Fear and anxiety

What’s YOUR Insanity?

by Bill Brenner May 23, 2011 Addiction

“Paint a garbage can platinum and underneath, it’s still a garbage can.” Nikki Sixx In Chapter 3 of the AA Big Book, we’re introduced to an alcoholic named Jim. He has a successful business until he starts drinking at age 35 in an attempt to dull a nervous tick, and everything goes to hell. From pages 35-36: “In a few years he became so violent when intoxicated that he had to be committed. On leaving the…  [Read More]

Talk About The Weather

by Bill Brenner May 23, 2011 Depression

New England has been mired in a soupy, cloudy, downright dreary weather pattern for most of the last week or so. We were teased with sunshine Saturday, only to be tossed back under the clouds Sunday. For someone prone to mental illness, this is hell. Mood music: Like most people with mental ticks, too much of this weather is bad for my well being. It throws me into a prolonged period of discouragement and depression….  [Read More]

Who Raptured My #!&% Tire?

by Bill Brenner May 20, 2011 Fear and anxiety

All this talk about The Rapture has me thinking. Allow me to share. Mood music: First, this whole thing reminds me of a day in fifth grade when I was scared out of my brains by a prediction that the world would end because of something called the “Jupiter Line-up,” in which all the planets in the solar system were supposed to shift orbits and crush us all like bugs in the process. This was…  [Read More]

Back Story Of THE OCD DIARIES

by Bill Brenner May 14, 2011 Addiction

Since I’ve been adding new readers along the way, I always get questions about why I started this thing. I recently expanded the “about” section, and that’s a good starting point. But more of a back story is in order. Mood music: Before I started THE OCD DIARIES in December 2009 with a post about depression hitting me during the holidays, I had always toyed with the idea of doing this. The reason for wanting…  [Read More]

Firing Someone For Mental Illness Is An Outrage

by Bill Brenner April 19, 2011 Children's issues

If someone does a lousy job at work, they deserve to be fired. If someone does the job well but is fired because they have a mental illness, that’s an outrage. Mood music: [spotify:track:0OGwOky2l941SPRkE56kU9] This morning’s tirade brought to you by this comment posted on the LinkedIn NAMI group discussion board: I lost my job as Director – Communications from a regional Chamber of Commerce after disclosing my 30 years of living and working with…  [Read More]

When Does It Get Better? (A.K.A. Happiness After Suicide)

by Bill Brenner April 5, 2011 Coping tools

I got a note last night that moved me enough that I need to get it out here. It was from a woman who was close to Zane Mead, who I wrote about a few months back. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NlGbLbUl_w&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] I don’t remember Tammy Digan from back in the day, but that doesn’t surprise me. I was mostly a loner back then. Except for a few close friends, I kept to myself. But I…  [Read More]

Lies Of The Not-So-Beautiful People

by Bill Brenner March 31, 2011 Communication Skills

I’ve been hooked this week on the new Sixx A.M. song “Lies of the Beautiful People.” The video includes a lot of the photography that inspired the upcoming album and book, “This is Gonna Hurt.” Note: The videos below, when you click on them, will direct you to watch on YouTube. Please do, since you have to see it to get the point of this post. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxMHtjQW6ZQ&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] In interviews, Nikki Sixx describes his passion…  [Read More]

How I Can Be Happy Despite Myself

by Bill Brenner March 29, 2011 Addiction

I see a lot of moody people out there on Facebook and Twitter these days. Though I try not to put random complaints on my wall, my darker moods often come across in this blog. But in the big picture, I’ve found ways to be generally happy despite myself. Mood music: Allow me to share. But first, a couple acknowledgements: 1.) I stole this post’s title from somewhere. 2.) I readily admit that despite what…  [Read More]

Change Is Pain, But Not Impossible

by Bill Brenner March 28, 2011 Addiction

Last night’s 12-Step meeting reminded me of just how hard real change is. I used to measure change by who won the next election. I’ve realized that the only real change that matters is within myself. Naturally, it’s the hardest, most brutal kind of change to achieve. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkxDgCIsOw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Last night’s AA Big Book reading focused on steps 8, 9 and 10: 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and…  [Read More]

What’s This Freakin’ Blog Really About, Anyway?

by Bill Brenner March 17, 2011 Addiction

I’ve gained several new readers in the past month. They have a lot of questions for me, which I like and appreciate. The most common question goes something like this: “What exactly is the focus of this blog?” Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4eVul99m50&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] It’s a fair question. Here’s the explanation. In this case the embedded links are important to seeing the whole picture. But don’t try to read them all at once. That would be insanity….  [Read More]

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