Couch 177: I Get a Strange Magic - ELO

Therapist as opponent.

Wow Jennifer Hudson just blew Amazing Grace out of the water, the sky, the universe at the Aretha funeral.

I think it's Artie who is going to CODA? What's it like? How many people are there? Does everyone get to talk? Can you remain silent?

I ask because I'm thinking of joining a DBSA depression group. I think it might have a similar structure. I'm really scared though because she said there's 10-20 people each week. That's a lot of people especially for someone who has social anxiety! But I'm still interested. I'm just wondering your take on a group. I've done 3 DBT groups and 1 depression group. The depression group was really depressing, but that was 15 years ago.

I also think I found a DBT group that not only does skills, but also does processing/support. I'm really excited about that one. It's only 30mins away from me and is only $30!

I was going to try another DBT group, but the intern and her boss determined I'd be better suited for individual skills therapy, and then later I can join the group. I think they see me as "unstable" because I was just hospitalized (she said it was a red flag during my assessment). Well, I don't like them anyways

Also, the Buckingham Palace’s version of Respect!

Yep I'm going to CODA meetings every Sunday afternoon . our group has about 10-15 people any given Sunday. You can pass if you don't want to participate in the readings and when it's share time you can choose to or not. They're a very non-judgemental and welcoming group, I felt comfortable enough to share at my first meeting. And they don't push the religious thing, instead it's more spiritual based. I don't know if other self-run groups are as great as this one has been. I hope they are. I'm considering signing up to facilitate a meeting soon, it's basically just reading out loud. No crosstalk is one of the rules - meaning you don't respond in any way to what others share. There's no discussion. I like that a lot. Makes it easier to share, and different than in therapy cuz with t there is always discussion! And it costs practically nothing - I watched the others at 1st meeting for a clue to the donation and everyone gives $1 so that's what I do too.

You kids get off my lawn.

But I have been teaching now long enough to see how some of a certain generation have been taught learned helplessness.
And they are complete crap the first few times they hear the word "no"

Is that funeral still going on? It seems like it has lasted about 10 hours already.

I just looked at the link — the dude calling him out..........is Canadian?

Stevie Wonder's up.

What else would they be?

And that’s not a bad thing. Lincoln’s Team of Rivals, etc.

Mostly I see my t as a teammate of sorts. Mostly. Sometimes I admit we do feel like opponents.....

My former T was big on saying, "I'm on your team."

I think the woman said that. She also said she was an ally and once that she was not the enemy.
I have no idea what she was on about.

(((Healed)))

My former T never said that she was not the enemy but I think it would have annoyed me if she would have said that.

I figured Blondie with her tennis-playing might just get that but the last time I asked her whether she usually won or lost her league tournaments on average, she gave me a spiel on how she doesn't care about competition and only tries to improve herself and blah blah blah.

Was he great or what? He is just so powerful. I didnt know the HARMONICA could be such a powerful instrument, but it is in his hands. His music is just mesmerizing.

Saw that - sweet!

They are still driving to the cemetery, but all the tv coverage has cut off. We had 4 channels following it live today all day.

Ryan Gosling is Canadian, idk about the Fox guy.

The fox guy is a divider, not a uniter

Heading home from Info. It wasn’t a bad session. We came close to a spat when she told me that the same afternoon I missed an appointment, another client showed up later whom Info didn’t have down for an appointment but who had texted her for one. I pointed out that if she’d lost the fee from me if I refused to pay she’d have made it up from that woman and broken even for the day.

I paid her anyway as intended. It is important to take and defend the moral high ground against these people.

Okay, so I am camping with BF in the darkest woods ever, and have the dogs snuggled all around, but I keep hearing twigs break. It is very Stephen King. The bonfire is dying down and the sun is gone- day is done gone the sun kind of night. You can tell fall is really aroud the corner.

I finally told my T about Reddit, and he first denied it. Then though I told him that was disappointing bc whoever wrote it was a good therapist and writer , I had been comforted by the sign in name, and I thought we were on the same page in that sensible well disguised post. I also said if he didn't write it, wow I was just a constellation of symptoms and not too individual bc every CPTSD and ever trauma Psychologist must fight the same battled.

After this, the session took on this goofy grin from both of us. It was unlike a normal strict session, and we really smiled at each other for an hour. It felt connected and( sorry BF) like love a bit.

He seemed pleased I though us out of the hole.

Indeed. Plus I never wanted one of them to think they were doing me a favor of any sort.

Blondie? She who can’t bear to lose at Uno? Who snipes about her tennis partners (not that they aren’t lovely people)? Whose children must have the most Elves on the Shelves ever?

If Blondie were a figure skater, she’d be kneecapping opponents right and left.

Aww....you have a compilation of Blondie’s greatest hits

ETA: I dunno — since I am an arse I also asked her about her kids’ tennis performance (she went on unasked-for about taking them to tennis tournaments over some weekend) but she didn’t give me the homily then and just said that they played a lot of matches. I suspect they lost a fair bit or she’d have let me know (since I don’t have children etc and so she feels fine bragging about her kids to me).