Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

As we rush through the minutes of this holiday season, checking off lists and racing for deadlines, it seems ever harder to find the time to experience time consciously. While technology and AI have catapulted our world into a ludicrous expectation for speed, our biological selves still need to envision our vision, express our emotions, and evolve with time. The rich concepts of Western classical music offers a way to reverse this unsustainable conflict. While I finish writing a piano intensive syllabus on the topic of timing, so many applications spill over into conscious living. What if we use mindful…

Following the success of The Black Phone, filmmaker Scott Derrickson didn’t play it safe when it came to the sequel. The Blake family faces off against the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in a story with spiritual consequences, not just physical. More than limbs are breakable in Black Phone 2—a sequel that deepens and tests Gwen’s (Madeleine McGraw) faith in the face of terror.  Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill made a sequel with vitality. “It’s a brilliant example of how horror sequels don’t have to be copy-and-paste, promoting originality within a franchise-building model,” Matt Donato wrote in his favorites of 2025…

Spring is supposed to be about renewal. New growth. Fresh starts and all that jazz. However,  not all change feels gentle, and not most transformations are painful. Sometimes it comes with discomfort, confusion, and the unsettling realization that something inside you is wiggling around. That’s where body horror thrives. These films explore transformation in its most intimate form. They are not just about what happens to the body, but how one can be reshaped. Each of these flicks captures a different shade of that fear, creating a perfect little anthology for the dark season.  Under the Skin Under the Skin…

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects about 10.4 percent of adults in one year and 20.6 percent over a lifetime (Hasin, 2018). Unfortunately, by themselves, psychotherapy and antidepressants only achieve full relief from symptoms in about 38 percent of treated patients. Combining psychotherapy and antidepressants modestly improves the outcomes. Clearly, more must be done for patients with MDD who have only a partial improvement from psychotherapy and/or antidepressants. Fortunately, there are several options, including adding additional medications, transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy, intranasal esketamine, and lifestyle interventions. Lifestyle interventions typically include behavioral activation (engaging in enjoyable, meaningful, or mastery-building activities, engaging…

There are moments when distress arrives clearly, only to dissolve almost immediately. You feel hurt or unsettled, then hear a familiar internal response: Maybe you are overreacting; maybe it was not that bad; maybe you misunderstood. Within seconds, the original feeling is replaced by doubt about whether it deserved to exist at all. Many people describe this experience as “gaslighting myself.” The phrase resonates because it captures something psychologically real: a pattern of internal self-doubt that feels imposed rather than chosen. But it also raises an important question. Gaslighting, in its original sense, is something one person does to another.…

Seven teams remain in the College Football Playoff. Here’s a look at the latest 2025 CFP odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Jan. 1.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.CFP Championship Winner 2025-26Indiana: +250 (bet $10 to win $35 total) Georgia: +320 (bet $10 to win $42 total)Miami: +425 (bet $10 to win $52.50 total)Oregon: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)Texas Tech: +750 (bet $10 to win $75 total) Alabama: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)Ole Miss:…

Do you ever find yourself standing in front of the open refrigerator looking for something to eat even though you weren’t hungry? You knew that you weren’t hungry and you’d feel guilty if you did eat, but you had the snack anyway? Why? Could it be that this unnecessary eating was triggered by your emotions? Countless studies have shown that eating is frequently used to soothe unpleasant emotions like stress or anxiety, boredom, anger, and depression. Emotional eating can take several forms. The most extreme is an eating binge, which is rapidly eating a large amount of food while feeling…

Ignore what the normies have to say because when you’re a horror fan, every year is a great year for movies. But 2025 was especially strong, with three(!) terrific remakes/reboots, a couple of seriously impressive releases from one of the most exciting voices working in the genre right now, the first legitimately brilliant sharksploitation movie in almost a decade, and even a couple of flicks that are garnering Oscar buzz (not that the freak child of film needs that kind of recognition, but I digress). Truly, we were spoiled for choice this year, and no Art the Clown in sight.…

People head into the new year with renewed energy to explore fitness and wellness trends. While the excitement of beginning new goals and habits remains strong, some people can quickly feel discouraged when they see the price tags associated with new fitness trends. However, there are ways to save and splurge as the new year approaches. You can start by thinking about expanding your definition of fitness. Nowadays, when people think about fitness, they are not just thinking about physical fitness. They think about mental health, emotional resilience, and general life satisfaction (Chekroud et al., 2018). For example, when you…

The end of the year has finally approached, and there was no shortage of horror media that knocked everyone’s socks off. We saw original horror, horror sequels, the return of franchises, and more. Personally, I haven’t seen everything that came out this year, nor have I seen all the popular releases. Though, from what I have been able to see, there’s much to discuss as to which films or shows will be contenders for the top of 2025. However, we’re not here to talk about what the wider horror world thinks. We’re here to dive into my favorites, folks. Instead…