

Hey, Kids! Here’s Something For ‘When Your Brain Gets Stuck’

by Bill Brenner March 23, 2012 Children's issues

I just got a book in the mail called “What To Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid’s Guide To Overcoming OCD” by psychologist-author Dawn Huebner. I asked for a copy so I could review it, but it might warrant more than one simple review. Mood music: http://youtu.be/HiYK8TDbPRQ Someone I’m connected to on Facebook got a copy to help her OCD-suffering child. Since the upcoming relaunch of THE OCD DIARIES will have an expanded…  [Read More]

Rock School Would Have Helped Me

by Bill Brenner March 21, 2012 Addiction

Watching my kids in the Scouts makes me wonder what I’d be like today had I not been so against trying everything my parents suggested. Mood music: My parents were always trying to get me to join different organizations: The Jewish Community Center off of Shirley Ave. in Revere, Camp Menorah, etc. I rebelled against all of it. My parents were right to push these things on me. I was in the fourth grade and they…  [Read More]

What Else Is There?

by Bill Brenner March 20, 2012 Addiction

When I’m wallowing in self-pity, I like to ask that question. It always goes back to those moments when I’m not particularly enjoying the clean and sober life. Mood music: For the most part, it’s gotten easier. When you don’t spend all your time thinking about how to pull off a binge, you get to experience a much fuller life. You enjoy the company of people more. You pack a lot more living into your…  [Read More]

Such A Waste To Lose One’s Mind-Fulness

by Bill Brenner March 14, 2012 Communication Skills

A combination of OCD and ADD has given me a bitch of a handicap: Living in the moment and being present has become tough as nails. Health experts call this elusive thing I search for “mindfulness.” Mood music: Here’s what happens: When the OCD runs hot, I develop tunnel vision. I focus in on the task I’m either doing or thinking about. That’s good if you have a major work project to complete. It’s bad…  [Read More]

I’d Like To Blame My Parents, But…

by Bill Brenner March 13, 2012 Communication Skills

I’ve been frustrated lately over my inability to balance how I express emotions. Forget balance — I suck at emotion, period. Mood music: With my kids I get too emotional at times, showering them with kisses and telling them I love them a lot more than they probably care to hear. Duncan’s refrain is usually, “I know already, Dad!” With my wife I’m not emotional enough. When times get difficult — and even when they’re…  [Read More]

Depressed? Try These Remedies (Or Don’t)

by Bill Brenner March 7, 2012 Depression

I noticed on Facebook this morning that one of my friends is still fighting a persistent bout of depression. She said something about staring at her clenched fist for nearly ten minutes. Mood music: We’ve compared notes on our depressed moments in the past, and since I dealt with a lot of depression in December and January (give or take a month. Winter’s a bitch) I thought I’d share some observations. –The extra darkness of…  [Read More]

Recognizing Cries For Help In Your Friends’ Online Posts

by Bill Brenner February 29, 2012 Children's issues

For all the drama and groan-inducing crap we see on social media every day, there is a very redeeming quality in the social networking site. Mood music: It’s a good early-warning system for identifying friends in need. I’m not revealing anything you don’t know, but a New York Times article my wife sent me really drives the point home. Written by Times reporter Jan Hoffman, the article points out, among other things: For adolescents, Facebook and…  [Read More]

The Most Important Book Ever Written About Sharon Tate And The Manson Murders

by Bill Brenner February 25, 2012 Addiction

I’m reading a book called “Restless Souls: The Sharon Tate Family’s Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice,” written by Tate family friend Alisa Statman and Brie Tate, niece of Sharon Tate. It may well be the most important book written on the Manson case. Mood music: The simple reason is that it captures a family’s grief and struggle to move on — something all our families have dealt with in various forms. I’ve…  [Read More]

The Right Drugs Will Set Her Straight

by Bill Brenner February 21, 2012 Addiction

Here’s an advertisement that pushes a lot of different thoughts into one’s mind. Mood music: A friend shared it on Facebook recently: In case you can’t see the wording of this 1967 masterpiece, the high point is this: Beset by the seemingly insurmountable problems of raising a young family, and confined to the home most of the time, her symptons reflect a sense of inadequacy and isolation. …Serax (oxazepam) cannot change her environment, of course….  [Read More]

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