Couch 204: The Refactorable Couch

Geez, why firefighters?

It was the whole crew of everyone. There was even a police car outside but I didn't see the officers. Just the emt and firefighters came inside to the office.

Regarding the truancy stuff, C and I somehow managed to skip lots of school Junior year of HS, and skip one class quite frequently as a Senior in HS. North Carolina. No idea what the truancy percentage is here, but we got away with it somehow because of our "issues." Now that I think about it, we didn't do any schoolwork for several months as a Sophomore due to a hospitalization, as well.

I think they can probably make allowances if they want to if they think you're not enabling your daughter, BCM. It might help if you have someone treating your daughter who can speak on her and your behalf - because they just have no way of knowing if she's just jerking you around, saying school makes her anxious, so you don't want her anxiety activated etc. Not saying that's what's happening, just that they have no way of knowing that and it probably wouldn't be doing a service to kids overall if all that was needed to bypass this sort of thing is an excuse from a parent. For example, say a parent is abusive and beats their child then has to keep them home until the outward signs fade. They come up with some sort of medical or psychological reason to explain the excess absences. If all that was needed was a parent to make up some story, the child would not only be the victim of beatings but be denied the same education as their peers, as well. Then there are of course the parents who just can't be bothered to make their kids go to school and will come up with a tall tale.

Anyway, I think allowances can always be made, but I think you'll probably need more than your word if you're asking for extraordinary consideration. Kind of like she would need a note from you to excuse an absence, you might need a note from someone else if you want to excuse excess absences.

Good evening, all. Remember my red lentil chili? I have changed it up a little recently and now add a can of no-salt black beans and some precooked barley after it's done. (I have to add it after it's cooked because it would be above the fill line in my instant pot if I tried to cook it all together.) Oh so tasty!!

Hugs, SheHulk...

I have this one.

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook : Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation and Distress Tolerance by Matthew McKay ,

I haven't finished it though but learning to self soothe was a huge thing for me.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!



So dinner on the weekend!?

I have three same book and would definitely recommend it.

You just reminded me i need a letter from gp so there are certain accommodations for her exams. I just think its my anxiety ****ing with me because i spent all day obsessing about a freak accident on the news and my stupid brain has just run with it to the point where i have just spent the last couple of hours pacing and worrying about my D at the sgops.

I used to be a huge book worm when I was a kid, but unless it's school stuff, I have pretty much lost my ability to read.

Audiobooks however have been a welcome relief. There's Librivox and project gutenberg and the newer ones are mostly on audible.

I used to be a book worm too and then this past year my ability to read has waned, but recently I sort of forced myself to start reading again, and although I am not reading at the same quantity, I am reading and finding that I am enjoying it. I'm reading a series on the history of England right now. I'm on book 4 of 5. I hope the author does a 6 one that covers the recent history of England but I don't know if he will. His 5th book ends at Victoria's diamond jubilee.

My therapist suggested at my last appointment that I keep a calendar of my up days and down days. This is depressing. I have six sad faces in a row. It's supposed to help me see that the depression doesn't last forever. Any one else do something like this? Is it actually helpful?

It's donut Friday at work today!

Hey, Kit.

If nothing else, it gives you something to be able to say 'Hey, T...this calendar exercise is useful, but it's drawing my attention to the reality of my situation. I know I struggle to explain it, but here it is on paper.'

Hooray for doughnuts - I still want pancakes, but will have to wait until the week after next.

This isn't at all the same thing, but for the T I'm seeing Wednesday, he had an electronic intake form where I had to check off items from a list of symptoms that I'd experienced in the last 6 months. I checked almost all of them... (aside from increased appetite and sleeping too much, because depression/anxiety have the opposite effect on me generally). It just made my situation more of a reality.

Yeah, every time I do one of those I end up checking almost every box. And every online survey I do for depression invariably tells me I have severe depression. Not that it is a surprise to me. I know that already. Just seems like with all the meds and therapy I could at least have moderate depression....

Agreed.... I am usually shocked to read a list of symptoms that may occur with my diagnosis (cptsd and mdd) and realize I experience ALL of them. I tend to minimize my issues, but those symptom lists always put it right back in my face.

Amelia....

Esther....

I'm trying to not SH...looking at pictures of my kitties helps distract me. This morning there was a bit of a scuffle between the kitties. Not sure what it was about. But they seemed to make up come meal time. Esther, the diabetic one, hasn't been wanting to eat. The vet said when a diabetic cat doesn't want to eat that's a bad sign. So we have been giving her crunchies more, which she will eat even though the vet really just wants her on wet food. She hasn't had much of an appetite for the wet food. I did hold her and got her to eat some wet food that way and my Mom got her to eat some wet food by holding the bowl for her. Yeah, she's spoiled, but at 14 years old she's allowed to be spoiled. Amelia was freaked out because of the lightening and thunder (probably more from the thunder) and all the rain we got yesterday. So my Dad had to go find her at mealtime. She spent the evening indoors. They are inside/outside pets. We have two doggie doors and they can come and go as they please. Our backyard has a 6 foot high brick wall around it so they are pretty safe and don't wander.

Cute kitties, Kit.

They are both beautiful!

I am back from my dental appointment. It wasnt your usual dental appointment! They numbed me so much (for work on an upper front tooth) that the assistant had to pinch my lips together when she wanted me to close them around the drainer tube! i felt like i had cow lips! I still kinda do.

Science is soooo amazing.

SK, maybe you could consult a veterinary dietitian and home cook some meals for her. That could provide something that might be more appealing while also not giving her food that is problematic for her diabetes (which I assume is why the vet doesn't want her eating crunchies). I know of a veterinary dietitian who does online consults and meal plans, but I forget her name. I will try to find it if you're interested. I think you just pay a fee per meal she comes up with. Iirc, it seemed pretty affordable. Might be worth contacting her anyway to see if she would be able to come up with something suitable for a diabetic cat.

Another bonus of doing that would be it would occupy some of your time and mind. I know you said you don't like baking, so you probably don't like cooking, either. I don't like cooking myself. However, I do find some pleasure in making food occasionally for my dogs because I know how much they enjoy it. The anticipation of seeing them eat gives me something to look forward to. My chihuahua really likes things with spice and a bit of kick - he'll gobble up Indian dishes that don't even have meat in them because I've made them for myself. Next time I make a meal for them, I think I'll make tamales. Then of course they'll have their dog-safe full Thanksgiving spread.

Anyway, I think you're onto something with focusing on your kitties to avoid SH.

P.S. Both of my previous dogs, who lived to be 16 and 19, required modified feeding arrangements as they aged. Both ate on the couch. One eventually was hand fed - he did have a good appetite, although he was often picky and only wanted chicken dipped in butter near the end. Before that, I actually often had to hand feed him the wet dog food, which was disgusting. My other dog, who lived to be 19, only required to be on the couch in her last year and a half.

An app might be better. There are ones where you can track how you feel at any given point, not just on a day-to-day basis. Since you're feeling so bad overall, it seems like that might be better than a daily method of tracking. That way you could record nuances and when you feel a bit better as well. You can also make notes in apps and maybe see patterns.