mental-health

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]

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]

Vice’s Suicide Spread Has a Right to Exist

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2013 Mental health

Vice magazine created a shitstorm by publishing a photo spread of models depicted as famous female authors at the moment of their suicides. I’m all for freedom of expression and would never advocate banning such things. But as an art fan I can offer my critique: This spread was utter crap. Mood music: Vice pulled the feature down from its site after a public outcry, but the print version is still available and the magazine…  [Read More]

Teething Trouble

by Bill Brenner June 5, 2013 Mental health

I’ve just started the new job and am happy as hell to be here. I’m finding I’ll fit right in. But when a person is a couple days into a new job, there’s usually an unsettled feeling. In my case, the challenge is not to be an asshole about it. Mood music: I’m not sure I’m having much success there, particularly at home, where I’m told I’ve been cranky and snippy and in OCD overdrive….  [Read More]

I’m Not a Hero

by Bill Brenner May 16, 2013 Mental health

In the three-plus years I’ve been writing this blog, I frequently get messages from people telling me I’m a hero for opening up about my mental health experiences. It always makes me wince. Mood music: [spotify:track:2Q15PJacTtgzXFUErQXDSd] A new wave of hero labeling hit after a Forbes article came out about my turning OCD into a career strength. One tweet read: New hero: @BillBrenner70, #OCD survivor, stigma killer, & tech journo who says mental illness can…  [Read More]

Falling Off the Mountain Syndrome

by Bill Brenner May 3, 2013 Mental health

Something excellent happened in my life this week. I’ll tell you more about that next week. But for now, let me tell you about something that happens whenever I’m the recipient of awesomeness. I get the wits knocked out of me. Mood music: [spotify:track:6TPMFSJFmyIohTM5El90Po] I woke up this morning with a nasty headache, a sore neck, and a stomach churning acid like an active volcano getting ready to spew lava. I call it Falling Off…  [Read More]

Control Freak-Out

by Bill Brenner April 5, 2013 Mental disorders

OCD sometimes makes me feel adrift even when things are going well. I’m feeling it a lot these days and this post, originally written in 2010, captures the malady well. Mood music: [spotify:track:44sz0rNbTA687rs9CYi0IN] There’s another byproduct of OCD that I’ve described indirectly before, but never head on. A byproduct for my own special blend of dysfunction, that is. Sometimes, no matter how well things are going — and no matter how good my mood is…  [Read More]

When We Can’t Hibernate, We Become Bears

by Bill Brenner January 29, 2013 Mental health

Erin recently noted that things tend to get ridiculously busy in January, during a period of winter when our bodies scream at us to slow down. On the work side we both have several big projects coming due. At school and in the Scouts, the kids’ schedules are crammed with one activity after the next. Mood music: [spotify:track:4n89Z82pA4kJYmctUeyCbt] In winter, we’re not all that different from animals that hibernate. It’s hard to get out of…  [Read More]

My ADD Ran Over My OCD

by Bill Brenner December 19, 2012 Mental health

As I struggle to get through all the stuff to be done at work and home before Christmas, something is occurring to me: My ADD runs over my OCD this time of year. Mood music: [spotify:track:5mR858YsHYG761aUqZoGkD] I guess I’ve understood what happens for a while now. It’s all part of the seasonal depression that whacks me upside the head come Christmastime. For most of the year my challenge is to control my OCD, to keep…  [Read More]

Me, Duncan and December-itis

by Bill Brenner December 11, 2012 Mental health

I’ve had a lot to say lately about my own efforts to manage winter’s depressive effect on my brain, but this is also a challenging month for my younger son, Duncan. Mood music: [spotify:track:7BeOWHtwV9IQ7jmqwwvvLP] I’ve written at length about Duncan and my struggle to help him when his ADHD comes crashing into my OCD. I’m proud of who he’s becoming. But no matter how much progress father and son make on our mental health, December may…  [Read More]

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