Hi wildcat
Good recovery! What set you off, do you think? Too many negatives at once? It's a bit funny, isn't it, to look back and be able to tick off every one of the cognitive distortions? Well, funny sometimes -- there are times when it just makes me grumpy to be so predictable, lol. You regained your perspective really quickly -- well done! Sounds like there was even a positive outcome at work.
Re the lice: Best way to get rid of lice without insecticide is to put a ton of conditioner on your child's hair and comb it through thoroughly with a nit comb. The conditioner makes the hair too slippery for the lice to hang on, so they just comb out. The eggs are still there, though, so you have to repeat this every 7 days for at least 2 weeks (lice eggs hatch 7 - 10 days after they're laid). A couple of drops of tea tree oil in the shampoo seems to help as a defense. My girls had lice several times when they were little, and our health visitor recommended this treatment -- it works and is much kinder on the kids.
Take care
