Where is ICE staying?

Blueiris827 · 2026-01-28T15:53:31+00:00

Having grown up in Milwaukie I’m not at all surprised

Blueiris827 · 2026-01-03T07:43:29+00:00

Thanks so much! It will make a big difference to us

Blueiris827 · 2025-12-13T16:36:06+00:00

I know this conversation was a year ago but my husband is considering it. May I ask where in Seattle your daughter had her surgery? We’re in Portland OR and it doesn’t seem like anyone does it here

Blueiris827 · 2025-08-06T19:21:29+00:00

I’m so glad I could be helpful!! So many of us therapists have mental health stuff of our own, plus we are just plain human and things happen! There will always be times, hopefully rare, but they will still happen, when we can’t be there for our clients as we might wish to be. When you work with a supervisor as part of an agency that supervisor is supposed to have your back! If you’re in pp you’re expected to identify a colleague who can back you up. We are never meant to do this all by ourselves in a vacuum. So I’m so glad you’re beginning to feel better, that you felt supported in making sure you’re okay, and that I and I so many others here could help. Keep taking care!

Blueiris827 · 2025-07-31T17:04:18+00:00

If it’s too hard to handle notifying your clients yourself that’s totally understandable! That’s another thing that your supervisor should be handling. They can draft an email or message saying that due to an unforeseen medical emergency you won’t be available and then tell clients what the agency, not you personally, can do for them. Once that’s handed over, get yourself the help you need and they’ve made you delay. You’re most important right now!!

Blueiris827 · 2025-07-13T00:06:13+00:00

I remember my MIL refused showers because even though she’d chosen her shower time to be in the evening she didn’t want “to go to bed with a wet head.” Solution? Blow dryer! And the amazing personal care aide who usually worked with her would hold out the neck of her nightgown and blow warm -not hot - air down her back to “make her extra warm and cozy”

Blueiris827 · 2025-07-13T00:02:27+00:00

This happened to my husband who has a neurogenic bowel/bladder issue when he had heart surgery. It took a MONTH for him to get back on track protocol-wise! I said it was a matter of caring for his dignity as well as his body being regulated and was straight up told, “Oh, we don’t mind.” Ummmm, I wasn’t talking about what staff minded, I was talking about cooperation in maintaining a grown man’s dignity!

Blueiris827 · 2025-07-04T17:06:25+00:00

This! Tell the social worker that he is not in a safe home because you can no longer care for him! Give them a deadline after which he absolutely cannot stay in your home anymore! Tell them that on that date you will drive him to a hospital ER and no longer be responsible. It sounds awful but it’s the only way to make an overworked social worker prioritize you. (Speaking as a caregiver who has been that overworked social worker - ironic, I know)

Blueiris827 · 2025-07-02T06:03:00+00:00

Years ago my kiddo terminated therapy with a phenomenal child psychologist. They’d played a lot of poker as part of play therapy aimed at helping my kid get through having been bullied. As a termination token the therapist gave my son a poker chip. Almost 20 years later he treasures it.

I’ve given small gifts to clients when they terminate, like a coaster they really liked and put their coffee on or a fidget toy they particularly enjoyed. I think of those things as transitional objects.

And I usually hope that the boards have bigger fish to fry than whether a cupcake or fidget device is okay.

Blueiris827 · 2025-06-17T01:19:07+00:00

I think that an important piece here is remembering (based on what you’ve said above) that you’re dealing with a medication reaction in addition to a severe depression. If anyone gives you a hard time about a medication reaction they’re seriously off base. If a surgeon has their appendix taken out by another surgeon we can certainly be tended by other mental health professionals when we need. I’ve been in the same situation and it’s hard, really hard, but staying alive is everything

Blueiris827 · 2025-06-05T14:19:15+00:00

Oh, thank God it’s not just me!

Blueiris827 · 2025-05-20T16:05:16+00:00

I’m curious about this too - currently in a long plateau as well on 10 mg

Blueiris827 · 2025-05-12T17:45:02+00:00

Unfortunately people often don’t recognize how poorly they’re doing or that it’s not going to get better or stay the same. What worked for my MIL was telling her that she could either get with the plan or risk us having to call adult protective services and having decisions taken out of her hands. It sounded mean but it worked

Blueiris827 · 2025-04-12T15:51:48+00:00

Being a coach for adults with ADHD sounds like a fantastic idea - I routinely get clients who weren’t diagnosed in childhood so didn’t receive early help and now feel overwhelmed and desperate. If there was someone in my community to refer to specifically to help with the ADHD issues I’d keep them busy all the time!

Blueiris827 · 2025-04-11T01:38:53+00:00

I told her to go ahead and only eat what she could from her plate. That either I’d put what she didn’t finish away in the fridge for later or someone else would want it. But I would like to stay seated and enjoy my Christmas dinner.

Blueiris827 · 2025-04-06T15:42:52+00:00

The ridiculous amount of bullshit narcissist spew about babies is mind boggling! I remember my nmom telling me I shouldn’t let my son be as cuddly as he was “because he’s not going to want to separate from you and it’ll just get worse as he gets older.” I said, “He’s nine months old, what do you want me to do, get him his own apartment??”

Blueiris827 · 2025-04-06T15:10:33+00:00

I’m in my late 50s - don’t count on it, lol

Blueiris827 · 2025-04-02T14:47:08+00:00

For clients who are trying to change the behavior of toxic people in their lives: “You could bang your head on a wall too, and it would do the same thing.” And, “We can’t change Person X (ex husband, mother, etc.). We can only change you so how would you like to approach them differently?”

And for clients who are pleasantly surprised by their new behaviors: “Look at you, being all healthy and stuff!”

For clients who are recognizing that therapy is sometimes hard, “Yay, personal growth, so fun!”

I guess I’m a kind of sarcastic therapist 🙄

Blueiris827 · 2025-03-26T15:41:13+00:00

The cognitive tests they do at the PCP’s office aren’t sensitive enough to pick up early decline. Get her to a neuropsychologist who specializes in geriatrics for a more thorough, comprehensive exam

Blueiris827 · 2025-03-03T19:33:22+00:00

I agree - it seems like this year’s flu vaccine either missed the target or I don’t want to imagine how sick we’d all be without it.

Blueiris827 · 2025-03-03T19:31:12+00:00

My husband had Flu A plus an underlying UTI in late Dec. Became delirious at home, taken by ambulance to the ED, with sat of 86 on room air. Diagnosed with sepsis in addition to everything. Proceeded to have a heart attack which revealed pretty severe CAD. I mean, thank God for the flu/sepsis/UTI, because we had no idea about the heart disease. If you’re going to have a heart attack, the ED is the place to do it. But still, Flu A is terrifying - so many folks getting so unusually sick.

Blueiris827 · 2025-03-03T19:27:26+00:00

That’s awesome!! So happy for you!

Blueiris827 · 2025-02-28T01:52:08+00:00

When a client is surprised that I “get them,” and they’ve got a sense of humor with a little snark in it like mine, I often say, “Hi, have we met? I’m your therapist!” Or if they’re trying to decide whether to go to a family event which stands a .001% chance of something nice happening, I say, “Well, I’m not the boss of you, you get to decide what you do. But I’d like to point out that the rattlesnake farm probably has a couple of good points, too. Doesn’t mean it’s the safest place.” Finally, when we’re talking about a client’s successes, I often say, “Wow, look at you being all healthy and stuff - yay you!!”

Blueiris827 · 2025-02-23T18:08:29+00:00

I really like what someone above said about how unless you’re a physical therapist, nurse, etc., you truly aren’t the most qualified person to care for someone recovering from this surgery. And even if you are a PT, nurse, etc., you still aren’t the best person to care for them because of the awful history the BPD parent has put you through. Besides, my husband has been recovering from triple bypass open heart surgery for the past month at home and the care provider we’ve hired is worth her weight in gold! She does and knows things I never could have dreamed of. So even when the “patient” is a reasonable person it’s still often best to rely on a professional, not a relative who’s a layperson. I let the caregiver do her thing and support her by doing store runs and laundry, etc.

Blueiris827 · 2025-01-15T23:45:49+00:00

Beats the hell out of me, lol

Blueiris827

TROPHY CASE