Mental health

Facebook Defriending Syndrome Takes A Ridiculous Twist

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2011 Communication Skills

People see Facebook as an online place to hide from the real world. But for a growing number of unstable minds, Facebook IS part of the real world. Mood music: A woman in Iowa was arrested and charged with setting fire to the home of someone who “unfriended” her on Facebook. Here’s the story from Internet Broadcasting (as run on the WMUR website): Jennifer Christine Harris, an elementary school teaching associate in Des Moines, was…  [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]

Does This Child Beater Need Help Or A Trip To Hell?

by Bill Brenner November 3, 2011 Children's issues

It’s a video that fills a parent like me with rage: A judge giving his 16-year-old disabled daughter a vicious beating. If you watch the video itself, it’s nothing but terrible. The father is pissed because his daughter was apparently grabbing music and videos off the Internet and proceeds to lash her for several minutes. For much of the video, you hear the daughter screaming. The mom is in the video, too, joining in on…  [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]

Snowstorm Gratitude

by Bill Brenner October 30, 2011 Faith

It’s 6:14 a.m. and it’s still snowing. But I am big-time thankful for one thing: The power was on when I woke up, and may yet go out. But I managed to get my coffee made first. It’s the little things. Or, for this coffee addict, the huge things. I also stepped outside and found that in my corner of New England, the snow accumulation was not nearly as bad as predicted. Clean up should…  [Read More]

An October Snowstorm? It Could Be Worse

by Bill Brenner October 28, 2011 Fear and anxiety

New England is in the crosshairs of a rare, October snowstorm that could dump 3-6 inches on parts of my state. People on Facebook are freaking out. But let’s look at the bright side. Yes, there is one. Mood music: I’m not typically given to positive attitudes in the face of bad weather. In fact, I’ve written at length about the crummy impact too much cloudiness, rain and snow can have on me. My moods…  [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]

Before You Hate Someone For Life, Consider This

by Bill Brenner October 26, 2011 Communication Skills

We all have someone in our personal life who we hate. There’s often a good reason for it, especially if you’ve been molested. But we often loathe someone before we’ve considered all the complexities of the relationship. I’ve been there. But as I get older, the chip on my shoulder gets smaller and I’m better at seeing the other side. In that spirit, let’s consider the following: Mood music: A lot of us hate one…  [Read More]

Get In The Van And Head To The Channel

by Bill Brenner October 25, 2011 Coping tools

A friend from the Point of Pines, Revere shared a memory yesterday. It involved getting in my brother Michael‘s van and going to see a rock legend perform at the Channel in Boston. Mood music: Julie Doyle Frascino read my post “Lost Brothers” and posted this on my Facebook page: “Michael was such a good kid! I remember one time we all piled into that van he had and went to see the Joe Perry Project…  [Read More]

Thanks For The Memories

by Bill Brenner October 24, 2011 Children's issues

Duncan and I took my father to the last place on Earth I wanted to be Saturday afternoon: The family business in Saugus. Some of you know it as the blue, white and gold striped building across from Kappy’s Liquor store on Route 1. I’ve been trying to keep him out of there since he was released from rehab. Given his slow recovery from two strokes, I didn’t want him climbing stairs. I also didn’t want…  [Read More]

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