Category Archives: OCD

Worst Case Scenario Thinking: rooftop play structure edition

By Mark | December 3, 2014

One of the nice things about having OCD is being able, in any situation, to instantly determine the absolute worse thing that could possibly happen. These ideas, at least in my experience, just kind of effortlessly flow through the mind of the obsessive. In my case, it’s gotten to the point where I hardly even […]

Also posted in Mark's Life, Observations, Uncategorized | Tagged fear of heights, OCD blogger, play structures, worry, worst case scenario | 2 Comments

Talking mental illness, stigma, suicide and personalized treatment options with John Greden, executive director of the U-M Depression Center

By Mark | November 13, 2014

In the immediately aftermath of Robin Williams’ death, there was a great deal of talk in the press about suicide, depression, and the fact that the two, all too often, go hand in hand. As someone who not only suffers from OCD and depression, but who has also lost several members of his family to […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Uncategorized | Tagged Bipolar Disorder, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Comprehensive Depression Center, Dead Poets Society, depression, Joe Himle, John F. Greden, meditation, mental illness, mood disorders, National Network of Depression Centers, OCD, presenteeism, productivity, Prozac, Robin Williams, sigma, suicide | 18 Comments

26 year old Anthony Carbajal, just recently diagnosed with ALS, pushes the cause well beyond the ice bucket challenge

By Mark | August 21, 2014

What tends to get lost in all the fun of the ice bucket challenge is the fact that ALS is a truly horrific disease. As I mentioned a few days ago, in my post about this current fundraising and awareness campaign being waged by the ALS Association, my grandmother suffered from ALS. What I don’t […]

Also posted in Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Tagged ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosi, Anthony Carbajal, ice bucket challenge, Mimi Gladys, suicide | 10 Comments

Reconnecting with old friends over tropical fruit, cheap beer and embarrassing stories of youth

By Mark | August 3, 2014

I spent the last 48 hours in the tiny town of Newton, New Jersey, reconnecting with old high school friends. It was a plan hatched earlier this last spring, at the funeral of my friend Dan’s mother. A few of us, if I remember correctly, were lamenting the fact that we didn’t see more of […]