I need a mentor (lc)

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I'm in a bad rut, and one of you guys has to talk me out of it. ...
Then I took a shot at $50s and went on some weird kind of long-term tilt, doing just plain dumb, undisciplined stuff, back through the $25s and all the way down to $300 in the account. You know -- "call his raise anyway, see what he has, damn he had it", etc.

I have the grey matter to beat the game, but I often lack the patience. My day job earns me a comfortable six figures, so it's hard to take the dollars seriously at $25NL, which is definitely part of my problem. But I just can't buy the "move up now, you'll take the game more seriously" line, for obvious reasons (i.e., what if, in fact, I SUCK?). The day job is also hard work, and I have a family to support, so time is limited....

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Sounds like you've already identified some things you need to work on. If you can't take 25NL seriously, then you're definitely not playing with scared money (that should help you win). If you can't consistently beat 25NL, moving up to 50 or 100NL won't make things easier. It sounds like you have a problem with patience. Don't expect every session to be a winning one. All you can do is make the best decisions. Remember that even if you do make the correct decisions, you are not always going to win money. Forgot about money lost. Make the correct decisions and everything else will work itself out.

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I think this is the best advice. From your post, it sounds like you're thinking of the money a lot. Don't. It really is true that you can't play poker well if you're thinking of the money. You have to think about poker as making decision--the right ones hopefully. Whether you're playing 25NL or 1000NL, you should be making the right decisions. It doesn't sound like you are, so that's what you should focus on. Whenever I find myself thinking about the actual money it always screws me up. My thought process: "Man, this is a hell of a nice pot. Having another $500 in my bankroll would be real nice. OK, I'll call because I want this money." Notice no thoughts about whether or not it was the right decision. Don't think about the money. Ever.

Just as a related aside, this is why bad beats don't bother me anymore: I know I played it right and he played it wrong. The thing that really affects me is putting my money in with the worst hand when I shouldn't have--making the wrong decision.