Couch 227 - The Safe Couch

I cant believe my ex when i saidhow hard it was to find restaurants with good vegetarian meals, he said thats why HE suggested indidian or italian, i am sorry but my daughter wanted either indian or italian. I will stop going on about things now.

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Just got back from girls weekend with my lifelong friends. It was lovely and all, lots of laughing. We rented a farmhouse in wine country. There were sheep. We mostly ate in, didn't go shopping and spent some of that time hiking instead, which suits me fine.

Now it's time for me to head to sleep in my own bed, which is one of my favorite parts of going away, getting home to sleep in my own cozy bed. Except it occurred to me just now that I put off going to bed when I am home and that when I go away I sleep so much better. More deeply or something. Sigh. Night, Couchies.

P.S. una, did you wear a fancy hat to celebrate the Derby?

That sounds like a lovely weekend, WFS! And thanks for sharing the sheep photo!


I nearly always sleep much worse when I'm on vacation--something about being in a strange location and strange bed. Not that I sleep particularly well in general, just worse when I'm away.

Sounds like a fab trip!

Ugh... Dr. T had said about a month ago that he thought he'd be able to start in-person sessions in mid to late May (after his wife was fully vaccinated). Clients would have to be vaccinated, but we wouldn't have to wear masks, though would sit 6 feet apart.

I mentioned it today, and he said the American Psychological Association hasn't put out any new guidance on meeting with clients if both clinician and client are vaccinated. That their current guidance for in-person is both have to wear masks. And he doesn't want to do masks. So he's going to postpone it until they give additional guidance. He said he expects new guidance to come out by the end of the month, so it may not be that much longer. (I mean, the CDC is currently saying that two vaccinated people/households can meet indoors without wearing masks, or even one vaccinated and one unvaccinated person/household, so you'd think they would allow that, too?


But it's still frustrating. I'm having some difficulty going back out into society and figured going to therapy in person would be a part of, well, exposure therapy. And if I was there anxious about being in-person, he could help talk me through it.


I mean, I am worried about things changing and feeling different when we resume in-person, so in a small way it's a relief. But he'd also said we could have always stayed virtual for as long as I wanted (he said he expected some clients to just stay virtual). And I want to be able to have the choice. It's been over a year...

WFS that does sound like a lovely weekend, and what a pretty pic too! Thanks for sharing it. I need to find some friends to go camping with. I miss it, h doesn't like to camp. He likes the hiking part of being out in nature, but does not want to sleep in a tent.

Hugs, LT.

Thanks, Artie.

That does sound frustrating. Some of the docs at my hospital still wear masks despite being vaccinated, but it's just guidance though right not the law in your specific area. If he's not breaking any rules I don't see why he can't not wear a mask if he doesn't want to and you're okay with that.

Thanks, Lemon. I can definitely see doctors in a hospital setting wearing them still, because they don't know what patients they could come in contact with, plus I imagine it might make patients feel safer?


But I guess if it will just be Dr. T and I (or another vaccinated client) sitting in a room 6 feet apart, it seems like it should be OK? Like of course I'd still wear a mask to walk through the building and in the waiting area, then walking back to his office. Plus he said he was planning on initially having an hour between in-person clients (he'd see one virtually during that time) to give the air time to clean, just to be safe.

I have to wonder if he's also uncertain if he's ready to go back in person yet (whether for safety or other reasons) and is sort of using this to cover for it? He was meeting me from home every session last week (though was in his office today), so maybe he'll miss having that flexibility? Though I assume he could just decide he'll meet with clients virtually on a particular day, like if the weather is supposed to be bad, and work from home.

Found the current guidelines (note: this would just be for Licensed Psychologists).

Includes the following (last update was March 11):

"As more individuals receive the COVID-19 vaccine, some private practitioners may wonder if it’s OK to stop practicing telehealth and provide more in-person services. If feasible, APA recommends that psychologists providing routine outpatient care continue using telehealth to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports this practice. While the CDC’s new guidance states that small groups of fully vaccinated family members and friends can gather indoors in a casual setting with or without masks, psychologists must follow the guidelines for health care personnel. Health care providers should continue to use telehealth; wear personal protective equipment and practice physical distancing when interacting with patients; and implement COVID-19 screening protocols."

Got my second Covid shot yesterday. I feel achy today and I feel really tired and my arm is sore but that's it. I'm relieved to have gotten the second shot. Now I need to wait the two weeks for the immunity to kick in.

Been having a few hallucinations (audio) and one visual. I think that means the psychosis is breaking through the medication. I see Dr. K on the 11th, he didn't have an earlier appointment but I think his stance is going to be talk to Pdoc. Just a feeling I got.

Hugs, Kit. I imagine he'll want you to contact pdoc as well. Could you reach out to pdoc now to set up an appointment?

And glad you got your second shot!

Thanks for the hugs LT.


I'm debating. The voices are manageable, at least right now. Like I can ignore them. They freak me out at first but then like I just sort of realize it's a voice and then I settle down. I'm not scheduled to see Pdoc until July, so I might need to make an appointment before then. I'm prevaricating.


I'm achy from the shot so I am running my space heater which is making me hot but it is helping the aching in my muscles. When I go home I'll take some Ibuprofen and maybe a hot bath with Epsom salt.

I'm mostly debating because of the cost. The cost to see Pdoc is $200. But then if I let it go untreated and I get worse and end up in the hospital, my out of pocket maximum is $2750, which I have met some of. I'm supposed to get that case manager soon so I was hoping they would tell me what to do.

Got my last restitution check from the ex (via the state) today. I'm feeling very angry at the moment. I guess he's working now when he couldn't be bothered when he was with me.

H is cooking dinner - hamburgers yum! He makes the best hamburgers. Yes I have given up on the vegetarian thing for now. I might try again in the future...

Working on part of my therapy homework, looking for a place to swim (since they closed our pool here and I won't have one at the new house, unless I put an above-ground one in my backyard to swim circular laps in haha). Looking at a fitness club that has an indoor pool that's affordable enough if I skip one therapy session a month, that has an aqua-fit class twice a week plus lap swimming times, and a nicer resort kinda place but that one is probably out of my price range unless I go to every other week therapy sessions. Gotta contact them for rates as it's not clearly posted on the website, that I can find anyway. I will have to go check them out now after work one day.

Artie - our community college has pretty good fitness memberships, as does the local ymca and also theres a county fitness center. Get your google on!

I have meat as a standalone meal once in a while (once a week or so?), when nothing else seems to suit. We are called flexatarians - let the cheap shots begin!

Weirdly, I was just looking up local options with indoor pools... We had belonged to this community organization that involved fitness centers with pools where he had a discount because H worked in the community. But now they're moving his office (he'll still be working from hoe for months), so we'll no longer have the discount. Our account had been on freeze for a year due to COVID (we had to pay $10/month to freeze it...). Just found some local options that are much cheaper, so we'll cancel that.

Artie, I say go with the place where you can still do 3 therapy sessions a month.

I'm feeling extra sad today. I feel like precious time is slipping away. I'm scared that L is going to move and we will use telehealth indefinitely.

Also, a fb page I follow, Sheltie Planet, said:
I have followed them for a long time now, so it feels like I know them. So sad for them. Just makes me feel sad that my dogs are getting older.

Time is just going by...

Hugs, Scarlet. Has she said anything about moving lately? I'd talk to her about it.


It's hard reading on FB about pets dying. I have two guinea pigs and am in a couple guinea pig groups, and people frequently post about theirs dying or being sick/hurt. And it makes me worry about mine. But then people will post guinea pig babies, which are adorable (they come out covered in fur, eyes open, and ready to go, unlike, say, baby mice), so it balances out.

It's always looming. She said she'd know probably by the end of the year, and she'd move around the first quarter of next year. She and her partner are trying to stay here. They're doing everything they can to stay. I just feel it in me that she will move. I never get to keep special people in my life. They always leave for one reason or another. And she's extremely special. Plus, thanks to Covid, the transfer was put off for a year. I don't think lucky will be on my side for a second time.