Food

The Joyless Happy Meal

by Bill Brenner November 11, 2010 Addiction

I’ve been hearing a lot of stink over this toyless Happy Meal story. Maybe I can put the whole thing in perspective. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU16EBurb1Q&fs=1&hl=en_US] First, here’s the AP to tell you what happened to the beloved Happy Meal in San Francisco: Unhealthy kids’ meals to get less ‘happy’ in San Francisco San Francisco has become the first major American city to prohibit fast-food restaurants from including toys with children’s meals that do not meet…  [Read More]

Why Halloween Doesn’t Scare Me Anymore

by Bill Brenner October 30, 2010 Addiction

I used to hate Halloween with a passion. It’s one of the worst days for someone with a compulsive binge eating addiction. Now that I’ve broken the binging cycle, I find myself in the odd position of looking forward to the holiday. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohB922c2uQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] I used to dread it because I knew there would be candy everywhere. I would stuff it in my pockets, in the car and every other hiding space. Then I’d…  [Read More]

Fear of Fat People

by Bill Brenner July 14, 2010 Addiction

What do you tell someone who says they’re afraid of fat people because they might “catch the disease” if they get too close? Read on and discuss. Mood music for this post: “Afraid” by Motley Crue: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU-rtOouPOA&hl=en_US&fs=1] Someone in program told me that she’s afraid of fat people. Being in the same room with obesity fills her with terror. She’s worried that if she shakes a fat person’s hand, she’ll “catch the disease.” I couldn’t…  [Read More]

Coping With Tired: Tools of a Reformed Addict and OCD Case

by Bill Brenner July 13, 2010 Coping tools

Several writings about how the author copes with exhaustion. Mood music for this post: “I’m So Tired,” from The Beatles White Album: Someone who saw my “songs to play when tired” post asked what I do about being tied besides music and coffee. People with addictions and mental disorders are often tired — even when in recovery. These writings cover how I keep exhaustion at bay: Rest Re-defined The author finds that he gets the…  [Read More]

Flour and Sugar: A Tale of Slavery

by Bill Brenner June 21, 2010 Addiction

The author has been asked how he gets by with no bread, pasta and all the other flour-sugar substances. Here’s his answer. Update: A recent New York Times Magazine article on sugar as a toxin is worth reading as a companion to this post. Article summary: “That it makes us fat is something we take for granted. That it might also be making us sick is harder to accept.” Mood music: A reader of this…  [Read More]

Prozac or Potatoes: Which is Better?

by Bill Brenner May 22, 2010 Food

The author votes for some of each. Though only 2 ounces of potato at a time. Mood music for this post: “We’re All Gonna Die” by Iggy Pop and Slash: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ5Rmt7jYhQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&] At the suggestion of my friend Christy Hubbard, I decided to check out Kathleen Des Maisons’ book “Potatoes Not Prozac.” She suggested I take a look after reading a couple of my previous posts about being a Prozac taker. [More on that in The…  [Read More]

How a Binge Eater in Recovery Packs for a Trip

by Bill Brenner May 12, 2010 Addiction

The author’s program of recovery from addiction makes travel more interesting. Here’s how. Mood music for this post: “White Trash Circus” by Motley Crue: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w5eegIa97s&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Traveling was easier when I had my face in the junk food. I would just buy whatever poison I wanted to binge on and that was that. Of course, in doing so I had practically no drive to get out there and live. A couple years into my 12-Step Recovery…  [Read More]

An OCD Diaries Primer

by Bill Brenner March 20, 2010 Addiction

A collection of posts that form the back story of this blog. Mood music: [spotify:track:19n9s9SfnLtwPEODqk8KCT] The Long History of OCD An OCD Christmas. The first entry, where I give an overview of how I got to crazy and found my way to sane. The Bad Pill Kept Me from the Good Pill. How the drug Prednisone brought me to the brink, and how Prozac was part of my salvation. The Crazy-Ass Guy in the Newsroom….  [Read More]

Regulating Addictive Food: A Lesson in Futility

by Bill Brenner January 25, 2010 Addiction

As an obsessive-compulsive binge eater, the author feels it’s only proper that he (cough) weigh in (cough) on the notion that regulating junk food might help. Here’s why the answer is probably not. Since I know what it’s like to be deep in the muck of a binge-eating addiction, my wife thought I might find interest in an article from The Environment Report suggesting that the regulation of foods that are bad for you —…  [Read More]

The Most Uncool Addiction

by Bill Brenner December 8, 2009 Addiction

In this installment, the author opens up about the binge-eating disorder he tried to hide for years — and how he managed to bring it under control. I don’t beat myself for having engaged in addictive behavior. That kind of thing is obvious for someone with OCD. If there’s a compulsion to be rubbed raw, you go for it, no matter how destructive it is on body and soul. Then you wake up the next…  [Read More]

Next Entries →