Couch 225: 2+2=5, Sheeple!

I had plantar fascitis some years ago. No insoles worked, so I got a boot for sleeping with my foot in the right position--it was from Amazon. Even after it went away, I sleep when on my stomach with my feet hanging off the edge of the bed to keep them at right angles. Hasn't come back.

Amazon.com

The same neighbor that used to make peanut brittle made divinity too at Christmas. I don't remember if I liked it, but it always looked pretty. She'd put it on a plate and wrap it in colored plastic wrap, like red or green. I just remember I liked the fudge and the peanut brittle. She made an assortment of goodies every year. She's a FB friend and she'll post cakes that she made or other things and I remember how good of a cook/baker she was/is. I just don't get to sample anymore!

Yes, I have custom-made ones, for both plantar fascitis and I also have a bone spur on one heel. They were expensive, I got them from a podiatrist who took molds of my feet, to the tune of like $500 and this was several years ago that I got them. I was upset at the time that my insurance refused to cover them. But they have honestly made all the difference in the world, so they've been worth every penny. Before I got them, every morning it was so painful to walk for the first little bit. It took a little time to get used to the insoles, but once I did, I love them.

The podiatrist also gave me some exercises to do, one of them I stand on my toes on a bottom step and push my heels down to stretch. I think that helps more than the other one, which more resembles a runner's stretch I think it's called.

Thanks! I ordered that too! I can wear the insoles during the day and that at night. I can't handle the pain anymore. I have a pretty high pain tolerance but this was getting to me! I appreciate your recommendation! I sleep with my feet off the bed anyway!

Thanks Artie. If these other remedies don't work, my next step will be to get a referral to a podiatrist. I understand they can be expensive but not having pain is worth it! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Divinity was my dad's favorite candy. I never liked it though. I wish I could send him a homemade batch.

Oh yeah, I have a boot too that I wore at night while I waited for my insoles to be made. I still have to use it from time to time if I go barefoot too much. I'm not supposed to at all - I also have flip flops with arch supports - but sometimes I go barefoot anyway.

(eta the flip flops with arch supports are expensive from the foot dr, I think I paid like $50 for the first pair at her office. They lasted a long time but I have since bought a pair on Amazon for like half that price and they work just as well.)

My grandmother made divinity too - I never liked it.
I have all the supplies to make an Indian peanut brittle = it uses jaggery and peanuts and is delicious.
Shengdana Chikki: Indian Peanut Brittle Recipe

Peanut Chikki - Cook With Manali

It’s late and rainy but I’m thinking about going to soak in the roof hot tub. (It is inside a solarium.)

Our neighborhood pool/hot tub are both closed for an undetermined time again. Supposedly a "leak" that they can't find. I tell ya that pool is closed more than it's open anymore.

I have been musing on impostor syndrome.

Is there an opposite? Where you feel like everyone else is an impostor but you are the real deal?

ETA: google suggests the opposite is the Dunning Kruger effect, but that’s not quite true, I think.

Narcissism? Capgras Syndrome?

Maybe narcissism. Or maybe it’s just a mechanism of coping with impostor syndrome.

The reason it came to mind was a women’s month symposium at my school, where a speaker half-jokingly suggested there might be a correlation between the amount of needless jargon an academic writer uses and the level of their impostor syndrome. But jargon is also used as a kind of code to see who belongs.

I don’t imagine this interests anyone else, so I’ll shut up now.

I've definitely had imposter syndrome as a female software engineer which is mostly a male profession. It led to me not asking for help in graduate school when I definitely needed it. It sucks when you don't want to appear weak or inadequate solely because of your gender.

People are selling marshmallow bunnies on fb again. Yuk yuck i tried a privately made one a couple of years agomand it was almost as bad the supermarket ones. Why is this even a thing?

Anxiety/insomnia why doth thou plague me? I thought I'd sleep tonight knowing I'm seeing L tomorrow. Well, I guess it's today now since it's 2:35am. I guess I'll go watch some mindless tv and maybe drift off to sleep, I dunno. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for as long as I could make myself stay there but now I've been up pacing the house. Body saying go back to bed but my brain will not shut the f up. There's an anxiety party happening up in there. I don't get it.

Insomnia sucks, Artie. I use some sleep meditations by The Honest Guys on YouTube, or a breathing exercise from my app. Inhale for four, hold for four, and then exhale for six.

(I find it easier than the 4, 7, 8 technique.)

Cannabis puts me right to sleep. If pot is legal in your state, try an edible if you don't want to smoke it.

When I have insomnia Artie, I find it best not to fight it. I get up and do something until I naturally feel sleepy again. When I fight it and try to sleep, it never works out and I'm more anxious and frustrated which just makes the insomnia worse. Of course, now the doctor gave me something to help me sleep so insomnia isn't as much of an issue......

thanks. i did finally get back to sleep.

it is legal here for recreational and medicinal use now, but i'm not sure they can quite yet legally sell it for recreational use. i need to go visit my son's gf at work, she recently started working at a dispensary, she would know. i don't know for sure when i would be able to buy it but i am sure on board with trying an edible.

I see T tomorrow. There's lots to talk about. I don't really feel like talking though. Maybe she will get on one of her tangents and I can sit back and enjoy the hour. I know that's not really therapy though when she does that. And it doesn't happen often.

I'm thinking I should text T and remind her because sometimes she forgets my appointments.

It might be good to do that, Kit. You shouldn't have to, as she shouldn't be forgetting your appointments. But the fact that she has a couple times in the past (or thought you had an appointment one week when you didn't) suggests it might be good to send her an email. You wouldn't need to word it at "Just reminding you of my appointment tomorrow" but could say something like "We should have plenty to talk about at my appointment tomorrow" or "looking forward to seeing you tomorrow" or however you'd want to word it.

Glad you were able to eventually get to sleep, Artie. I was awake from like 2 to 5 this morning, which sucked. I managed to sleep from 5 to 7, when D and H got up (plus got a couple hours in earlier in the night). I pick up that home sleep study thing next week to check for apnea, but that would only explain the waking up frequently and not feeling rested in the morning--it wouldn't keep me awake (and feeling wide awake) for 3 hours, so there's clearly something else going on. And I tried assorted things last night, like have a small snack, drinking some water, doing a crossword, counting backward from 100 by 3s (I read that someplace). I didn't want to take anything because by the time I realized it was becoming an issue, it was after 3, so it would have made me groggy today.

I need to check into the pot thing--I know it's legal for medical use in my state, and I believe they decriminalized it (might still be illegal to see, but OK to possess below a certain amount), but unsure how to buy it if I don't qualify medically (some people in my neighborhood definitely smoke it, but not someone I know where I'd feel comfortable asking). I'm pretty sure I could qualify for a medical marijuana card, with both anxiety and migraines--but there are specific providers you'd have to go to in order to get qualified (like my p-doc couldn't). Maybe I'll look into that over the weekend...

Thanks, I said, "Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I got a Covid test since I had been sick and it is negative. See you soon." Since I see her in person and she knew I had been sick I didn't want her to worry about getting sick.


Good thing I texted her because she texted back and said, "oh I have a 2 o'clock my mistake" (My appointments are usually at 11 and when she set it up she said same time different week.) So I responded back and said, "2 is fine."


I am going to channel stopdog.....good lord. This woman.


Good thing I texted her! I would have been upset if I didn't have my appointment at my usual time and I drove across town to see her and someone else was there in my place. Sheesh.