Couch 176: The happy cake couch

*brings emerald some cake*

Thank you ❤️❤️❤️

I do have grounding techniques. It just takes a while to conjure them up, plus I’m pretty rusty 😅

Wooooooo!

But you might not get that much work done with SD's chainsaw in the background. CE & Una rolling around in the mud. @@ turning book pages + me munching on cereal.

I know that feeling. I don't know whether it'll help you, but I've found this video quite useful.

I'm very woo too!

I've seen that one too!

Perhaps it would be better to go at a slower pace until you feel more in control again?

Thank you! Watching this now

Yeah, this is my T’s advice as well. I’m just the tiniest bit impatient and want to get to the end result where I’ve gotten over everything and I don’t feel the need for therapy anymore.

Thank you ❤️

I think slowing down a bit in trauma work is wise, at least until everything is re- balanced again. I also recommend being more intentional about doing things for yourself that make you feel good (pleasing things for your senses, etc). Sometimes it helps me to tell my T to make sure we stop with the intense things a few minutes early so I can come back. Usually that means she asks about how I feel about what I shared, but sometimes it's just joking around or chatting. I generally don't like to use therapy time on that kind of thing, but I find that deliberately wrapping things up like that with her helps me keep things more contained outside the office too.

But thats why i have such a lovely complexion!

Wow when he said very soon he meant it... I came back from lunch to an email saying my work at home is approved! Woohoo! Usually takes about 6 weeks from approval to be working at home. Finally! So glad. I think this news has pulled me out of my funk of late!

Congratulations!!!

OMG!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

That's why we all live together in the alps of Switzerland.

*turns pages loudly*

Hey, maybe I can practice my lectures on you!

tisket if you need to practice your lectures, I'm happy to listen, whether I'll understand the lecture is a different story entirely (crappy learning difficulty)

Awesome, congrats, Art!

Awesome!

"The squeaky wheel gets the canola oil!"

I'm really struggling with processing my session today. It was really intense. In fact, T even once commented on the fact that he can "be pretty intense." In the past, he'd said "You affect me, LT." Today he went with, "I'm not immune to you, LT." As in, stuff I say has an impact on him. And he's trying to make me understand how people on the "outside" might react to me. But, as I said today, it's not like I'd tell my friend, "So I looked at a photo of you to feel more connected to you."

At the end, he asked if I thought I could "handle" him. Because he's so honest and gives so much feedback, but he said he's tried to adjust that for me, because I can react so strongly. I said I thought so, how I feel maybe it's more what I need right now, like if it brings out emotions like shame, that's stuff I need to explore. Like maybe it was too safe with ex-MC just accepting everything

It just felt so intense, more, I don't know, "real" than I'm used to having in therapy. Like in some ways, it felt like transference and countertransference flying around the room. But maybe I need more, uh, "real-ness" vs. ex-MC saying everything is OK (which, as T said today, isn't realistic).

I am getting slightly obsessed with eating fruit with salt -- melons with salt, fresh figs with salt.

Actually fresh figs any which way.

While also wondering as to how I've managed to walk the earth for so long without knowing the heaven that is a fresh fig. Sigh.

Well, now I want to try fruit with salt, being a fan of the sweet/salty. Wonder how plums would work?

Thats why, even tho adam and eve covered themselves with fig leaves, even god was smart enough not to tell them not to eat figs!

Figs are delicious. I grew up eating salt on apples, watermelon, grapefruit, etc. I did not realize not everyone did it.