Grief management

Death Of A Second Sibling

by Bill Brenner November 15, 2011 Coping tools

Fifteen years ago I lost the friend who had become my older brother and rudder. A vicious cycle of depression destroyed his body, but it failed to kill his soul. Mood music: For a lot of my more religious friends, that has to sound odd, if not foul. We’ve been taught that suicide is a mortal sin, the kind that sends the soul straight to hell. I used to believe that. Now I think that…  [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]

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]

Happy Birthday, Old Friend

by Bill Brenner October 7, 2011 Depression

It just dawned on me that today would have been Sean Marley’s 45th birthday. You’ve seen much here about how his life and death shaped me. But right now I just want to point out all that was cool about him. Mood music: –He was a gifted guitarist. He could learn to play just about anything, and could write great musical bits when he wanted to. He gave me my first guitar for Christmas in…  [Read More]

People Who Die And The Mid-Lifers They Leave Behind

by Bill Brenner October 4, 2011 Coping tools

As we walked into the funeral home for the wake of our old friend Al Marley, Mary Anastasio stopped, looked at me and said, “We’re adults now.” That’s how it is when you hit middle age. Your parents’ generation starts dying at an accelerated pace. Then comes the crisis that isn’t really a crisis if you stop and think about it. Mood music: http://youtu.be/9mcloY9BlOU A lot of my contemporaries are starting to go through the mid-life…  [Read More]

To Family And Friends Of Gene Schultz, Jr.

by Bill Brenner October 4, 2011 Grief management

The death of information security luminary Earl Eugene Schultz, Jr. this past weekend is something I’m covering as a news item. But I feel the need to come on here and say a few personal words. First, a song I think is appropriate: To Gene’s friends and family, I want to extend my deepest condolences for your loss. I didn’t know him as well as you did, but he was kind and helpful to me the…  [Read More]

Midwest Center For Fraud And Bullshit: Epilogue

by Bill Brenner September 27, 2011 Coping tools

When I wrote about spending $450 on the Midwest Center for Stress & Anxiety program designed to help people defeat anxiety and depression, I had no idea that it would strike nerves the way it has. The post, written on Jan. 2, 2011, is easily the biggest traffic generator of this blog on a daily basis. Some days it gets so many page views that I’m left dumbfounded. It has also gotten by far the most comments of…  [Read More]

Beauty And Gratitude In Every Bad Thing

by Bill Brenner September 25, 2011 Adventures in writing

In the battle to manage OCD and all its byproducts, I’ve learned something that’s helped me a lot: To always see the blessings hidden within the bad stuff. Mood music: –When I lose people close to me because of death or resentment, I try to remember the good stuff we got to share and how lucky I was to have known those who eventually left me. –When I feel my addictions starting to creep up…  [Read More]

Losing Friends

by Bill Brenner September 17, 2011 Adventures in writing

I find myself worried this morning that, by opening up in this blog, I’ve lost another dear friend. That’s the challenge with expressing one’s feelings publicly: Even when you think you’re taking care to protect one’s privacy, leaving out names and such, you find a way to hurt someone anyway. Writing this blog has been a lifesaver most days. A lot of people have told me it helps them. But sometimes I curse the day…  [Read More]

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