Political discourse

The Bright Side of This Election

by Bill Brenner November 3, 2010 Political discourse

A lot of people are depressed or elated about last night’s election results. I’m neither, because I’ve learned a few things about politics I didn’t understand in my youth. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t43VgJ4U9_Q&fs=1&hl=en_US] For me, the fate of the world always seemed to hang on the next election. In 1994, when I was a lot more liberal than I am today, I felt devastated and depressed when the GOP swept both chambers of Congress. Two years…  [Read More]

Cut the Drama, Rage Boy

by Bill Brenner October 19, 2010 Addiction

My old friend Clarence liked the post I wrote about him awhile back and jokingly asked me to write another one. OK, buddy, but you’re not gonna like this one. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72rWAe0pUdQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] Note: I’m keeping your true identity out of this, so your anonymity is preserved. I meant everything I said in that post. In fact, I cherish your friendship a lot more than I did even then. But you have a special challenge…  [Read More]

Happily Ever After Is Bullshit & That’s OK

by Bill Brenner September 21, 2010 Addiction

Often, when depression slaps me upside the head, it’s on the heels of a prolonged period of good feelings and positive energy. Especially this time of year, when the daylight recedes early and returns late. These setbacks can be discouraging, but you can survive them with the right perspective. Mood music: It’s easy for people who fight mental illness and addictive behavior to go on an endless, futile search for the happily ever after, where…  [Read More]

Run Out of Town (Or Off Facebook, Twitter)

by Bill Brenner September 16, 2010 Communication Skills

One of my security friends thinks she needs to delete her social network accounts because she lacks social skills. She tends to offend people sometimes, you see, and she wants to go away until she can learn to behave. Though admirable, it’s a bad idea for lots of reasons. At the height of my mental illness and addictive behavior, social skills were alien to me. Isolating myself from the rest of the world was the…  [Read More]

Sept. 11, 2001

by Bill Brenner September 10, 2010 Depression

Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001. Here’s my own account. Mood music: I was assistant New Hampshire editor at The Eagle-Tribune and I arrived in the newsroom at 4:30 a.m. as usual. I was already in a depressed mood. It wasn’t a sense of dread over something bad about to happen. It was simply my state of mind at the time. I wasn’t liking myself and was…  [Read More]

Fear of the Fat Man’s Pants

by Bill Brenner September 9, 2010 Political discourse

The Esquire Magazine Style Blog has a fascinating read on pant sizes that brings back a lot of fat guy memories. And though I’m not nearly as heavy as I was at the height of my binge-eating disorder, this tale of fat man’s pants still resonates. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q15a15LYYNg&fs=1&hl=en_US] The author, Abram Sauer, recounts a painful moment when he tried on a size 36 pants and found them too tight. He did some digging and…  [Read More]

Another Unsettling Truth About Facebook

by Bill Brenner August 27, 2010 Communication Skills

My friend Linda noted that I changed the settings on my Facebook page to allow wall comments. It amused her because it was my birthday. She knows me well. Truth is, I wanted to see the birthday messages. Here’s the uncomfortable thing that says about me… Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxeFCaEx3w0&fs=1&hl=en_US] I suffer from an inflated ego. It’s a side-effect of where I’ve been. I have this odd fear of being forgotten. And I didn’t want to…  [Read More]

Facebook ‘Un-friend’ Syndrome

by Bill Brenner August 13, 2010 Communication Skills

My OCD has found something new to zero in on: The Facebook friend count. Ridiculous, you say? Of course. But having OCD is all about worrying about ridiculous things. Mood music: http://youtu.be/LCidbyHPvyw My current Facebook friend count is 1,169. (Author’s note: the current count is 2,016) That may seem like a freakishly high number, but it makes sense when you consider that those connections are a broad mix of family, friends, associates in the security…  [Read More]

High Drama: The New Normal

by Bill Brenner August 10, 2010 Communication Skills

I’ve had a couple of high-drama days, as readers have figured out by now. The 14-hour drive across six states. The grilling by Secret Service cops in Washington D.C. I’m hoping for a lot less drama. But that may not be easy. Drama clings to my type of personality like a sweaty shirt. Mood music: “You’re Crazy” by Guns N Roses: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM2KI0Fs-fI&hl=en_US&fs=1] Here’s the thing: When you have a mental condition — OCD, in my…  [Read More]

The Pedophile

by Bill Brenner July 23, 2010 Addiction

Some people deserve to spend life in a box. But even they have a shot at redemption. As a dad, I have zero tolerance for anyone who hurts a child. So when I discovered someone I’ve known for many years spent a decade behind bars for pedophilia, It was like a knife in the gut. Further complicating matters is that as a recovering addict, I can’t help but feel bad for this guy. But only…  [Read More]

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