The author tries to take a break from writing, but chaos in the form of his two sons reminds him of another lesson worth sharing. Sean and Duncan have the audacity to fight over video games at this early hour, my usual writing window. Back before I found control over the OCD, this normal childhood …
I’ve joked to people before that having OCD isn’t all bad. One benefit is that it gives you extra drive to get things done. Most of the time that drive is spent on all the wrong things: checking the door eight times to make sure it’s locked, going bat-house crazy when something on your desk …
I’m going on a little sabbatical in a couple hours. A weekend Catholic retreat, actually. I’m part of the team putting it on. Which means this is the last post from me until Sunday night or Monday. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0FP0JSvdHY&fs=1&hl=en_US] It’ll be the longest I’ve stayed off the grid in a very long time. Well, …
As I mentioned in my posts Prozac Winter and The Mood Swing, I recently went up 20 milligrams on the Prozac because of the depression that tends to set in during the winter. [For more on the background, see The Bad Pill Kept Me From The Good Pill and An OCD Christmas] I’m three weeks …
In pretty much every industry of late, people of great talent, drive and achievement are being labeled rock stars. I certainly see it as I work in the information security industry. Those who get the label tend to deserve it. But there’s a dangerous side-effect: The term rock star can bloat the egos of those …
Continue reading “Thought I Was a Security Rockstar. Was Just Stupid”
I spent my high school years angry, unhinged, unmotivated and unsure of how to live my life. So, before attending Salem State University (then Salem State College), I spent a couple of years trying to find myself at North Shore Community College (NSCC). I took classes mostly at the Lynn campus because it was five minutes …
My 12-year-old has a few things in common with his dad. Both of us have mental disorders (his is ADHD, mine is OCD with wintertime undercurrents of ADHD). Both of us take medication to help manage our ills. But until last weekend, he had never asked the big question: “What do these pills do, anyway?” …
Continue reading “When Your Kid Asks About Anti-Depressants”
Here I am at another birthday. I’ve been telling people I couldn’t care less this year. It’s been a rough summer with too much upheaval, too much grief. There’s not much to celebrate. But the truth is, I’m grateful to be here. Mood music: That I’m now in my mid 40s is surprising — in …
With all the death and drama in my life recently, I tell people that I regret quitting drinking a few years ago. Few things appeal to me more right now than the sweet buzz a bottle of wine would give me. I have no intention of falling off the wagon. I know where it would take me. …
Continue reading “The Feel-Good Complex: A Chronicle of Bad Choices”
I’ve been spending a lot of time with my father, who is in hospice care. One of the twisted blessings of him being near the end of his life is that he’s opening up more than he ever has. One such conversation goes to show that things you see as a kid don’t always match up with what’s really …
