Mental health

Social Anxiety, Alcohol And Whatever Else Numbed Me

by Bill Brenner July 5, 2011 Addiction

Addicts often become the way they are because they suffer from severe social anxiety. To carry on in a large group setting is as painful as having a leg sawed off while wide awake. I know the feeling very well.   Item: It’s December 2001 and I’m at the home of the big boss for the annual Christmas party. I skipped out on this celebration a year earlier because talking to co-workers about anything other…  [Read More]

A Visit To The Prozac Nurse

by Bill Brenner June 29, 2011 Coping tools

Last night was my annual pilgrimage to Beverly, Mass. for an appointment with the nurse who manages my Prozac intake. She has done better for me than my primary care doctor did. Here’s why. Mood music: Drugs used to treat mental disorders must be tightly controlled. Too little and it won’t help you. Too much can make your disorder worse. When I first started taking Prozac in 2007, my primary care doctor was prescribing it….  [Read More]

Screwing Your Kids In The Divorce, Part 3

by Bill Brenner June 27, 2011 Children's issues

This is one of those things that is technically none of my business. But when I see a beautiful little girl suffering the consequences of someone else’s stupidity, it’s hard to stand there and say nothing. Mood music: There’s a guy I know who is staring divorce in the face. This is a message for him. When a marriage falls apart it’s never a one-way street. Husband and wife are both guilty of falling short…  [Read More]

Looking For The Bright Side

by Bill Brenner June 26, 2011 Depression

My attitude sucks this morning. I explain some of the reason in my last post, but there are a variety of factors: Mood music: 1. Despite my best efforts to be the family man I’m supposed to be, I always find myself coming up short. 2. The weather has been a gray, depressing soup since I got back from California, where the weather was perfect. This makes for a hard re-entry. 3. I seem to…  [Read More]

Even If Talk Is Cheap, Drugs Alone Won’t Work

by Bill Brenner June 22, 2011 Coping tools

If a recent story in The New York Times is to be believed, psychiatrists are ditching talk therapy in favor of quick-to-the-draw prescription solutions because insurance companies won’t pay them enough for the broader treatment. As someone who benefited greatly from both therapy and medication, I find this disturbing. Mood music: [spotify:track:40T969H60rqt5v1tWZDEMS] From the article, written by Gardiner Harris: Like many of the nation’s 48,000psychiatrists, Dr. Levin, in large part because of changes in how much…  [Read More]

The Problem With ‘One Day At A Time’

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2011 Addiction

“One day at a time? You wouldn’t believe the crap that swirls around my head one day at a time.” –Anonymous Recovering addicts have a saying burned into their brains: “One Day at a Time.” It’s important wisdom to live by. But when the recovering addict has OCD, there’s a big problem. Mood music: Let’s look at the meaning of “One Day at a Time.” In the world of 12-step recovery programs, the idea is…  [Read More]

I Don’t Have Money, But I Have This Bullhorn…

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2011 Mental health

A few months ago I wrote a post about a movie called Machine Man, which deals with a man struggling with OCD. I mentioned how the film maker, Kellie Madison, was raising money for the film at the grass roots to keep it free of the Hollywood sleaze machine. This afternoon I saw a message on the movie’s Facebook page saying the money goal hasn’t been met yet: “Still working on reaching our minimum production…  [Read More]

Fear and Resentment. Resentment and Fear

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2011 Addiction

For mental defects like me, a lot of what goes wrong is driven by fear. One thing I’ve learned in a 12-Step program for addiction is that the root of many fears is resentment. Mood music: You don’t have to be an addict to have resentments, of course. Most typical families, work environments and fellowships come packed with people you’re inevitably going to clash with. The more you disagree with someone, the more you’ll resent…  [Read More]

Shit Happens When Two OCD Cases Work Together

by Bill Brenner June 17, 2011 Lighthearted

Let me take you back about 13 years, when two guys with clinical OCD worked together in the same office. I was one of ’em. The other was an old friend named Steve Repsys. Mood music: Neither of us knew at the time that we had OCD. It would be many years before we were diagnosed. In the meantime, we worked together for a small weekly newspaper in an office in Chelmsford, Mass. I was…  [Read More]

Readings From The Book Of Crap, Volume 2

by Bill Brenner June 16, 2011 Communication Skills

I’ve been observing amazing acts of stupidity in recent weeks. Mood music: When I do, my first instinct is to keep it to myself. Nobody likes a whiner, and I’m no exception. But when the poop pile gets too high and starts to stink up the room for everyone else, I need to kick open the door and vent the fumes. So please indulge me as I tell a few unnamed people how they’re making the…  [Read More]

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