Couch 251: The Matrix Recovered

Congratulations - that is a happy choice to have.

So pleased for you, WFS!

Holding the hope that you can make a decision that serves you well.

Congrats, WFS! That's awesome! Glad they're giving you time to decide.

Congrats WFS! That's wonderful, and so cool that they gave you time to decide.

Ugh, H is going to pick up D at school right now because she hit and/or kicked a couple teachers, and they asked him to pick her up. Unsure whether she's suspended. She did that a little on Friday, too, but seemed fine yesterday. Not sure what's going on (and she tends to not be able to explain it either). We did just increase her dose of an SSRI (it's still pretty low), but that was Sunday, so wouldn't explain Friday at all. We just had a really good parent-teacher conference a couple weeks ago, too...

I'm sorry, LT.

All the change around this time of year must be hard on her.
I hope they haven't suspended her - it seems a little drastic.

Hope everything works out for you.

Take care,

Lost

I'm sorry LT. I think the schools are getting a lot less tolerant of things. My sister's son recently got suspended for a week because (very clearly) defended himself. And for some reason the other kid didn't even get in trouble at all. I hope everything works out okay for your D!

Thanks, Lost. They didn't suspend her--just said she had to go home for the day, that it would be punishment enough, as she generally loves being at school and taking the bus home. The issue this time was that she hit a school secretary (well, threw her soft-sided lunch bag at her) and an assistant principal in the office. So she was right at the top, really.

Thanks, Artie. This time, she threw a (soft-sided) lunch box at the school secretary and hit the assistant principal, so she was at the top of the school disciplinary chain to start... They were apparently just matter-of-fact about it. Like, "You need to go home, and we can try again tomorrow."

Ugh, sorry about your sister's son. The other kid should have gotten in trouble for sure. Hope things settle down there, too.

Sorry to hear that, LT.
It must be tricky to understand what her reasoning is.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Thanks, Lost.

I'm not doing good at all. Had a breakdown last night. L is talking about IOP and I'm not turning it down like I usually do.

I did good just now. I made an appointment with a new pdoc. It isn't until Feb 3rd, but she gets good reviews, so I'm will to wait hoping the reviews are correct. I'm just a test subject for current pdoc. I've been through so many meds this year... I was mostly stable on my meds from last pdocs for 10 years? But this pdoc changed everything trying to stop the SI completely. I'm just done. She also is very pushy with me.

Hugs, Scarlet. I'm sorry you're struggling so much right now. If you did IOP, could you still see L at all during that time?

With the new pdoc, could you ask to get on a cancellation list, so that you could maybe get in sooner? I also don't think it's necessarily realistic or needed to stop SI completely. And pushy isn't good...so does sound like you need a new one.

Way to go, WFS! Maybe your good luck will rub off on me in my interview tomorrow.

Today a Dean type suggested to me that I shouldn’t do the things in my job that aren’t suitable for deaf people. My response—those are the areas I like and I have contributions to make in them—was apparently not a good enough reason to do them.

Oh for the love of all that is reasonable, what even the heck? All the more reason to wish you good vibes and good fit at your interview tomorrow. Crossing my fingers and toes and elbows and eyes for you...

Tell that Dean type we are recalling their woke card.

Good luck.
Your admin really are clueless bogs.

LT, I'm hoping to still see L. I don't think I'll do it if I can't. That's a long time to be away from her especially considering her leave is just months away.

I should definitely inquire about a cancelation list. Thanks! Yeah, my pdoc, while she might care, she isn't helping. Like this last appointment, she was pushing me to volunteer this holiday. When I said no, she said: "I guess you don't like helping people". Or she was being pushy about exercise. She said maybe if I exercised, I wouldn't need all my meds. While true, it's also easier said than done. Or she is constantly bringing up religion even though she's been told multiple times I have religious trauma. It's just not working.

Good luck to you!


And ugh to the dean type person... Hope you'll be able to tell them,, "OK, I'm going to go contribute in this other job instead, where I'm respected for my abilities and contributions."

Yes!

Since when has 'Just turn your disability off' been a viable strategy?

Hugs, Scarlet. Your pdoc's comment about "I guess you don't like helping people" seems very rude and judgmental to me! As a mental health professional, she should realize that it can be difficult to do things like volunteer, exercise, etc. when you're struggling. And shouldn't be mentioning religion due to your past. Sounds like switching pdocs is a good idea!

How's today shaping up, LT?

OK as far as we know, Lost. Hoping she gets through the school day OK. Just got a message from the school that there were "emergency vehicles" there earlier to "help a student in crisis" but that it did not disrupt instruction, so hopefully D was unaware of them. I'll report back later (she has about 4 hours of school left).


Thanks for asking.

The worst part about teaching at a university is that I cannot get rid of cookies/candy people give out right now by just taking it in and leaving it for others to eat - our buildings literally are shut down for two weeks. Public defenders would eat everything in a matter of minutes -barren earth like locusts had been there=that was useful

Hugs to LT and Scarlet especially, and in general ofc
I just got invited to one of my classes Christmas dinners, which is really nice. Makes me feel both really appreciated and kind of special since most teachers don't get to do that.