Political discourse

Others Who Fight the Stigma

by Bill Brenner June 18, 2010 Addiction

This isn’t the only blog trying to poke the stigma of mental illness and addiction in the eye. Check these out: Mood music for this post: “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” by The Avett Brothers: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22HprMQN8M&hl=en_US&fs=1&] I’ve been lucky to run across a couple other blogs this week where others are doing their part to break the stigma of OCD and binge eating. These finds make me happy because I’d hate to be…  [Read More]

These Piss Me Off (But Won’t Cut Me Down)

by Bill Brenner June 4, 2010 Depression

I’m a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/glass-is-more-than-half-full kind of guy. But sometimes I wake up in a bad mood and let my brain smolder over stupid things. This is one of those mornings. To roll with the moment’s mood, below are a few of the things that piss me off. It’s useful to get angry sometimes — as long as we don’t let it break us. Mood music for this post comes in two flavors: “God’s Gonna Cut You…  [Read More]

Just a Little Patience

by Bill Brenner May 26, 2010 Addiction

I recently stumbled upon this live version of GnR’s “Patience” and wanted to post it here because it’s always been an inspirational song to me. Being an OCD-wired control freak with a knack for impatience and  endless attempts at recovery before I finally pulled it off, patience was a virtue I simply did not possess. It would be a stretch to say I’ve mastered it at this point in my life, but I at least…  [Read More]

My Personal Ground Zero

by Bill Brenner May 19, 2010 Courage

A walk past Ground Zero takes the author from the darkness to the light. Mood music for this post: “The Engine Driver” by The Decemberists: If ever there was a day when I could relapse my way into McDonald’s to down $40 bags of junk and wash it down with four glasses of wine, this was it. My mood took a deep dive this afternoon. And the source was the last thing I would have…  [Read More]

The Brenners Invade The White House

by Bill Brenner May 17, 2010 Addiction

The author on returning from a journey that would have been impossible a few years ago. It’s 5:30 a.m. and I’m running on less than four hours of sleep, so excuse any typos that follow… I’m back in my “sunrise chair” the morning after returning from one hell of a road trip that included a private tour of the White House West Wing, a stay at buddy Alex Howard’s place and a stay with our…  [Read More]

Health Care Reform Won’t Bring You Sanity

by Bill Brenner March 24, 2010 Political discourse

The author sifts through the noise from left and right wingers over Health Care Reform and comes away with something both sides SHOULD agree on. But they probably won’t. Mood music for this post: “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” by The Avett Brothers. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22HprMQN8M&hl=en_US&fs=1&] When President Obama signed Health Care Reform into law yesterday, some of my liberal friends  on Facebook hailed it as the Second Coming. My conservative friends cried treason. One…  [Read More]

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]

The Politics of OCD Management

by Bill Brenner January 18, 2010 Political discourse

The author finds an unlikely tool for OCD management in politics. Specifically, watching liberal and conservative friends fight over the subject. This isn’t a post about the politics of having OCD and getting folks at home and work to accept it. It’s about enjoyment of the political debate as a tool for sanity. Sound odd? Well, it is. But hear me out: I have a lot of friends who are bleeding-heart liberals. I have just…  [Read More]

6 Guys I Look To In Times of Trouble

by Bill Brenner January 5, 2010 Coping tools

This is the perfect time to write about why I’m such a history nut. I’m in a rotten mood because my office technology is on the blink, keeping me from getting things done. People with OCD don’t just shrug off such things. We zero in on the problem like the proverbial laser beam, trying anything and everything to fix the problem until, exhausted and bewildered, we realize what we knew in the first place —…  [Read More]

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