Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Our attention is constantly hijacked by negative news, cell phone notifications, and social media. But we can reclaim our peace of mind with mindful practices.

Every day, we make choices, big and small. From what we eat for dinner to our careers to life-altering decisions, we are continually confronted with challenging and even intriguing complex choices. It can be easy just to follow our usual habits, ask friends and colleagues, or search the internet for advice. Sometimes, we sit back and wait for things to happen, hoping they’ll sort themselves out. But that’s not really how things work. Here’s the point: if you want to make informed decisions with solid outcomes, practice critical thinking. Critical thinking means being aware of what we don’t know and…

Outside of professional wrestling, the crossover of sports fans and horror diehards is a passionate minority. Consider HIM an olive branch, uniting jersey-clad tailgaters and theatrical thrill seekers. Justin Tipping’s sophomore feature is a sensationally stylish nightmare about what it takes to be the greatest of all time in the most gratifyingly unsubtle way. The Dear White People and Twenties director scores a touchdown with his satirization of “no guts, no glory,” examining predatory instincts that have become an everyday part of American gridiron culture. From peewees to Heisman winners, it’s all grooming for the chance of a lifetime—but as…

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 drops on Netflix September 30th, which means there’s still plenty of time to catch up on the brilliant first season. If you haven’t watched it yet, what are you even doing here? Go hit play and let yourself be swept away by AMC’s lush, haunting, and surprisingly funny take on Anne Rice’s iconic novel and beautifully complex characters. But if you’re already up-to-date, you know what a gift this first season was. From the perfectly cast characters brought to life by a stunningly talented ensemble, to writing that delivers a delicious blend of Gothic…

My-Linh Le grew up watching her parents explode over tiny mistakes. When she forgot her backpack in first grade, her mother kicked it across the room so hard it hit the wall. When her sister messed up dinner, her father threw dishes. The house stayed filled with unpredictable rage that left Le awake at night, worried about what she might do wrong the next day. As a child, Le thought all Vietnamese families acted this way. But years later, during a phone call with her boyfriend, when he didn’t do something she expected, rage “just suddenly came out of nowhere”.…

Pinocchio: Unstrung is the latest movie in The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU), also known as the Poohniverse. This will be the fifth installment in the TCU. The prior films are; Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (2024), Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (2025), and Bambi: The Reckoning (2025.) […]

This post is part two of a series. Executive Function (EF) challenges or delays in mastering EF skills almost always accompany ADHD. There can be many different aspects to EF challenges that may be more evident at different ages and in different settings. This blog post describes additional challenges not described in my last blog post. EF challenges may manifest in focusing attention, sustaining attention, or shifting attention. Or, they may show up in monitoring one’s actions and managing emotions. The challenges may arise alone or are often combined. Executive Function Challenge #3: Focusing, Sustaining, and Shifting Attention Many have…

I remember sitting in my office one afternoon, juggling too many open tabs on my computer, when an email landed that made my stomach tighten. It was from my manager, and it said something like, “Could you please put together a summary of what you’ve done this year to justify your course release?” To be fair, I don’t think it was meant to be accusatory, but that’s exactly how it felt (especially since the release had already been approved in writing). Suddenly, I was on the witness stand instead of part of a team. I stared at the screen and…

When did we collectively decide that shape-shifting reptilian aliens secretly control world governments? Because somewhere between the moon landing and social media, a significant portion of the population became convinced that our political leaders are literally cold-blooded lizards in human costumes. I’m talking about the reptilian conspiracy theory, and if you think it’s just harmless internet nonsense, you haven’t been paying attention. The Man Who Made Lizards Mainstream The modern obsession with reptilian overlords can be traced directly to one person, David Icke. David popularized this theory in the 1990s. He took some ideas from science fiction tropes and mixed…

If your social circle is anything like mine, you might have heard this argument too many times: Someone—perhaps uncle Leo—would say, “Burnout is just depression with a laptop.” Others would jump in with: “Nonsense. Depression is an illness. Burnout is what happens when work wrings you dry.” Then, of course, someone else has to say: “Just get it together and stop complaining.” And dessert mood is ruined—especially if just yesterday you were having this very argument with yourself. Interestingly, psychologists have been arguing about this for quite some time as well. The Great Burnout Debate On one side, researchers like…