OCD

Is Mental Illness A ‘Luxury’ Disease?

by Bill Brenner October 17, 2011 Addiction

There’s an interesting debate unfolding on The New York Times website about mental illness in America. What got my attention was the suggestion that mental illness and the related treatments are luxury items. Mood music: The debate — between a variety of professionals in the mental health field — runs the spectrum from suggesting mental illness is still misunderstood and undertreated to being over diagnosed and used as an excuse to hide from personal responsibility….  [Read More]

Oh, Yeah: It’s OCD Awareness Week

by Bill Brenner October 14, 2011 OCD

This is OCD Awareness Week and some of you have asked why I haven’t written about it. Here’s the ugly truth: I’m tired of all these “awareness” weeks. I admire the people behind them, and for those who don’t really know the ins and outs of the disorder there’s value in dedicating seven days to enhanced awareness. This is just a personal quirk of mine. I guess my lack of enthusiasm is due to the…  [Read More]

Support Your Local Crisis Hotline Person

by Bill Brenner October 13, 2011 Courage

One of the byproducts of writing this blog is that old friends and strangers have reached out to me for chats about what they’re going through. Mood music: http://youtu.be/mso6N_eqg_k You could say I’m doing an increasing amount of unpaid, uncertified counseling. I’d like to think it’s just me trying to be a good friend and following up on what I do here. It can be a bit much sometimes. That’s not a complaint. It’s just…  [Read More]

Season of Depression

by Bill Brenner October 13, 2011 Depression

Like everyone else, I love the colors and crisp air of autumn. But there’s something else about fall that I hate: It’s the beginning of the mood swings and depression. Mood music:  When the days get shorter and I find myself driving to work in the dark, it has an effect on my brain. Welcome to my annual class on S.A.D. People who suffer from chemical imbalances in the brain are directly impacted by daylight…  [Read More]

How To Talk To A Liar Who’s Been Caught

by Bill Brenner October 12, 2011 Addiction

A reader who recently found the two posts I wrote on addicts as compulsive liars had a sad story to share. Her husband, a compulsive spender, gambler and drinker, lies to her all the time. He apparently sucks at it. She always finds out. Mood music: How, she asked me, does she deal with a person like this? She still loves him, and in many respects he’s still the great guy. But lies are a…  [Read More]

Mentally Ill Behind Bars

by Bill Brenner October 4, 2011 Communication Skills

Came across a disturbing report by Steve Visser in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that clearly illustrates how far we have to go in getting the mentally ill the help they need. Mood music: The headline: Mentally ill inmates languish in local jails From the article: Detention Officer Terroyanne Harris considers the inmates she oversees on 3 North as much patient as prisoner. They suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress and other mental illnesses. Some walk aimlessly around…  [Read More]

Be Yourself, Even If People Hate You For It

by Bill Brenner October 3, 2011 Communication Skills

The more I talk to fellow recovering addicts and emotional defects, the more I realize we have one big thing in common: We want to please everyone and be loved for it. Unfortunately, it’s an impossible goal that can lead to crushing disappointment. Mood music: It’s an especially stinging problem in the age of social networking, where some people have learned to measure their worth by how many “friends” and “followers” they have. Facebook in…  [Read More]

Three Years (Almost) Clean

by Bill Brenner October 1, 2011 Addiction

Three years ago yesterday, I went on my last binge. Actually, it was more like reaching the end of a final, two-month long binge. The abstinent and sober life hasn’t been perfect by any stretch. But it beats the hell out of where I was at the start. Mood music: http://youtu.be/IKpEoRlcHfA Compulsive overeating was my biggest, most destructive addiction. It led to health problems that only got worse with time. I became a waste of space and fell short…  [Read More]

Duncan And I Need A Trail Of Post-It Notes To Get Through The Day

by Bill Brenner September 30, 2011 Children's issues

Things are rough in the Brenner household lately. Duncan’s ADHD is running hot, and so is my OCD. The resulting FUBARs are probably entertaining to the outsider, but it’s quite possible that Erin and Sean are ready to kill us. The back-to-school grind is great in that the kids needed to get back to their routine. But by the time Duncan gets home he’s fried. Not good when there’s homework to do. He can’t focus,…  [Read More]

Depressed? Drink More Coffee

by Bill Brenner September 29, 2011 Addiction

People often shudder over the amount of coffee I down each day. Even after I point out that it’s the only vice I have left, they still look at me like I’m nuts. But I’ve found new allies at Harvard’s School of Public Health. My new academic friends say those who drink two or three cups a day have a 15 per cent lower incidence of depression than those who rarely do so. Their point…  [Read More]

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