Personal growth

Sarcasm or Gallows Humor?

by Bill Brenner January 14, 2010 Lighthearted

It’s appropriate to start with Dilbert’s take on the topic at hand: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO1UWmRS7yc&hl=en_US&fs=1&] My wife just read my post on the Power of Sarcasm and decided to go digging for the actual definition. She’s an editor. That’s what she does. Here’s what she found: “Sarcasm” is “a keen or bitter taunt : a cutting gibe or rebuke often delivered in a tone of contempt or disgust” or “the use of caustic or stinging remarks or…  [Read More]

The Third Brother

by Bill Brenner January 9, 2010 Depression

Remembering Peter Sugarman, another adopted brother who died too early — but not before teaching the author some important lessons about life. The first time I met him was my second day as a reporter for The Stoneham Sun. He was an oddball who wore a jacket and tie to go with his sneakers and sweatpants. He was rail thin with a mustache that could comfortably hide a pound of whatever crumbs got caught there….  [Read More]

How To Play Addiction Like A Piano

by Bill Brenner January 6, 2010 Addiction

The author admits that when an obsessive-compulsive person puts down the addiction that’s most self-destructive, a few smaller addictions rise up to fill the void. But what happens when the money runs out? Mood music: I hear it from addicts all the time. They put down the thing that’s caused the most chaos and heartache in their lives, but then they find themselves latching onto smaller addictions to fill the hole. Chain smoking, for example….  [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]

Prozac Winter

by Bill Brenner January 2, 2010 Depression

The author discovers that winter makes his depression worse and that there’s a purely scientific explanation — and solution. My therapist and I recently agreed that my Prozac intake should go up a bit for the duration of the winter. I’m doing well for the most part, but there’s a three-hour window of each day — usually late afternoon — where my mood slides straight into the crapper. The reason is simple: People who suffer…  [Read More]

No Year’s Resolutions

by Bill Brenner January 1, 2010 Lessons from the past

The author vows not to make any New Year’s Resolutions, because he has learned that it’s easier to meet all his objectives without that stupid list. Making New Year’s resolutions used to be a compulsive activity for me. I was always so desperate for something better that I fiendishly and feverishly made lists of what I would do in the coming year: –Stop binge eating –Stop worrying about what other people think of me –Stop…  [Read More]

OCD DIARIES 12-30: The Break

by Bill Brenner December 30, 2009 Addiction

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 behavior would send me over the edge. Fighting children equals chaos. People like me don’t do chaos well. I am,…  [Read More]

OCD DIARIES: The 12 Steps of Christmas

by Bill Brenner December 29, 2009 Addiction

The author reviews the 12 Steps of Recovery and takes a personal inventory. There’s really no Christmas theme here, other than that the author found the headline catchy. I’m reconstituting my OA food plan quite nicely since the Christmas Eve scare. I’m lucky for not having slipped completely. Now I find myself thinking about the 12 steps this program is based on. It’s been a bit since I’ve reviewed them to see where I fit…  [Read More]

Scaring the People in Your Life

by Bill Brenner December 28, 2009 Love

The author is hearing from a lot of old friends shocked to read about his past. Thing is, basket cases are good at hiding their craziness in public. To most of my family, the stories I tell in previous posts aren’t all that surprising. They were there. My in-laws may not have known everything that was going on back in the day, but they saw my quirks. Mood music: [spotify:track:78iMIaSjeVlUoNa7rehPOU] Even at work, my quirks…  [Read More]

OCD Diaries 12-27: Edge of a Relapse

by Bill Brenner December 27, 2009 Addiction

The author comes dangerously close to a relapse, but lives to fight another day. Mood music for this entry: “Accidents Can Happen,” by Sixx A.M.: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nan4Kdtz-9w&hl=en_US&fs=1&] It was bound to happen sooner or later. That moment where the addiction would come calling again. [Instead of retreading my history of addiction here, I’ll point you toward the entry that gets into it all: A Most Uncool Addiction.] I put down the flour and sugar — my…  [Read More]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →