Artisanal heirloom tomatoes in a basket at the market
Welcome to Radiant Recovery®
January 13, 2019
Hi {!firstname_fix},
    I am having a nice time with the new year. Albuquerque had an unusual snow storm that quieted everything for a couple of days. I have taken down my Christmas tree although all the ornaments and lights are not yet put away. My neighbor across the street still has a wreath covered in lights up and it comforts me.
    The  *Return to Radiance* class is wonderful.  I am learning the depth of what happens when people who know and do the steps find themselves drifting away.  The original curriculum that I wrote is not what people need, so we are adapting it as the story unfolds. It reminds me of the very early days of the program when I was listening, listening to what people are experiencing and building a support system to meet it.
    If you are planning to come to Radiant Ranch  make sure to sign up now to ensure you get a spot. Our slots are limited this year.  The 2019 Ranch will focus on the art of doing the program when your steps are steady. We will be working with material from the new book, so it will be a pretty exciting opportunity to enhance your program.If you are a new person and want to come to ranch, plan to sign up for the session for newbies. Call me if you have questions.
    We have started the process of converting our audio library into downloadable files so you will no longer have to pay postage fees. The files are set to go, we are just negotiating how to be able to get them to you. It is a little more complex than I originally thought, but we are working on it.
Remember if you have ideas or input for us on what you would like to have available, share them on the Community Forum. We do listen and are very interested in your ideas.
 Support for Your Program
COMMUNITY FORUM
Share with others, ask questions, explore everything and anything about your program without a charge. A great place for newcomers.
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GROUPS
Learn the steps, get fit safely, learn creative program cooking, learn about depression,  learn with parents, share in local areas. There is no charge for groups.
Sign Up for Groups
CLASSES
I am designing a new class for those of you who are ready to do weight loss using the YOUR LAST DIET model. I won't put it up for registration until I have the curriculum set to go. Look for it next week.
WORKING WITH KATHLEEN
I feel very strongly about offering you a way to work with me directly. I have set up a whole range of options for you to do that - going from private coaching to being involved in small groups. This link will show you all the choices.
Coaching Apprentice is open to people on steps 1-3 who are starting their program.
Coaching Skilled open to people who have mastered at least step 3 and want more guidance.
  
Signature Coaching is for those who want to work individually with Kathleen in a 90-day process. Signature is the top of the line. All who have done it talk about their lives being changed.
Another option is setting up a one hour assessment and then making a decision based on that conversation. And you can always call 505-345-3737 and ask me about how each one works.
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"When you understand your sugar sensitivity, what has been an overwhelming mystery in your life becomes a fascinating journey in self-discovery."
Testimonial of the Week

Here's a great idea about how to get moving even when you can't find any motivation to do so. There is a concept from CST that helped me. From a Russian saying: "the appetite comes with the meal."

(I know! -- huh what? LOL)

But it's like when it's dinner time and you're not that hungry, but when you see it and smell it, then it's like whoa, it's dinner time.

For movement, the idea is to do something, anything, that you really really like. Then when you're up, your appetite for movement might come back.

It does for me just about every time. The only times I want to go sit down and be immobile again is if I have no energy from sleep or food or water problems. But that's very different from motivation.

I use things like juggling couch pillows or tossing them at a family member. Hey they're always close at hand LOL! But then I just love games where you get to throw things.

Connie
David still smiling
This is David DesMaisons, your Radiant Recovery® Concierge
Come visit our STORE. Call 505-345-3737 if you have questions.
David, the store manager, is always happy to help. 
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Your Body Speaks Journal
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Your Last Diet!
Your Last Diet Book Cover


I just want to lose weight. Is this the right place for me?
It is the best place in the world for you. Most important, we will help with what we call *fat terror* that pervades every part of who you are. I referred to fat terror in the new book. My editor asked me to define it.

Fat terror is a profound cellular fear about becoming fat, staying fat, getting fatter or always being fat. This is not about wanting to lose a few pounds or to be slimmer for the sake of vanity. It runs way deeper than that. It is about being told you are bad, inadequate, less than because of your body shape. It is about being made invisible because of your body size. Or being discounted out of hand regardless of how smart, creative or brilliant you are. When fat terror is added to an out of balance sugar sensitive body, it becomes a deadly motivator about the determinant of success. Much of what the steps do is designed to end the reign of fat terror and then unleash the creative heart before the weight loss.

I am just starting the steps. Does it make sense to join now?

Yes, it does.  We have found that the people who come to chats do the best with the steps. The connection in chat is awesome. You get a chance to talk with the old timers, you can ask questions and I am right there to guide you, It really is an incredible opportunity.

The people who come to chat have the greatest success with their programs.

If you are not a member yet, come and join us. If you are a current member and want to join us in the new chat room, come to the landing page.  We will send you the pass words after you join.

If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.  
Sunday morning breakfast with waffles

Restoring Your Brain After Stimulant Use

Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD 

In the past few weeks, I have been hearing more from people who are trying to crawl back to sanity after detoxing from stimulant addiction. I have also been working with a number of people who are working into recovery from online gaming addiction. What I have learned is that online gaming evokes the same chemicals that crack cocaine does particularly when the gaming is about war, hunt and destruction. If you or a family member has gotten caught in this web, it is a sticky net. If your children are gaming, it is NOT an entertaining pastime.

I thought it would make sense to repost this article.

Stimulant addiction includes things like cocaine, methamphetamine, diet pills, ephedrine drinks, psuedopepipephrine drinks, Sudafed, caffeine, Ritalin, or NutraSweet products. And it includes online gaming, including such things as CSGO, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Unturned, Minecraft, World of Warcraft.

All of these substances or games activate or cause to be activated a brain chemical called dopamine. Dopamine makes you feel bright, clear, focused and functional. When you first start using these substances, you feel like you can take on the world. After a while, your brain adjusts and you simply feel normal after use and very discombobulated when the effect wears off. Addiction sets in when you start needing your substance in order to stave off the withdrawal.

Withdrawal from these substances makes you feel just the opposite. You feel dull, foggy, sludgy, torpid, flat, depressed, teary, scattered and incapable of functioning. And as soon as you get your drug, even if it is a Diet Coke, you feel better. Stimulant addiction is seductive. You feel so fine when you are using and so bad when you are not, it is almost inconceivable to imagine not having it. And the symptoms of when you are off your drug can present as mental health issues. You might think you or your child needs *counseling* when he needs recovery.

But, part of you has known that it is progressive and you are feeling worse. You no longer have times of feeling good, and a particular kind of bone weary exhaustion started setting in. You had to up the dose, or shorten the time between your fixes. What started as one latte in the morning became a triple in the morning and a single in the afternoon just to function. You knew you were in trouble and decided it was time to get off.

Doing the steps helped to get you to this place. You have been reasonably steady with your food and you were ready to get out from under this addiction. For the sake of this discussion, I am going to assume you have stopped using and you feel pretty crappy. This is a how to intervention to hold you up and restore your brain so that your willingness to get clean can stick over time.

There are 3 very specific changes you are going to make over a 3-month period to get your old brain back. [and yes, you will get back to normal!]

  1. Increase your protein intake to .6 - .8 grams per pound of your body weight. If you have been using the more hard core drugs like cocaine or meth, use the upper end. If you have been using caffeine or diet products use the lower end. But play with it to see what has the best effect. You are working to increase the level of large neutral amino acids, particularly one called tyrosine. Tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine just like tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. Do not just go get some tyrosine [you see I know the addicts mind, LOL]. You want the package that comes with protein meals. 1
  2. In the early weeks of your detox, you may want to add a protein snack mid morning and mid afternoon. A protein drink such as Georges Shake will be a particular comfort.
  3. Increase the size of your potato at night. Serotonin reduces the craving for stimulants. If you start having wild or hallucinogenic dreams, simply cut back some. Find the edge so you are getting restorative and restful dreaming and not getting uncomfortable dreams.2
  4. Take omega 3 fatty acids with a high concentration of EPA/DHA. These fatty acids are abundant in the membranes that are associated with synaptic function the place where the neurotransmitters talk with one another. Increasing the omega 3’s helps restore this function. 3  

Make a concerted effort to stay away from foods that are high in omega 6 fatty acids  things like margarine and saturated fats [butter, cream, and meat fat] Eat foods high in omega 3 like cold water fishes such as salmon.omega 3's in the store - see that section of this newsletter.

In your early phase, you may find it helpful to supplement with omega 3 fish oils capsules like the ones we sell in the store. The recommended dosage is 2 caps per day for a 150 pound person. You may want to increase this proportionate to your size and the severity of the detox you are experiencing.

If you are taking fish oil, it will tend to thin your blood. Sometimes this will make you more vulnerable to bruising. I have found that the antioxidant pycnogenol helps with this by strengthening capillary walls. I added this product to our store as a nice adjunct to the fish oil.

I am including some citations here if you would like to read more about this. They are linked so you can read the actual abstract on line. If you click on the link that says related articles, you can follow the topic and gather more information.I am going to be sharing more in the class we did on online screen addiction.

Here is some feedback for family members:

*If you're interested, you might try the weekly chat meeting on OLGAnon.org at 9pm EST on Thursdays.  They hold meetings for family of compulsive gamers.

If someone in my family had a serious problem, I'd let him know (1) I'm sad to see so many problems in his life, (2) it's clear to me that the problems are connected to the gaming, (3) I will not enable or contribute to his self-destructive patterns, and (4) a support group exists for his benefit if he ever decides to it's time to change.  After that I'd say nothing on the subject except to decline to enable him.*

Here are some cites to get you started:

1Fernstrom, JD, Can nutrient supplements modify brain function? Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jun;71(6 Suppl):1669S-75S. Review.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10837313&dopt=Abstract

2Yu DS, Smith FL, Smith DG, Lyness WH. Fluoxetine-induced attenuation of amphetamine self-administration in rats. Life Sci. 1986 Oct 13;39(15):1383-8.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3489876&dopt=Abstract

3Zimmer L, Vancassel S, Cantagrel S, Breton P, Delamanche S, Guilloteau D, Durand G, Chalon S. The dopamine mesocorticolimbic pathway is affected by deficiency in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Apr;75(4):662-7.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11916751&dopt=Abstract

And of course, you may always email me at radiantkd@mindspring.com

Here is the Annie Lane column that brought so many of you here.

Dear Annie: I read with interest the letter from "Weird, Stupid or Selfish?" – whose husband eats all the decorative candy she puts out. His inability to resist sugar resonated with me, as I have sugar sensitivity and have engaged in exactly the same behaviors. I simply could not resist sugar.

After years of struggling and dieting and sitting in work meetings obsessing about the doughnuts instead of the topic at hand, I discovered the book "Potatoes Not Prozac," by Kathleen DesMaisons. Her theory is that people who are sugar sensitive have brains that respond differently to sugar, alcohol and refined carbs and that what they eat and when they eat it have a huge effect on them. She shows how to rebalance blood sugar levels, serotonin and beta-endorphins through small lifestyle changes and offers the latest research, free online support and seven steps to change your life. It is not about willpower; it’s about biochemistry, which her program can slowly improve, just one tiny step at a time, with amazing results.

I have been sugar-free for six years now, lost 25 pounds and never gained any of it back. I can go to dinner with family and don’t even think twice when someone orders dessert. I don’t have cravings, and sugar is no longer on my radar. I am more focused and more tolerant, and the daily mood swings are gone. The woman who wrote to you could suggest to her husband that he check out http:// radiantrecovery.com to see whether he does have sugar sensitivity. At the very least, she would be better informed about this condition. – Happy Without Sugar

Dear Happy Without Sugar: I hadn’t considered that health issues might explain

her husband’s behavior. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of sugar sensitivity.

Thanks for opening my eyes to the condition! I’d like to encourage all readers to talk to their doctors if they find themselves compulsively eating sugary snacks.

—Email questions to dearannie@creators.com

ANNIE LANE
 
©2018 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your blog 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 for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 

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