Mental health

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]

Rain in the Wound

by Bill Brenner March 1, 2010 Coping tools

A couple months ago I told you about my friend Penny Richards, whose beautiful 25-year-old daughter was killed in a motorcycle accident in November. I read her blog every day, and let me tell you: The stuff she’s writing is going to help a lot of grieving people get through their melancholy in years to come. I really wish she didn’t have to be the one to set the example because she has to carry…  [Read More]

Outing Myself

by Bill Brenner February 22, 2010 Adventures in writing

The author on why he chose to “out” himself despite what other people might think. Mood music: [spotify:track:1Qdnvn4XlmZANCVy3XjrQo] A couple friends have asked why I “outed myself” in this blog. Wasn’t I afraid people would blackball me at work? Don’t I worry that I’ll be defined by my struggle with OCD above all else? It’s a fair question. First, let’s get the notion of “courage” and “bravery” off the table. Some have used those words…  [Read More]

What Kind of Day It Has Been

by Bill Brenner February 16, 2010 Addiction

The author’s day has not gone as planned. He’s OK with that, though he wasn’t always. Mood music for this post: “Adrift And At Peace” from NIN: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnv8zrmAyU&hl=en_US&fs=1&] This day has not gone as planned. I wanted to be in the office today plowing through some work. But another winter storm forced me to work from home. Some would say it’s great I can do that, and it is. But when there’s a lot on…  [Read More]

No Prozac for These Presidents

by Bill Brenner February 15, 2010 Depression

In honor of President’s Day, I direct you toward the following posts about past presidents and other leaders I respect for having carried the weight of the world on their heads while suffering from varying degrees of depression and other byproducts of mental illness. It’s all the more impressive because they did this long before there were anti-depressants and modern therapy to fall back on. Why Lincoln’s Melancholy Is A Must Read I’ve always been something…  [Read More]

In Defense of Patrick Kennedy

by Bill Brenner February 13, 2010 Addiction

The youngest son of Edward M. Kennedy has often been criticized as a lightweight Congressman who gets away with things other people would get arrested for. But the author salutes him anyway. Here’s why. Patrick Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, announced yesterday that he won’t be running for re-election to the Congressional seat he has held since 1995. Some will tell you it’s just as well. The Congressman, after…  [Read More]

Headed Home

by Bill Brenner February 7, 2010 Fear and anxiety

The Shmoobus is slowly rolling northward, away from Washington DC, the snow and #ShmooCon. It was an excellent security conference, and a productive one. Six pieces of content written and produced in three days: 1 opinion column, three articles and two podcasts. I just wrote and posted the column from the RV. Because I could. Everyone is settled in with their Blackberries, iPhones, laptops and hand-held games. Thanks to the blizzard and the inability of…  [Read More]

Boys on the Shmoobus

by Bill Brenner February 4, 2010 Fear and anxiety

Given that I used to have fear and anxiety over traveling and impending bad weather, it’s amazing that I’m writing this from aboard a cramped RV, zipping through the New York area en route to the ShmooCon security conference in Washington D.C. A blizzard with up to 20 inches of snow is scheduled to dump on DC while I’m there. Yet I’m calm — even enjoying myself. How I overcame that fear has been told…  [Read More]

Rest Re-defined

by Bill Brenner February 2, 2010 Fear and anxiety

The author finds that he gets the most relaxation from the things he once feared the most. Mood music  A strange thing happened to me on the way to recovery: I started finding peace and relaxation in the very things that used to fill me with fear and spark anxiety attacks. [See Fear Factor] It used to be that relaxing meant holing myself up in the bedroom watching endless episodes of Star Trek. I watched…  [Read More]

Selfish Bastard

by Bill Brenner January 30, 2010 Addiction

The author has found that service is an excellent tool for OCD management. Simply put, it forces him to stop being a selfish bastard. In OA, those of us in recovery from our compulsive eating disorders rely on a set of tools that go hand in hand with the 12 Steps. There’s the plan of eating, writing, sponsorship, the telephone and literature. There’s anonymity. And there’s service to others. The plan of eating is what’s…  [Read More]

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