Welcome

I can’t say I’ve always thought of the frightening force that rampages through my brain as a bear until now, but once the idea came to me, it seemed to fit. There’s nothing inherently bad about a bear, but should you suddenly — and without warning — find yourself confronted by one, well, all your rational thought will fly right out the window.

Bear!

My brain, running the most powerful OCD and ADD software, releases bears into my path at all times of the day and night, some far more terrifying than others.

Waving to my wife as she drives off to the train in the morning? Bear! Waking up in the middle of the night wondering if I need to check on my sleeping children, and what might happen if I just roll over and go back to sleep instead? Bear!! The phone rings from a number I don’t recognize? OMG, Bear!

My coping mechanisms aren’t always effective: instead of letting the bear go through the garbage cans in my brain, find some food and wander off, I sometimes start screaming, or telling the bear to leave me alone, or collapsing in terror.

But sharing what works, what doesn’t, what science can offer, what people with the best intentions may be saying that make it much more likely I’ll not just see the bears, but be afraid to ever tell anyone about the bears — these are all topics for Bear in Mind.

I hope we can express our experiences of the bears in our minds — no matter what medium works best for us to get the bear out of our head and into the open, where others can hear us, share back with us, and know that none of this is our fault — and none of us should be forced to fight bears alone.

We’re in this together — and it’s healthy to talk about it.