Couch 225: 2+2=5, Sheeple!

I hope the walk helps too, Kit.

NP. I've been eating a lot of broccoli with my cauliflower rice! It's one of my go to vegetables. Plus Emma (my Mom's dog) loves it! So I give her some too. Her vet says it is perfectly fine for her to have fresh vegetables along with her dog food. She eats peas and carrots daily.

Sometimes we make Emma some chicken too. She loves that. Just like boiled chicken. Works out great because we can give Esther the broth. She is hungry all the time due to her diabetes but she can't eat all the time. But the vet said she can have as much (unsalted) chicken broth as she wants.

ToddlerManatee asked for more broccoli at dinner and would only be lured out of her high chair with promises of helping run the vacuum. She's darn cute when she isn't completely infuriating.

Thanks, Artie. It will do me good to be outside and I can talk with my Mom better if we are both doing something else. I told her at lunchtime that I wasn't doing well at all and so I'll have to tell her that I am still not doing well.

That's adorable. I used to detest green beans (though I like them now). And my parents would take one green bean and cut it into four or five pieces and have me eat that (although why IDK, because five is worse than one!) and one time when I was early elementary aged, I asked for four more green beans. And my parents were like, wait, do you want four whole ones or one cut in fours? I was like 4 big ones! And from then on I ate green beans just fine.

As a rule, I don't make her eat (or even try) anything she doesn't want to. She eats a wide variety of foods to begin with, and knowing her personality, if I turned it into a power struggle, she would eat way fewer things. We make this green bean stew that we sprinkle feta cheese on at the end, and she liked the stew but not the cheese, so she now shouts "no feta cheese!" whenever we mention feta cheese. Except she has eaten feta in several other dishes without complaint before and since. We just don't mention the name.

I am with TM on feta cheese. Despite being Greek, it makes me throw up whenever I eat it.

A dush of raisins, feta cheese, and gluten would probably kill me.

Info appointment tomorrow. She is also darn cute when she’s not completely infuriating.

I like feta, but despise goat cheese, bleu cheese, and gorgonzola. Thankfully, restaurants seem to have moved past trend where it was goat cheese on everything. But it's still there too often.

My campus bookstore put overstock on 50% clearance, so I now have an Apple Watch series 3. I mostly wanted to replace my Fitbit with it. I’m still trying to figure it out.

I have an apple watch which I really like but I also keep my fitbit one in my pocket. Apple is harder to satisfy on movement - Fitbit is more generous

That’s actually a big reason I wanted the Apple Watch, I didn’t believe Fitbit’s stats. After a day, I do believe Apple’s.

I agree that apple's can be more accurate in some areas -but not necessarily for others. To me, it is not as good at stationary exercise as it is at outside sort - so if I am riding my indoor bike using the peloton app or walking on the treadmill - it is not as accurate as other methods. The fitbit just makes me happy

Happy is good!

Oh poo! I forgot to go for a walk today. It's already dark outside so I'm gonna go jump on the treadmill!

I've tried both Fitbit and Garmin. I found Garmin to be very inaccurate for things like stairs (we have tons of stairs in our house) and particularly sleep. It would say that I'd slept soundly for 8 hours, which was completely inaccurate. Fitbit (Charge 3) has seemed much more accurate for stairs, steps, and sleep. Though my H finds Garmin is good for running, as it shows certain stats that I don't think Fitbit does. Haven't tried Apple Watch. Which is somewhat surprising, as I sit here typing on my Macbook Pro with my iPhone next to me...

I am trying a new brand of sneakers. My feet look odd in them but they are all the rage brand wise on a lot of running and walking sites. I have worn the same brand and same style daily for about 50 years but they are getting harder to find so I thought I would branch out. I hate breaking in new shoes

What brand? I usually wear New Balance.

Altras now and I have a pair of Hokas coming. New balance and Nike have never fit me well.

Artie I think you might also like this podcast. They also talk about Archetypes and dreams. In each episode they also discuss a dream submitted by a listener.

home – This Jungian Life

I emailed the other therapist I saw before in 2019 during my rupture with R, then tried to recall the email in outlook but sometimes it still does go through. It doesn't make sense to pay someone £40 for 50 mins to hear me cry about how much i'm struggling. I feel like I failed. Stupidly even considered seeing a celeb T who charges £200 for a 2.5h session.

I just feel so bad and feel like no one can really help me.

Lemon, I think it can be really helpful to have a T listen to you, empathize, and validate you when you're crying. It certainly does for me, at least. Like yesterday, I did a lot of crying in session, and Dr. T being there and accepting/validating things I said and the tears, it helped. It felt healing.

Big, safe hugs dear sweet Lemon. You have not failed. I agree with LT in thinking that it can help having someone sit and witness, hold the space, really see me, help me hold the feelings, truly listen and hear me while I cry and sob, even accept and welcome my tears and huge feelings. That's the thing for me, the being seen and heard as I wasn't at home growing up. I am slowly, ever so slowly, over the past 9+ years, learning how to listen to and hold my Self that way. It is so hard to let ourselves be that vulnerable but it is so worth it. YOU are so worth it. I hope you can find an appointment soon and let yourself cry about how much you're struggling, allow yourself to release some of the pain. I wish I could give you a real hug right now, I really do.


I wish that for you, that you will

Dearest Lemon, I think it does make sense to pay someone to hear you cry about how much you are struggling. Struggles need witnesses. Your pain needs a witness. I'm sorry you feel like you failed. I think you are being harder on yourself than you would be on someone else. I think if you were giving advice here to someone you would absolutely say they did not fail and maybe to call their T. It's okay to seek help. It's okay to not be okay. It's okay to have someone witness your not okayness. Hugs to you dear sweet Lemon. Kit

Still struggling today. I didn't reach out to T yesterday but I am thinking of reaching out to T today. Just to let her know about the thoughts. And to let her know that things aren't going well. I know she can't do anything about it but she can hear me. I think I need to be heard. After my board meeting at work, I'll text T.