Couch 226--CCXXVI Couch

Apparently Info has moved into the "exposed magenta bra strap" stage of grieving.

Wedding ring's back on her finger, though. (It was on a chain around her neck at first.)

By the way, it is very hard to believe a therapist whose husband died 4 months ago when she tells you that you (the client) have had a really rough year.

I would be unable to tolerate a therapist touching me regardless of the frequency of the touch.

I would believe the therapist if one usually believed them saying such things. Just because one person has one sort of rough year, it doesn't mean that someone else's experience has not been rough as well (unless, which I doubt is happening in your case, someone over-reacts to every little thing and swoons, faints, or some such)

I never believe her when she tells me how rough I have things. Because realistically I don't. And I cause a number of my own problems.

They do seem to have a fairly low bar.

Got an appointment with a new T on Monday the 26th at 2 PM. It's a ways away but hopefully this guy will be more helpful than current T.

Re: EMDR @@, my therapist uses the buzzers and I’d say they go about 70-80 bpm. They’re slower when I’m in my safe space though, for reasons I don’t understand.

I have tried and can't use the buzzers. They irritate me and knock me out of the right frame of mind for EMDR.

I find the light bar distracting, but if Info can't stop jerking her hands all over the place...I want the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag, not whatever she's doing.

I think thats called "ruby rose" now! I thought @@ was talking about a magnet clasp!

"Think like a millenial!"
Instead of "Walk like an Egyptian!"

"NOT IN MY HOUSE!"

I have submitted an official request for reasonable accommodation under the ADA for time off for psychotherapy appointments. I will need it if I switch to Dr. K. The one good thing about current T is that she works on Saturdays. With Dr. K., I will need to have time off during the week. CA gives 3 days (24 hours) of sick leave which is not going to cover it, I don't think. So, I am asking for unpaid time off if needed for these appointments. We will see what work says about it.

Magenta, the only color named after a battle. I thought all Italians knew that.

I hope your work approves your request. Is it possibly something where you could make up the time later? Like, go in earlier or stay later the next day? I had a previous job that was like that. My H's job, they don't even make him take any time off for, say, doctor's appointments, or when he was in marriage counseling with me. He's tended to have very laid back bosses though, and he's been there like 12 years.

Work approved it! I had a good talk with the owner and she said that I need to take care of myself and do what I need to do. I can work on Saturday from home or at 4 in the morning if I need to to make up the time, if I want to. She says she doesn't need me to be there exactly Mon to Friday 7 to 330. So this is good. I still need to talk to the General manager just so he is in the loop but I was mostly concerned with getting it through the upper management. She said I am very valuable and that she doesn't want me to worry about my employment. So that's a relief. I'm glad she got back to me today (time difference NY to CA) instead of tomorrow. One less thing to stress over!

How about chartreuse?! Sherlock even wrote a story about it... yes, The Ruse at Chartres.

Btw, did you LOOOOVE the SNL cold open where Kate as Pepe Lepeuw said all the movie roles for French skunks were coming down to Pepe and Gerard Depardieu?

ATT: Personally I prefer the buzzers because I can only do EMDR with my eyes closed. Either way, my T would always consults me on the speed and intensity at the start of each session. Now that we are doing EMDR virtually I use two butter knives and tap my legs myself. Info should be able to accommodate you and let you tap your legs or arms yourself if that would work better. Watch my T finger go back and forth hurts my eyeballs. If she is not able to adjust to you, I would not trust her skills as an EMDR therapist.

My T couldnt really explain to me how EMDR worked to my satisfaction. Thats when he started going on about trusting in the process but his explaination of the process wasnt dequate either. Anyway they change the name from Eye movement desensitising and reprocessing to bilateral stimulus distraction technique or bs dt.

My sister is coming today with four of the children. The other child is in El Salvador on a mission's trip. My sister and the kiddos haven't been in their home for over a week. (Maybe a DV issue, I'm not sure.) Something bad must have happened because my sister puts up with too much crap from my brother-in-law so for her to leave, it must have been bad. So my sister is coming to stay with us for a few days, with the four youngest children. I'm happy to see her but I am worried about her. I am also worried about the children. I know they are going to be stressed out and tense. I hope everything will be alright. I am worried for her.

The oldest child who is in El Salvador came down with a stomach bug as did 13 of the 16 people from their group. So he is resting at a clinic.

I'm glad they approved it so quickly, Kit! And that you'll have the option to make up the time. And that they've let you know how much they value you.

awwww. as I was logging off work, h said hey come in here, what are all these little feathers? there were tiny black feathers scattered all around the house. we looked around and eventually found a tiny bird in our closet!! We have no idea how it got in, none of the cats have been outside today, and surely if it had been in here since yesterday we would have heard it or seen the feathers sooner. H took the trash out earlier so the only thing we can surmise is it flew in under the bottom of the outside door, which has about a 3 inch gap, and it's a tiny enough bird it could have fit. It was still alive, so I picked it up and carried it outside, I think it has a broken wing maybe cuz when I set it down on the ground it didn't try to fly away. I moved it into the shade and will go check on it in a little bit. Poor little thing. I'm really amazed that the cats didn't kill it.

followup on the little birdie: i went outside to check on him just now and he's not where I left him under the tree. I'm hoping that means he was just frozen with fear and that once he was back outside he flew away.


In other bird news, one of the local hawks conked himself against our big window yesterday, i heard it when he hit and went to investigate the noise, and he was sitting on the bench just under the window. He looked up and saw me, then flew away. I'm glad he was okay! I guess it just dazed him, it must take a lot to knock out a big hawk!


Speaking of the hawk I prefer to believe he did not make dinner out of the little birdie I rescued from my closet.

I'm so glad you got it approved!

You’re assuming I trust her skills as a therapist in other regards.

I had not thought of eyes closed, good idea. She did mention self-tapping, but I was too frustrated by then to try it.

One problem may be No. 2 was an expert in the EMDR field—whatever the level below the founder is—and Info is Level 1.

Actually, Info is Level 1 in a lot of things.

Sweetie...*shakes head sadly*

Ya know, i made the joke, THEN googled to make sure Chartres was a real place. Dammit, Jim, Im a computer programmer, not a liberal arts teacher!

Artie, I'll choose to believe the baby bird was OK, too! With hawks, when I was working years ago in a tall office building--I think I was on the 11th floor?--a hawk smacked into the window there and got somehow stuck in something on the side of the building when it fell. They had to have wildlife control come out and rescue it (I think it was OK).


Dr. T said that a hawk once smacked into the window in his office during a session (he's just on the second floor)--that would have been an interesting session!