Depression

Infosec’s Mental Health Role Models

by Bill Brenner December 2, 2013 Depression

This weekend some friends asked about the reaction this blog has had in my industry. Truth is, I was unprepared for what followed the blog’s launch four years ago. In hindsight it makes perfect sense. Mood music: Friends asked if my information security colleagues were weirded out by the blog and whether it had an adverse effect on my ability to interview people. In fact, the opposite happened. By the time I was done baring…  [Read More]

Honor the Mental Sacrifice Veterans Have Made

by Bill Brenner November 11, 2013 Gratitude

With another Veterans Day upon us, I want to thank our servicemen and -women for a very specific sacrifice they’ve made. Mental sacrifice is always implied when we thank our veterans for the larger sacrifice of life and limb to protect our freedom. That’s as it should be. Still, as someone who has never seen combat but has struggled with mental illness, I’m especially grateful to troops past and present for carrying the mental burden….  [Read More]

Depression Takes Another Friend

by Bill Brenner October 17, 2013 Depression

Thomas John “TJ” Leduc was a constant companion during my childhood in Revere. I swam in his pool and slept over his house. The first time I was weirded out by the sight and sound of Boy George, it was during one of those sleepovers, when we were eating popcorn and watching Solid Gold, puzzling over the girl on the screen who sounded like a man. Mood music: TJ had a sunny personality that was…  [Read More]

Never Too Late to Renegotiate Your Life

by Bill Brenner September 13, 2013 Crime and punishment

When you have legal problems, mountains of debt, bad relationships and a job that makes you unhappy, it’s easy to feel like there’s a point of no return, that this is how your life turned out and that’s that. It’s not true. Mood music: I can say that, because I’ve lived it. I’m thinking about this after talking to a friend who allowed an addiction to get out of hand to the point where he’s…  [Read More]

Suicide in the Blood

by Bill Brenner August 23, 2013 Depression

A friend sent me a fascinating article yesterday about medical advancements in which a person’s severe depression and suicide could possibly be predetermined by biomarkers in their blood. Mood music: The article in Nature outlines how six biomarkers in blood can conceivably identify people at risk of suicide. Indiana University psychiatrist Alexander Niculescu and six of his colleagues published their findings in Molecular Psychiatry. They identified nine men with bipolar disorder who are part of a larger, separate study. Between testing visits, the men…  [Read More]

Depression Causes: Add Sleep to the List?

by Bill Brenner August 20, 2013 Physical Health

Yesterday’s post on my sleep apnea diagnosis got a lot of response. Two big lessons from all the feedback: Far more people have sleep apnea than I knew, and those who have since been treated recall the huge mental distress caused by inadequate sleep. Mood music: Said one friend: “BIll, I too have sleep apnea. It’s a vicious, horrible physical problem. You don’t even realize how badly the lack of REM and deep sleep is…  [Read More]

The Paul Revere Owl of Rage

by Bill Brenner August 13, 2013 Depression

A friend of mine from Revere found a drawing I did in junior high school. I had totally forgotten about it, but once I had a look yesterday, I remembered what it was about. Mood music: I was asked to draw something that could be used for the Paul Revere School eighth-grade graduation program. I was a misfit back then, a fat, slovenly kid who sucked at sports and verbally fought with just about everyone….  [Read More]

Assessing Suicide Risk and Learning Intervention Tactics

by Bill Brenner August 6, 2013 Depression

Having lost my best friend to suicide in 1996 and suffered my own bouts of depression over the years, I’m grateful for those who rise up to stem the tide of this often-misunderstood scourge. In my industry (information security) I’ve met a lot of good people who suffer in silence. Among them are folks who refuse to sit back and take it. And so we’ve seen the rise of such endeavors as the Information Technology…  [Read More]

Dennis Wilson and the Manson Family

by Bill Brenner July 23, 2013 Depression

As someone long fascinated by the Manson Murders case, I’ve taken a special interest in the late Dennis Wilson, drummer of The Beach Boys and one-time friend of Charles Manson. His time with Manson scarred his mind and soul for the rest of his life, something that’s evident if you listen to the entirety of his solo album from the ’70s, Pacific Ocean Blue. The story of Dennis Wilson is an extreme case study in…  [Read More]

A Super Analogy About Mental Health and Summer

by Bill Brenner July 11, 2013 Mental health

I’m in the middle of a campout as I write this, and though some of those around me are wilting in the 90-plus degree heat, I have to admit that I’m loving it. Mood music: It’s not that I enjoy the sweating and humidity-saturated clothing. What I enjoy is my mental state during long, sunny days. I’m always in better humor, more creative and more in the moment than I am in the dead of…  [Read More]

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