Mental health

Find Yourself a Real Doctor

by Bill Brenner November 26, 2013 Addiction

Written in June, 2010. Here’s the thing: Asking me for medical advice is like asking Charles Manson how to be a pacifist. Mood music: [spotify:track:79DVDD46pdqwjYucn91fny] In the months since I started this blog, I’ve noticed something expected but weird nonetheless: People are coming to me for medical advice. Several people who saw my post on living with Crohn’s Disease sent me their phone numbers and asked me to call them. I always do, and the…  [Read More]

Therapist Shopping

by Bill Brenner October 31, 2013 Mental health

A few months ago my therapist retired and moved to warmer environs in the south. He said I was managing my OCD well and that I didn’t need therapy until the autumn. Mood music: That last appointment was in the spring, with the season’s increasingly long periods of daylight, the environment I function best in. Now it’s late October, with shorter days, and the seasonal issues are starting to kick in. Sunday I started getting…  [Read More]

Songs That Mattered After 9-11-01

by Bill Brenner September 7, 2013 Coping tools

Like so many other times in my life, music made the difference between sanity and insanity. I focus a lot on the metal. But in the weeks after 9-11, I turned to a broader group of musicians to help me along. They did their jobs well, helping us all see that it was OK to go on living. Let’s start with Neal Young, whose version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” was both haunting and inspiring: Nothing…  [Read More]

A Super Analogy About Mental Health and Summer

by Bill Brenner July 11, 2013 Mental health

I’m in the middle of a campout as I write this, and though some of those around me are wilting in the 90-plus degree heat, I have to admit that I’m loving it. Mood music: It’s not that I enjoy the sweating and humidity-saturated clothing. What I enjoy is my mental state during long, sunny days. I’m always in better humor, more creative and more in the moment than I am in the dead of…  [Read More]

Vice’s Suicide Spread Has a Right to Exist

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2013 Mental health

Vice magazine created a shitstorm by publishing a photo spread of models depicted as famous female authors at the moment of their suicides. I’m all for freedom of expression and would never advocate banning such things. But as an art fan I can offer my critique: This spread was utter crap. Mood music: Vice pulled the feature down from its site after a public outcry, but the print version is still available and the magazine…  [Read More]

Teething Trouble

by Bill Brenner June 5, 2013 Mental health

I’ve just started the new job and am happy as hell to be here. I’m finding I’ll fit right in. But when a person is a couple days into a new job, there’s usually an unsettled feeling. In my case, the challenge is not to be an asshole about it. Mood music: I’m not sure I’m having much success there, particularly at home, where I’m told I’ve been cranky and snippy and in OCD overdrive….  [Read More]

I’m Not a Hero

by Bill Brenner May 16, 2013 Mental health

In the three-plus years I’ve been writing this blog, I frequently get messages from people telling me I’m a hero for opening up about my mental health experiences. It always makes me wince. Mood music: [spotify:track:2Q15PJacTtgzXFUErQXDSd] A new wave of hero labeling hit after a Forbes article came out about my turning OCD into a career strength. One tweet read: New hero: @BillBrenner70, #OCD survivor, stigma killer, & tech journo who says mental illness can…  [Read More]

Falling Off the Mountain Syndrome

by Bill Brenner May 3, 2013 Mental health

Something excellent happened in my life this week. I’ll tell you more about that next week. But for now, let me tell you about something that happens whenever I’m the recipient of awesomeness. I get the wits knocked out of me. Mood music: [spotify:track:6TPMFSJFmyIohTM5El90Po] I woke up this morning with a nasty headache, a sore neck, and a stomach churning acid like an active volcano getting ready to spew lava. I call it Falling Off…  [Read More]

TV News and Depression: How I Learned To Turn It Off

by Bill Brenner April 21, 2013 Depression

This week’s news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and the aftermath only hardened the feelings I express below. I have nothing but contempt for the big three: CNN, Fox and MSNBC. Local news did a far more admirable job covering this tragedy.   I find myself increasingly outraged at what I see on the TV news channels lately. I’m not talking about the news itself, but the way it’s presented with loud graphics, dramatic…  [Read More]

Julian Assange: Autistic Hacker Or Just An A-hole?

by Bill Brenner April 9, 2013 Communication Skills

Last year I wrote a post about a report suggesting autism is an affliction of the brilliant. One man mentioned as an example was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has described himself as having the “hacker’s disease.” Yesterday, a reader’s comment inspired me to revisit the issue. Mood music: [spotify:track:74Tgft8pxSCO0nkf4uxiM4] The reader said in part: This compares a neurological disorder to genius people whose curiosity takes finite state machines to places that their creators never imagined. How’s…  [Read More]

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