Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Though I’m increasingly aware that it ages me, I have an admission: I’m a Facebook user. I know it’s not the trendiest social media outlet, but like anyone else, I’m a product of my generation. After all, I was “born in the 1900s” (as my children love to remind me). So I’ve made my peace with it. Recently I joined a group on Facebook, which I don’t often do. Despite signing up in 2008 (geez), I’ve only ever joined a handful over the years. Chalk it up to my combination of fierce independence and mild technophobia. But this one seemed…

Short-form videos have become one of the dominant ways young people engage with social media. These are clips lasting seconds up to a few minutes, driven by personalized algorithms that are deeply immersive and precisely tailored to users’ interests, with endless autoplay and infinite scroll providing no stopping cues. These feature-driven clips are standard in platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and are designed to keep attention locked in. This design matters because it encourages repeated, often automatic engagement. Users don’t need to decide what to watch next, as the platform decides for them. Over time, this may…

The Arizona Cardinals have found their next head coach, not long after losing out on the sweepstakes to land Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur has been hired as the next head coach of the Cardinals, the team announced Sunday. With Sunday’s news of the Cardinals hiring LaFleur and the Las Vegas Raiders planning to hire Kubiak, all 10 head coach vacancies have been filled. “I couldn’t be more fired up to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and am beyond grateful to [owner] Michael [Bidwill] and [general manager] Monti [Ossenfort] for this…

Anorexia nervosa is often portrayed as an illness that has existed for centuries, does not respond well to treatment, and is surrounded by confusing and competing theories. Many people are told that little has changed despite decades of research and clinical work. This message appears in academic writing, the media, and everyday conversations. Over time, it shapes how professionals approach care, how families understand the illness, and how people with anorexia nervosa view their chances of recovery. A recent article, Anorexia Nervosa: 150 Years of Critical Theory, reflects this way of thinking. Written by international experts, the paper reviews how…

I have worn noise-canceling headphones many times throughout my life. As an autistic diagnosed in early toddlerhood, I’ve relied on sensory accommodations across every stage of my life. So, when I settled into the stands for my first undergraduate football game at the University of California, Berkeley, I expected the technology to do its job. I expected relief from the roar of the crowd. Then came the cannon shot. At Berkeley football games, a ceremonial cannon is fired every time the team scores. When it went off, the blast cut straight through the headphones—amplified, sharper, and more jarring than anything…

Inter are reportedly in talks with Liverpool over a loan move for midfielder Curtis Jones. The Reds academy product is not a regular under manager Arne Slot and that has led to links with the Serie A giants. The 25-year-old’s contract at Anfield runs until the summer of 2027, and now it seems the Merseyside outfit have a decision on their hands, with the deal potentially including a buy option.Jones ‘living the dream’ at LiverpoolAfter making 46 appearances for Liverpool last season, 27 of which were starts, Jones seemed to finally become a key player at Anfield. He helped them…

Are you “ex”-amining the possibility of being friends with an ex? You may feel that you and your ex have known each other “ex”-ceptionally well in some ways, so why not keep each other in your lives? At the same time, though, such a friendship could bring some “ex”-tra complications and make your romantic life going forward “ex”-ceptionally harder if you are not careful. A future partner could even end up uttering some “ex”-pletives about you and your ex. So, the big question, then, is whether a friendship with a former squeeze is worth the squeeze. Well, such a friendship…

Ed and Lorraine Warren’s reputation seems to be faring better on the silver screen than in real life.  As divided as people are about their life’s work, they seem happy to be entertained by it at the movies, like The Conjuring: Last Rites. The latest case is that of the Smurls, a Pennsylvania family haunted by spirits in their new home.  As these things go, the Smurls tried getting help from their Catholic Church first before turning to the Warrens, famous demonologists, who have helped many families going through the same thing.  The Conjuring: Last Rites will be the final…

Everybody knows that stress gives you a headache. Everybody knows that a lack of sleep gives you a headache. In fact, everybody knows that drinking wine, skipping a meal, and studying too hard for a test can give you a headache. But why? There’s no easy answer to this question, and the true answer likely includes multiple factors. People with migraine likely have genetic differences that lower pain thresholds and increase the likelihood of having migraine attacks. People with migraine are also more likely to have had early childhood trauma and high-stress times in their lives, which could change how…

The outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City during the summer of 2025, which caused at least six deaths and more than 100 cases, reminded me of the time that I had gotten sick with the illness. I don’t know how I contracted the disease. I hadn’t been on a plane or in a hot tub, nor could I remember being anywhere near where I would have inhaled contaminated water droplets, the vector by which the bacteria spread. I felt lethargic and ran a fever. A test confirmed that I was sick with what was then a newly discovered…