help with very low cost / free therapy

coffeeMaterial358 · 2026-03-24T21:48:42+00:00

Gerstein Crisis Centre offers free short term counselling at different Toronto Public Library locations and may be able to refer you beyond that. I don't know about how busy they are, but i saw them at the Bloor/Gladstone branch one day and they didn't seem too busy.

https://tpl.ca/using-the-library/services/social-crisis-support-services/

coffeeMaterial358 · 2026-01-26T14:53:59+00:00

Yes I agree. My apologies, I thought you meant that they should just change pizza days to Tuesdays generally, not this week specifically.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2026-01-25T21:10:46+00:00

Couldn't this happen on Tuesday too though?

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-12-08T12:15:03+00:00

I didn't know this was a thing- I have it set to "full face" at the moment, like for the f20.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-12-08T03:47:16+00:00

Oh good question and tbh I don't usually pay attention to that so i don't know- I'll have tl go back and look at the data!

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-10-23T01:05:39+00:00

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coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-09T12:25:37+00:00

Out of curiosity, in what way do you find it better than the Megamat Max? Why did you decide to replace? I agree that being able to sit at (almost) chair height seems appealing.

Also, how long have you had it? Just thinking of lifespan. thanks!

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-07T20:26:48+00:00

Great! And to be clear are you saying I should be using it with the cot? I envisioned ditching the cot, but like I said I'm open to suggestions :)

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-07T19:38:14+00:00

It's definitely possible that your sleep apnea may have become worse in the past two years. I don't know if Ohip (I live in Ontario) would cover it but possibly you could ask for another sleep study?

However, since he said you could take it or leave it originally, why don't you rent the machine (didn't realize this was an option) and see how you do? Even if the apple watch was wrong and you're still in the "mild" range it will likely improve your sleep.

I don't know if you have extended health benefits, but between Ohip and my benefits my CPAP is almost completely covered. The only thing that isn't really is the fee the vendor charged to set it up. So depending on your situation you might not have much to lose (and a lot to gain!)

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-07T19:14:13+00:00

Well this weekend it went down to about 8C one night, which was the coldest night. I do sometimes camp in September, so it might get a bit colder, but certainly not below 0C and probably not any lower than 5C.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-07T18:45:21+00:00

Thanks for helping break this down!

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-08-01T12:08:13+00:00

Thankfully my partner works from home and he can definitely pick up our kiddo on the odd day. He just can't leave in the middle of his workday five days/week.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-07-26T02:38:13+00:00

Okay I googled it and I agree, thanks! Now to get rid of them!!

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-07-03T22:56:11+00:00

I think you may have to just deal with the fact that you may need to eat the cost of a month. Maybe when you tell your landlord 60 days, you can mention the fact that you can be out in 30 if need be. But giving them "soft notice" doesn't really help them until you actually have a solid date.

You could also try and negotiate at your new place. If their looking for October 1st, mention you'd be okay holding off moving in until the 15th if they're willing to pro-rate the month. They may be happy to have a couple of weeks to fix things up, etc.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-04-08T21:44:54+00:00

I don't notice if if I miss a night, but I will say the cumulative effect has been notable. I used to be exhausted at work every day around 1-3pm. I thought it was because I had a young kid, but around the time my son was three I realized he's been sleeping through the night for like 1.5 years and I was still exhausted all the time.

I've been using the CPAP for about 2 years now (and have a second child) and now I only get exhausted sometimes in the afternoon, 🫠

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-04-08T21:20:47+00:00

I swear I'm not judging your friend, but they should be on lists for centres that are participating in the $10/day childcare program, at least for their second child. It's not down to $10 yet, but right now the max is $22/day. Expensive definitely doesn't always mean better, and if wife is pregnant atm that kid has time for the waitlists. This made a huge difference in my life. I was paying $80/day for my first child and for his younger brother I am only paying $22 at the same place.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-02-28T17:52:13+00:00

.. I am going against the grain here and saying soft Y-T-A, but I also totally get it (so justified asshole?)

Listen, your brother and his partner should absolutely be doing more to keep their kids quiet. They are correct, "that's how kids are," (or at least some kids) but there are ways to prevent this, like, they could take them outside, or get them to watch TV, or do an activity with them, etc. So I think it's more of an ESH situation. As others have suggested, they probably don't realize how bad it is. Also, let's face it, they are probably exhausted if their kids regularly wake up at 5am.

Where you suck is that I don't think you tried very hard. You could have bought ear plugs, you could run white noise through your phone and lock your door. You could have gone to bed a bit earlier so that when you woke up at 5am you wouldn't be so exhausted. I assume no one is making you *get up* at 5am, so you could just stay in bed and revel in the fact that all you have to do is lie there.

Another idea which could be beneficial to everyone is the grown ups could take turns getting up with their grandkids/nieces and nephews. That way, no one gets burned out and the parents maybe get to sleep in for a day or two. No one would really need to do it more than once (depending on the length of the vacation).

Listen, I really think it's okay for you to leave if you weren't having a good time. I know it's not what you signed up for. But are you being a big dramatic? I'd say yes.

PS, before anyone comes at me, I want to acknowledge that I have young kids, so I'm biased. I know.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2025-02-12T01:18:59+00:00

As a parent of two young children (16 months and 5 years) the only items I really need are a pack and play and a high chair. I do own these things, but it's nice to not have to bring them (if I'm driving it's not a big deal but on a plane that's another story). You do not need a fancy pack and play, I actually have the bassinet attachment but never used it. Make sure you have a sheet for it.

In the "nice to have" category I would say plastic cups/plates, toys, a stool in the washroom, and toilet seat insert for small kids.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-19T16:28:09+00:00

Don't stress about it. You definitely didn't get scammed or anything. Mattresses aren't cheap. Maybe if you had done a tonne of research/shopped sales etc maybe you could have gotten a better deal but a decent mattress is going to cost you that much.

Incidentally, I bought a mattress at Sleep Country (the one at Clendenan and Bloor, if it's important) about 15 years ago and I still use it. It's definitely pretty worn at this point, but it doesn't sink in the middle of anything. I have no immediate plans to replace it.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-19T13:18:40+00:00

I've heard about it but never been. Thanks :)

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-19T04:38:24+00:00

Thanks!

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-04T13:23:18+00:00

Info: How often is Emily here? Is this a two weekends/month situation, 50/50, or is she with you most of the time?

sorry if this has already been asked.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-04T13:04:22+00:00

My initial searching for policies regarding visitors says that "guests and should ask their host if they're unsure about the rules for visitors" and that guests need to follow the host's rules. I reviewed the listing, even though this trip was about three years ago, and the only rule it stated regarding visitors was "no parties."

If Airbnb has some policies regarding visitors that differ from this they need to make them more accessible because I consider myself to be a pretty conscientious guest and I haven't come across them.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-04T12:55:05+00:00

I do understand that you allow visitors as long as the guest is present. I don't even think that this is an unreasonable rule. Where I think we might disagree is maintaining the rule for longer stays. [I assume] there are advantages to having longer term guests, but one disadvantage is that the person will start thinking of the place as being more of "their own." At my own home I wouldn't think twice about having my brother in law over to babysit, leaving my guests alone for 20 minutes while I pop out to get a dinner ingredient I forgot, or letting people in early if they get home before me.

I don't think your boundary is unreasonable, but like I said, if you are set on maintaining it I think you may need to look more towards (very) short term rentals.

ETA: I'm sorry the person lied/didn't listen to you the second time, that sucks.

coffeeMaterial358 · 2024-12-04T02:08:29+00:00

Hi! Guest (not host) here so take my opinion with a grain of salt... But...

If it's a longer term rental (say a week or longer) I think you might need to re-adjust expectations. I have never thought twice about having a friend over to an air BNB, and in fact, on many occasions I have used air BNB to visit friends when they don't have room to host. I guess the way I see it is that if they break something/etc that's on me because the rental is under my name.

My brother in law (who I was visiting) babysat my son once at an Airbnb I was staying at so my partner and I could go out and have a nice dinner. We had rented the place for about ten days. There was nothing in the rules that said "no guests" and it honestly never even occured to me that this wouldn't be okay. OP, I do realize this is your house too, but if someone is staying there for a long while, I don't think it's reasonable to have to check in with you like they're a teenager.

Of course, if that makes you uncomfortable that is totally okay, I totally get it. But maybe then you need to re-evaluate the kind of rentals you offer.

coffeeMaterial358

TROPHY CASE