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February 20, 2012 Hi {!firstname_fix} First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your warm and caring notes about Barney. It really touched me a lot. This has been a week of catching up and using the tools of recovery to get settled. I went down to the Bosque Del Apache on Sunday with some friends. They are birders and are teaching me the art of *seeing*...this means that what looks like a waterway with many brown ducks on it is really a flyway with 32 different kinds of ducks with spectacular plumage. It reminds me of learning to journal..if you know what you are looking at, it isn't just a bunch of brown, LOL. How they hold all that in their heads is beyond my poor brain. But I have a picture book and some new binoculars that were a gift from amazon.com and am a willing student. I am back to the gym after a month off while my trainer was sick. Now I have a workout sheet that includes my food and my exercise. That was a fun thing to design. He loves the simplicity of it, and so do I. I tried a new machine for *buns of steel* and have been dealing with old rusty buns that need a little oil - kinda like the tin man in the Wizard of OZ. But the fun part is taking all of what we are reviewing in the YLD book study and upgrading it for new vitality. Talk about motivation. You will notice a new class down there in the list. I have been intrigued by the startling percentage of people in our community with toes on the asperger's continuum, or with children dealing with that. I thought it would be fun to put some work into designing a sugar-sensitive filter to the questions and see what we might come up with. If you have AS in your life, do come join us. And remember, that hints of Ranch are dusting through the community. I am designing the *new* part of the presentations so we have the cutting-edge stuff along side the skill building. And the new venue at the Indian Cultural Center is knock-dead gorgeous! These classes will begin Wednesday, February 22, 2012. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
These classes will begin Wednesday, February 29, 2012. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
** Quote From Kathleen ** What you are trying to do is notice and record. You do not have to sort it all out, nor make sense of the feelings. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** I just posted a success about my eldest daughter...and the really funny thing is I always thought I would have to get my husband on board to do the food with my children...that without his participation, we weren't a team and it wouldn't work. It's odd how your mind plays tricks on you. i have found a solution for my eldest daughter and implemented it (without asking my husband to help or even for him to get on board), or should I say that between my eldest daughter and me we have found something that works (she is starting to feel better) and more importantly is starting to see connections. Never before has she made connections. Lindsay This is very insightful Lindsay. And your daughter making these connections is just huge. It took a while before my husband got on board. When I started working on the food with Anna, my husband was fed up with her out-of-control behavior and wanted her to go on medication. I simply asked for time. I wanted to try doing the food with her. He was skeptical because he wanted some sort of analytical proof. I was listening to the messages here, and heard that others before me had found healing for their children. So we started step one. Breakfast started to make her a little more even-keeled throughout the day. And I started treating her rages as blood sugar crashes, and feeding her when she would start getting angry. And the most startling thing started to happen. Often, she would eat, calm down, and go play! To say that this was shocking would be an understatement, LOL. After a while, my husband started noticing too, and looking at me like...did that really just happen?! Did she just calm down?! Fast forward a few years and my husband is 100% behind this program. He attributes it to healing our family in ways he could never have imagined. He's helpful with making sure kids gets snacks and meals when they are just with him. When they get cranky his first thought is, 'they must need to eat!' But when we were starting out, I needed to lead the way. Angela **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** 
There is a large mental health charity in the UK called MIND. "Sugar sensitivity" - A fabulous term coined by Kathleen herself. But how do you go about describing it to people who don't know what it is? Here are a couple of ideas: You can tell people that sugar affects the brain like a drug and that some people's bodies are more sensitive to it than others. Then talk about the chocolate chip cookie test (smile). If they are smiling in recognition, you can tell them that you have this body too and that you read a book called Potatoes not Prozac which has really helped. Another good way is to share a bit of your own story, what it was like before and what you are like now. Which way do you think might work best for you? Let us know! Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** I heard about SARP in early 2001, I don't remember where. I had received some cash for a Christmas gift and went straight out to buy SARP. There was a blurb about Radiant Recovery in the book and a year later when we got cable internet and I got brave enough to touch the computer the first site I went to was this one. I learned how to do breakfast correctly and I've been reading the forum ever since. Janice in Maryland **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
Are you dealing with winter dry skin, allergies, fatigue, confusion? Maybe it is time to add some fish oil to your program. Lots and lots of people are using the liquid oil in their shakes. It makes them creamy and tastes fresh. If you have ever had other oils and dealt with fish aftertaste, you will be really happy with our product. It is delicious and has NONE of that yuck stuff.
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** If you are wondering what to do for ravenous teens who come in after practice and want something NOW, here is a great recipe. You can have it on hand, or freeze it in single portions and then heat it in a flash.
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 13” x 9” pan, place the cooked spaghetti. In a small bowl, beat together the milk and eggs and pour over the spaghetti. Layer the cottage cheese over the spaghetti and then layer the ground beef over the cottage cheese. Spread the mariana or spaghetti sauce over the ground beef and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven until hot, about 30 minutes. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
** Radiant YLD ** Well, we started the book study just for the fun of it, and goodness, never expected this joy of shared exploration. We are having a blast and learning that YLD has a power way beyond anything we imagined. If you would like to turbocharge your program, at least be reading the chats. Best of all, come! If you would like to join, come find us here **********************************************************************
** Radiant Conversations ** We have a new portal for the Conversations program. Come check it out here. As you can imagine, last week's conversation chats were pretty intense...we talked about how present events can touch the old ones. And how recovery means we can rewrite the old stories. I think we are rewriting and writing anew with each of these chats. If you feel settled in your food [at whatever step you are on], and would like to add another dimension to your program, come join us. If you would like to join us, you can do that below. Join YLD Weight Loss Now: click here - $99 Join Conversations 2011 Now: click here - $99 Join Both YLD and Conversations Now: click here - $149 Current YLD members wish to Upgrade to Both, click here - $49 Current YLD members who wish to Transfer to Conversations 2011 Only can do so for a $14.99 admin fee: click here If you are not a member, come and join us if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** Hi All, I see that we've had 20 new people join the Radiant Depression list since the beginning of the year, so I thought I'd say 'welcome!' If you feel like introducing yourselves, it would be lovely to hear from you, where you are in the programme and how you're finding it. It can be hard to take that first step and say hello, but many of us have found that connecting to this community is really helpful. If you'd rather just read along for a while, that's fine, too. If you have any questions or worries, please feel free to ask. We're a friendly, caring bunch, and we all know what it's like to feel like we're at the mercy of a soul-sucking depression. Something you may have noticed is that we talk about joy a lot here. It seems a bit strange, I guess, that the list called 'depression' talks about joy. Maybe not what you would expect. (smile) But here's the thing. We really noticed this last year - that when we focus on joyful things, life gets better. I struggled for a long time. I used to write huge long messages about how awful I was feeling, and I would go round and round the same issues, never getting anywhere. I got stuck on step three, and just couldn't seem to progress. Then we started talking about joy. I thought it was a pretty silly idea, but gave it a try anyway. After all, what did I have to lose? I started writing about joyful things, and before I knew it, my messages were transformed. I would come to the list feeling terrible, but by the time I'd finished writing about my joyful things, I was smiling. And the more I did it, the easier it became. I started looking out during the day for things to talk about here. I wrote them in my journal so I wouldn't forget. And the more I did it, the brighter my outlook became. It became easier for me to focus on the steps, to learn from my not-so-good experiences, to listen to input with good humour. I started to feel optimistic. I started to laugh a lot. I am amazed to find that I am changing from a cynical pessimist to someone who walks around with a smile on her face. It's truly astounding. And the joyful things don't have to be big. It's not about gratitude or positive affirmations, nothing like that. When we're feeling lousy, it can be hard to feel grateful for the good things we have. So instead we look for the little things that make us smile. Like a blue sky after days of rain. Daffodils growing in a pot. Birds singing. Cuddles with a pet. Towel origami. A funny YouTube video. A clock powered by potatoes. (grin) It really doesn't matter how small or silly it is. The important thing is, focusing on joy works. This has become such a fun and joyful place to be. Pretty amazing for a list full of depressed people, huh? I hope you will join us. Jenny **********************************************************************
**Another Look at Learned Helplessness ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
When you get hurt as a child, you get a big beta-endorphin response to protect you. It literally kept you alive. And then as an adult you have intuitively found ways to recreate *safety* with sugar. Your body *remembers* that beta-endorphin means *safe* so you become very emotionally attached to your *comfort foods.* Sugar sensitive people are more attached to these foods, as we well know. And sugar sensitive people who have experienced childhood abuse are even more vulnerable. But here is what is even more intriguing. The body is flooded with beta-endorphin in the time of trauma or inescapable stress. These can be bad things happening like an accident, a death, a horrid boss, abusive situations or even traumatic stimuli like having your utilities turned off or your credit taken away. If you experienced the protection of the beta-endorphin flooding when you were little, these later adult experiences will recreate that powerful feeling of safety – even though on the outside it rationally seems as if these things are bad. You are drawn to them for the biochemical solace that comes with the release of beta endorphin. Learned Helplessness So even the things that seem like they are really *bad* are actually hooking into a very old biochemical pattern of beta-endorphin protection. And if bad things happen enough, you will feel (just as it did when you were little) like there is no way out. You will feel overwhelmed, inadequate and without options – this is learned helplessness. The most incredible thing is that these feelings are biochemical. They are beta-endorphin mediated. When you use sugars, you are comforted for a little. Life seems more possible, options seems bigger. But you can’t find your way out because the optimism and hopefulness only lasts for a little bit – while the sugar induced beta-endorphin lasts. Or goes away and when you are in beta-endorphin withdrawal, the helplessness gets worse. A Way Out You stay in a downward spiral of hopelessness. The good news is that the Radiant Recovery#&174 plan can help you to get out of the destruction of learned helplessness. But in dealing with the bigger story, you have to make some adjustments. If you really want to be in the world in a new way, you will need to be very diligent about creating experiences to evoke the slow, healing beta-endorphin rather than the quick spikes that come from sugar. When you start getting better with the food, you reduce the priming from sugar. This is a good start. But unless you *add in* emotional experiences to recreate beta-endorphin (like EXERCISE, prayer, meditation, dancing, puppies, kittens, good sex (relational intimacy), good food, etc.), your body will be seeking, seeking something to re-activate the beta-endorphin *safety* which you connect to being okay. You will drift back to old patterns which mirror the trauma. So you will pick a fight with a cop ;-), your husband, partner or mother. You will *forget* to pay your bills on time, you will double book appointments, or not pay your taxes. This is NOT a function of being screwed up so much as an unconscious attempt to find solace and safety. Unless you reform the patterns, learned helplessness will follow you tenaciously. And you reform the brain patterns by changing the food. Take care of the food and the rest will take care of itself Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:
Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together. David runs the Radiant Recovery® Store. Selena provides the weekly Ambassadors column. ©2012 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/ |
Aspergers and Sugar Sensitivity (2 weeks)