OCD

Talk Therapy: Sane or Satanic?

by Bill Brenner December 20, 2010 Coping tools

I touched a nerve with my post about the pros and cons of the therapist taking the patient through the same things over and over again. They didn’t slam my perspective outright, nor would they. But they flagged some dangers in this technique that are important to share. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZzus86pdls&fs=1&hl=en_US] What makes their feedback so valuable is that they are therapists themselves. The following responses came my way by way of the LinkedIn NAMI…  [Read More]

WTF Is That Shrink Doing?

by Bill Brenner December 16, 2010 Medicine

A friend of mine recently started going to a therapist, and he’s puzzled as to why the therapist keeps making him rehash the week. Here’s my theory. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34wASuHRuRo&fs=1&hl=en_US] He’s asking a lot of redundant questions to dig up patterns. They seem like stupid, recycled questions. But when you have to answer the same, stupid questions over and over again, no matter how infuriating that is, something important happens. The stuff that’s really haunting…  [Read More]

Editing the Legs Off Your High Horse

by Bill Brenner December 15, 2010 Adventures in writing

Erin and I were talking last night about the often shaky relationship between copy editors and writers. We writers tend to see copy editors as nitpickers who just want to make our lives harder. Copy editors tend to see writers as spoiled brats. But what happens when the writer is in the grip of OCD? Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR6HPzhlvoc&fs=1&hl=en_US] I usually shy away from posts about the mechanics of writing and editing because it’s all so…  [Read More]

The Diagnosis

by Bill Brenner December 12, 2010 Mental disorders

A lot of readers have been asking me about when exactly I was diagnosed with OCD and how I reacted to it. Did it drive me into a deeper depression? Did I worry about being misdiagnosed? Let’s see if I can retrace those moments… Mood music: [spotify:track:4bKGlkCUp5hBEVT14oifgI] The diagnosis was slow in coming, though I always assumed I had what I had. When I first started getting help in 2004, that first therapist resisted giving…  [Read More]

Help Her Out

by Bill Brenner December 8, 2010 OCD

A few days ago I wrote a post about a movie called Machine Man, which deals with a man struggling with OCD. I received a note this evening from the film maker, Kellie Madison. Allow me to share: “I am the filmmaker working on Machine Man and I wanted to thank you so much for taking the initiative to write this post. It really means a lot to me to be appreciated for the work…  [Read More]

Christmas Doesn’t Suck Like It Used To

by Bill Brenner December 8, 2010 Depression

The Christmas season remains an uncomfortable time of year for me. I’m used to going into a deep depression the second December starts. But something’s different this year. For the first time in a long time, I’m not dreading it. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNtipSggWY&fs=1&hl=en_US] Life isn’t perfect. It never will be. Not supposed to be. But I’m finally starting to move past the idea that Christmas is supposed to always be perfect, sparkling and free of…  [Read More]

Thinking in Absolutes: A Bad Idea

by Bill Brenner December 5, 2010 Communication Skills

One of the problems with a mind laden with OCD is that you think a lot in absolutes. It’s one of the first things you need to stop doing when you finally decide to get help. But six years in, I still haven’t conquered that beast. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CpRCc4Jre8&fs=1&hl=en_US] Thinking in absolutes when your in a good mood is dangerous because you tend to think you’re so much better than you really are. Example: Someone…  [Read More]

Machine Man: The Movie

by Bill Brenner December 3, 2010 OCD

The disorder I was diagnosed with five years ago is going to be the focus of a movie. I guess that means it’s cool to have OCD now. A reader pointed me toward the website for “Machine Man: The Movie” yesterday, and I’ve been digging around the site, totally captivated. There’s a “why we’re doing this” clip on the site that sounds a lot like the reasons I started this blog.  The website is chock…  [Read More]

Feeling anxious

by Bill Brenner December 1, 2010 Fear and anxiety

No, it’s not an anxiety attack. It’s not fear. But it’s a feeling of anxiousness I haven’t felt in a long while. The trigger is an old friend. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvxHFmKl_Qo&fs=1&hl=en_US] I used to live in a constant state of panic over work. The constant fear of not measuring up or being liked. A couple years ago I largely lost those fears. I just decided to do the best I could for me and let…  [Read More]

Sleep

by Bill Brenner November 26, 2010 Gratitude

Thanks to a strict food plan I follow to keep the binge-eating disorder in its box, I’m not walking around a bloated mess like I used to. Instead, I gorged on something else yesterday. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axzRdFOYpqg&fs=1&hl=en_US] I napped in the morning, I napped in the afternoon and I have no regrets. I’ve always had an interesting relationship with sleep. Back when I was slowly destroying myself, I would fall asleep at all the wrong…  [Read More]

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