mental-health

Tapping into Infosec’s Human Side

by Bill Brenner March 27, 2014 Depression

In my day job, I host the Akamai Security Podcast, an audio program about all things information security. On occasion, the topics of my profession bleed into the focus of this blog. In the following podcast, I chat with colleague Christian Ternus, a member of Akamai Infosec’s Adversarial Resilience Team. He’s been the driving force behind Humanity in Security, an effort to address burnout, depression and stress in the security community. One of his main messages is…  [Read More]

How to Apply for Social Security Benefits for OCD Suffers

by Bill Brenner January 24, 2014 OCD

Guest blogger Ram Meyyappan explains how severe-OCD sufferers can receive financial help. If you suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits may be available to you. Before applying, you will want to learn more about the application, review, and qualification processes with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The following tips will help you better understand the programs available and the process of applying. Tip #1: Understand How to Medically Qualify for…  [Read More]

New Doctors, New Pressures

by Bill Brenner January 15, 2014 Well-Being

Late last year, as I was looking for a new therapist to replace the one who retired, I decided to clean the slate and get a new primary care physician, too. Choosing a new doctor can be a difficult process. We can get comfortable with the doctors we have, even if they’re not doing us any good. We might not like doctors at all, making us resistant to seeking one out. But if we all…  [Read More]

All I Want for Christmas Is to Get Through It

by Bill Brenner December 4, 2013 Coping tools

So here we are at that time of year when everyone is supposed to be happy and glowing with Christmas spirit. As for me? This time of year really fucks with me. Mood music: [spotify:track:1kh2KHdYc1xCejan0h5ZUv] This has traditionally been a time of year when bad things have happened to me. The suicide of a friend at the start of one holiday season. The death of sibling at the end of another. Several childhood hospitalizations in…  [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]

Therapist Shopping

by Bill Brenner October 31, 2013 Mental health

A few months ago my therapist retired and moved to warmer environs in the south. He said I was managing my OCD well and that I didn’t need therapy until the autumn. Mood music: That last appointment was in the spring, with the season’s increasingly long periods of daylight, the environment I function best in. Now it’s late October, with shorter days, and the seasonal issues are starting to kick in. Sunday I started getting…  [Read More]

Hope and Happiness Amid a Government Shutdown

by Bill Brenner October 1, 2013 Fear and anxiety

Forget about the effect the government shutdown has on mental health services; government mental health services suck anyway. Instead, let’s focus on keeping ours head on straight when political horror stories send our fear and anxiety into orbit. Mood music: http://youtu.be/lpRzYEHwnUo I mentioned last week how I used to latch onto world events as if my life depended on it. TV media reports political squabbles as it would report about war: loud graphics, chilling music….  [Read More]

Navy Yard Shootings: The Stigmatizer’s Wet Dream

by Bill Brenner September 24, 2013 Mental disorders

With last week’s terrible Washington Navy Yard murders, politicians are preaching the importance of better mental health services. In the process, stigma building has reached disturbing heights. Mood music: This massacre, like Sandy Hook and Aurora, Colorado, before it, was perpetrated by a troubled soul with some degree of mental illness. Navy Yard killer Aaron Alexis had told authorities weeks before that he was hearing voices in his head. Aurora shooter James Holmes had colored his hair…  [Read More]

Think Before You Talk About Your ‘OCD’

by Bill Brenner September 3, 2013 Compulsive behaviors

People often ask me if I get offended by jokes and movies about OCD. The answer is usually no, because I think it’s healthy to see the humor in one’s afflictions, and the movies, when done right, educate the masses on what it’s like to suffer from this scourge. But one thing does piss me off. It’s when people say they “went OCD” after doing such routine tasks as cleaning their house, cooking or completing a…  [Read More]

Years Wasted, by Things Large and Small

by Bill Brenner August 22, 2013 Depression

When writing about depression, it’s easy to go into so much depth about the myriad causes and effects that the bigger picture is lost on some people. Mood music: http://youtu.be/fvVFg1wLtBs My last two posts about a sleep apnea diagnosis and the its probable effects on my depression over the years led one friend on Twitter to say this: I think there might be confusion about cause and effect here. Also, depression is not just a…  [Read More]

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