[lucozader]

Welcome to the couch, old and new! A place to hang out - sometimes you get immediate feedback, sometimes you don't.

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Shouting, "Cool Whip" tends to bring others out from between the cushions if you're feeling lonely.

This is a chatty thread. All are welcome. We're kind of psychologically oriented, sometimes. We try to be supportive. At times we discuss what that means.

It’s a place to plop down on the couch when you come home from work or wherever, or wake up in the middle of the night, or check in at lunch, rant a bit or not, and be among friends.

We advise you not to drink or drug and text your therapist ("t") - we speak from experience...

Sometimes the thread moves fast and you might get overlooked; sometimes it moves slowly and all you hear are crickets. Sometimes you get hugged or thanked pages later. So if it's a bigger question, you might want to start a new thread.

Navajo Rabbit = Gah!

Grab a cushion and make yourselves comfy!

[lucozader]

[Elio]

wow already time for a new couch.. that didn't take long.

[Demunie]

Huhu new couch

*starts building a blanket fort*

[88Butterfly88]

Originally Posted by Elio

wow already time for a new couch.. that didn't take long.

Yeah, it didn't take long at all.

[Elio]

Originally Posted by Demunie

Huhu new couch

*starts building a blanket fort*

Can I join you in there? I like forts.

Yay new couch! I'm at my last shamanic practitioner training now and we're getting ready to open the doors for our free clinic sessions - i am offering shamanic dreamwork journeying as i drum. I am soooooo nervous!! I want to text t cuz she invited me to for encouragement but don't wanna bother her on saturday.... Oh well here i go wish me luck!!

[lucozader]

Good luck Art - I'm sure you'll be great!

One of fellow practitioners in training just said "fear is just excitement without breath" i like this a lot.

[healed84]

Just thought I'd add a beach picture to this couch.. vacation has started.

[healed84]

This is the deck from our beach house.

[LonesomeTonight]

I had to get some bloodwork done for my integrative doctor's appontment next week. After a few bad reactions in a row--one where I felt super lightheaded and sick (though that was partly because I waited till 11 to do a fasting blood draw) and a few where I felt shaky and panicky, I researched ways to avoid that. Apparently, it's from the vasovagal reflex, where your blood pressure drops as a reaction to the blood draw. And one website said a way to help keep your blood pressure up during a blood draw is to tighten your, uh, butt, abdominal, and arm (on the non-blood-draw arm) muscles for 10 seconds, then release, then repeat. While breathing normally.

So after sitting in the chair today and almost being like, "Never mind, I can't do this" and running screaming from the chair, I decided to give the clenching thing a shot. And...it definitely helped! I still felt slightly shaky, but not nearly as bad as the other times (and this was 5 vials). And the nurse doing the draw didn't ask me what I was doing or if I was OK, so apparently I concealed it well enough.

So, if you get shaky from blood draws, try the muscle tensing thing!

[lucozader]

That's an interesting tip, LT - thanks. I almost blacked out once after a blood test and I was already phobic before that, but I've had to have a lot recently. I find it really helps a lot to lie down while it's happening (and then get up very slowly and gradually afterwards) - it means my blood pressure can't plummet so easily. I also have a drink of water and a biscuit or something immediately afterwards.

I'm really glad that helped the experience for you! Five vials is a lot... Congrats on getting it over with! I always feel like they should give me a sticker or a lollipop or something afterwards...

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by lucozader

That's an interesting tip, LT - thanks. I almost blacked out once after a blood test and I was already phobic before that, but I've had to have a lot recently. I find it really helps a lot to lie down while it's happening (and then get up very slowly and gradually afterwards) - it means my blood pressure can't plummet so easily. I also have a drink of water and a biscuit or something immediately afterwards.

I'm really glad that helped the experience for you! Five vials is a lot... Congrats on getting it over with! I always feel like they should give me a sticker or a lollipop or something afterwards...

Thanks! Yeah, kids get stickers and lollipops--we should too! And I think some of them were smaller vials I just know how many it was because she had to click on them all on a computer screen (as I'm hoping she doesn't have to scroll over to the side for more), I guess to confirm she'd pulled the right types of vials? My doctor likes to test for lots of different stuff!

I tried to make sure I was really hydrated, too, and that my blood sugar wasn't too low. Think those helped.

Save

[atisketatasket]

Growing up with a parent who had both real and fake human and animal bones scattered about her study made me pretty much non-squeamish for life. Plus they both liked to compare notes on their more outre cases at the dinner table. Unexpected blessings.

[kecanoe]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

I had to get some bloodwork done for my integrative doctor's appontment next week. After a few bad reactions in a row--one where I felt super lightheaded and sick (though that was partly because I waited till 11 to do a fasting blood draw) and a few where I felt shaky and panicky, I researched ways to avoid that. Apparently, it's from the vasovagal reflex, where your blood pressure drops as a reaction to the blood draw. And one website said a way to help keep your blood pressure up during a blood draw is to tighten your, uh, butt, abdominal, and arm (on the non-blood-draw arm) muscles for 10 seconds, then release, then repeat. While breathing normally.

So after sitting in the chair today and almost being like, "Never mind, I can't do this" and running screaming from the chair, I decided to give the clenching thing a shot. And...it definitely helped! I still felt slightly shaky, but not nearly as bad as the other times (and this was 5 vials). And the nurse doing the draw didn't ask me what I was doing or if I was OK, so apparently I concealed it well enough.

So, if you get shaky from blood draws, try the muscle tensing thing!

One time I had 18 vials of blood drawn (All they knew was I was super sick with some mysterious tropical malady). The tech told me that he hoped I had eaten breakfast. I had not. I was too sick. I don't actually know if the blood draw made me feel bad. I already felt pretty awful.

[lucozader]

Originally Posted by kecanoe

One time I had 18 vials of blood drawn

I'm surprised you even had any blood left!

[88Butterfly88]

Add me to the pillow fort too please.

Good luck art!

Nice healed!

[88Butterfly88]

Originally Posted by lucozader

I'm surprised you even had any blood left!

Wow, I thought getting 6 vials drawn was a lot.

[lucozader]

I've achieved ****-all today. Well done me.

I'm thinking about how my T told me last session that he's moving to a new place in June. I'm wondering if he was partly interested in checking whether I'm sticking with him... I mean, I know he was likely telling all his clients that week about the move... but I did say to him the week before that I'd considered leaving him after our twenty hours (required by my university) are up. Maybe he was wondering about it. He didn't respond at all when I said it... I have managed to interpret that in every possible way at this point, of course. That's the problem with a lack of response I guess. What did I want him to say, anyway?! "Don't leave, Luc - I love you!"

Just for fun I did a bit of T window-shopping last night. Wondering what it would be like to find someone else. Then of course he was there in the search results and it freaked me out even though obviously he would show up there - that's how I found him in the first place!

Eurgh I dunno what I'm on about really. Sorry.

ETA: Obviously I'm not going to leave him - ridiculous!

[88Butterfly88]

I've t shopped when I wasn't serious about leaving ts too.

*sneaks into the blanket fort*

Oh my, 18 vials is a lot! The thought of T shopping gives me major anxiety though. Probably because I know I'm going to have to start shopping sooner rather than later.

[StressedMess]

Hey couch! Took my girls to the lake today to celebrate the little's birthday, she's turning 9 this Tuesday. Wow. Managed not to get sunburn, and wore a suit with no skirt and just didn't give a crap what people thought or might be saying, which is huge for me. Happy Saturday!

Hi couch! Just got home from my last session of our Shamanic Practitioner training including the free clinic that we offered, and I DID IT!! I was really nervous at first but as soon as I started drumming for the first person I worked with I calmed down and felt right at home. Over the 2 hours I worked with 5 people, drumming for them so they could journey, listening to them share their journey, and then I had also brought paper and colored pencils for them to draw something from their journey to remember it by. They all seemed really appreciative. Our instructor seemed impressed with my drumming, she said "Great drumming!" and that my rhythm is spot-on and very consistent. And then towards the end, the last 3 people that came asked for what the other trainees were offering, and since I wasn't working with anyone she asked me to drum for the others while they worked with their last person of the day. Of course I did. I'm tired but very excited and yeah, kinda proud of myself that I did it, even though I was nervous to put myself out there, I wanted to do this and I DID IT!! And it was a bit of a victory that I went and did it without texting t for encouragement. Instead, I asked myself "What would t say?" and told myself that - she would say "Call on that courageous Art that drove from St Louis to the Grand Canyon by herself to go work for the summer where she didn't know anybody." So that's what I did.

eta: i can't believe the 7 months is over already.... feels like we just started a month ago!!

[LonesomeTonight]

Art, that's awesome!

Wow, 18 vials is a lot of blood! I'd be afraid I wouldn't have any left! I hope they at least were able to diagnose your illness from that, kecanoe!

As for T shopping, I'm wondering about that myself. I get the vibe my individual T is going to retire soon--she's of that age and VERY unhappy about their move to the other office. She just seems ready to go. At one point, she'd said she would give 6 months notice, but when I asked her recently, she said it would probably be closer to 3 months... (I mean, she has to know if she's seriously considering retirement by the end of the year, right?) So I don't know if I should be shopping now...though I guess I did some of that before when we had a rupture, so I should have many of those T's bookmarked. But, like, do I actually call them and make initial appointments? Do I wait until she actually announces her retirement? Do I ask her about it next session?

(Wish I could just see MC individually--and like H and I could get a different marriage counselor if we think we need one, but know that most likely couldn't happen for various reasons...)