March 31, 2024, Hi, Today is Easter. I think I always loved Easter most because I was raised as a Catholic and we gave up sugar for Lent. When I think now of a 6-week sugar fast preceding the first bite of the chocolate Easter Bunny's nose, it makes sense to me that Easter made a big impression. Give a chocolate rabbit nose to a nine-year-old in a highly upregulated state,create a dramatic moment. But as an adult this time of year makes me reflect on an ancient Egyptian story about Osirus and Isis. Osirus was a king who was murdered, and his body was cut to pieces and the pieces hidden all over the kingdom. The kingdom was in chaos because there was no leader for the people. His sister, Isis took a basket and searched all over until she had every part of her brother's body in the basket.She took him back and put all the pieces together, made him whole and then the two of them ruled together. I like the reclaiming and healing of what was fractured and lost part a lot. I have always thought that Radiant Recovery®, the 7 Steps were about regaining our birthright and being made whole again. Doing the food created a body that could "hold" all the commitment and work we put into our lives to be better andconnected to our deepest selves. We created a model that connected people and the sharing healed us. Then we had Covid-19 and it fractured everything. Literally I think we are suffering now from cultural PTSD and what we were doing 5 years ago needs to be changed. I am going to write some thoughts about what changes might work. I don't have answers yet. But I do have bits and bobs so we can start withthat. | |
NEW INFORMATION - PLSREAD We have a master community email list. we thought it would be a nice place to get started if you are new to the community or are coming back and arewondering what to do. Introduce yourself and ask for help. Or just listen. We won't mind. However, the plans for the list have. not panned out. We are mostly talking on the Step One List and on the YLD list. Part of what I am looking into is setting up a new cross interested community forum which isintegrated right into our current Word Press Software (what runs the web site) The technology is light years improved since we built to early one. In the meantime, we will just let things sit while I gather information. GROUPS Thegroups list is up on the web site. Click on the top bar where it says GROUPS Just sign up for the group you would like to join. Read about the group before you ask to join. If you are starting or returning, join the Step One list. Don't join Step One and Step Two and Step Three all at the same time. If you have any trouble joining, sendme an email at and we will get you all set. Join the Step One List now. Let me give you a little overview of how things fit together. Think 3 phases of recovery, pre-steps, steps, and life on Step 7. All of this slowed down during covid. It may seem like a lot of "new" information, but it really isn't. We will talk about it in the chats over the next couple of weeks so you can ask questions and get clear. Step lists: doing the food and getting skills for each step. There is no fee for being on the step lists. Currently, Step One is VERY active, Step two is mostly instructional, Step Three is only a little activebecause most people regressed and are not back up to Step Three. Other than that, no one has bandwidth for much of anything else LOL. And then comes support for the things you want to do after you are steady. YLD was designed for healing fat terror, losing weight,healing your body image, and learning to exercise in a healthy way. The primary focus is about healing the addiction that lurks beneath the weight. We do zoom chats every week as part of YLD. And there are a lot of people in YLD who are not at all concerned about weight but just love the information and connection. The chats are sometimes causal and simply personal connection. And sometimes they will scramble your brain with new information that you will hear nowhere else. Zoom has heightened both, Tobe honest, the YLD chats are extraordinary most of the time. Sometimes they are downright boring because everyone is tired. But that is rare. You can email me if you have any questions.
| |
|
WORKING ONE ON ONE WITH KATHLEEN
Would it be beneficial to work with me directly? It can be life changing or it can be premature. Icanhelpyou step out of the craziness of sugaraddiction, return to steadiness and clarity after slipping away, slow down and focus on your recovery, ordeepen a steady rhythm of recovery. If you are just starting off and trying to decide about whether the program is for you, it might be better to muck about on the Step One list first. I am overthere every day, and you can measure if my style encourages you freaks you out. Some people manifest their imbalance in a style which we call "help, help, don't tell me what to do" and it is totally silly to spend money in that frame of mind LOL. Working with me is especially helpful if you did the steps a while agoand then meandered away. Or if you are facing some intense times and would like skillful support. in knowing how to adjust your food for what you are going through. The most useful time to think about this is after you have started Step 3. Even if you do just one session, I can help you "see" the places that might be the hardest for you. Basically, it shortens the groping around. Go here to learn more about it. we can do a "discovery" session to see if committing to one-on-one work would be a good fit for both of us. Emailme if you would like more information. I am happy to talk to you about options. | David, my oldest son, runs our store. He makes sure your orders go out quickly and works with you to find the best things suited to where you are in your process. Many people think of him as their personal concierge. We Have Restore! Everyone is so happy. No strange things in it. No Water, Corn Syrup, Sugar,Short-chain Fructooligosaccharides.,Corn Oil, Soluble Corn Fiber, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Cellulose Gel, Monoglycerides, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Acesulfame Potassium, Gellan Gum, or artificial sweeteners such as Sucralose or erythritol. This means that you get the taste of milk products from cows who have eaten grass in New Mexico and Idaho where the air is clean, and the cows can romp. What people tell us over and over, once you have this, no other protein powder will ever make you ashappy. And yes. it is pricey. Premium cows, an incredible blend, and ingredients with TASTE (like summer tomatoes right off the vine) It is being blended right here in Albuquerque by a local woman- owned company with people we like, know. and trust. Now the productionand distribution match the quality of the product. Come visit our STORE. Or call505-345-3737. |
Here is the BAG not a jar !!!!!!WHERE THE CONVERSATION IS | YLD still continues to be a favorite place for people in the community. If you struggle with your body image, if you have chased diets for years, here is a wonderful alternative to all the things you have tried. Or, if weight has never been an issue, but your brain craves cutting edge information that you won't hear anywhere else. The Zoom chats are fun, and people learn a lot. They are a time forconnection and learning. We are looking at all sorts of intriguing ideas like "Why we crave chocolate and why some people don't" [Yes, there is a chocolate gene] or we talk about cultural PTSD or what to do if you just got laid off from your job. Or if you want to understand why you feel so tired now and sleep doesn't help. Or why you want to shop, or why you are procrastinating. I know you thought this was about diets, but it is really about sugar sensitivity and being in the world. If you want to heal what really is going on for you, we have the answer. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. And remember it is a lifetime membership so if you joined in 2000, you could still come back. |
The Gift Hidden in Addiction: Part II I published Part I of this article in the last newsletter. I got more feedback on that article than on any I have ever published. I want to swing back around to the second part and have a look at it together. I think recovery is a funny thing. It is so big and so powerful that we can only do it in increments. And as we mature, we can reset, change the password, get simpler and godeeper. It is as if I have the body parts in the basket and I want to start working on another level of renewing my commitment. These were the skills you developed when you were addicted. The deeper your addiction was inyour life, the more finely honed these skills were and the more you have at your disposal to use for your recovery. And you still have them, all of them. Let's explore the reframe: - Your recovery is your priority in life
- Your biggest priority is your recovery
- You plan your time around supporting your recovery
- You cut out of boring social events if they do not support your recovery
- You pay great attention to the quality of yourrecovery
- You know the best source of recovery for you
- It doesn't matter if someone else isn’tin recovery. You stick with your recovery
- You can differentiate which foods are good for you
- You are focused on making sure you support your recovery
- You are single-minded about your recovery
- It doesn't matter what the rest of the family thinks, you focus on your recovery
- You support your recovery no matter the money, time, place, or people in the way
- You are highly resourceful
- If you can't get what you need for your recovery, you find good alternatives
- You always, always make sure you have the tools to support your recovery, whether this means having a car, knowing where you are staying, knowing where the meetings are, whatever
- You have great devotion to your recovery
- It is the most important thing in your life
- You get the best you can afford
- You learn what enhances it and you do those things
- You are focused, tenacious, and meticulous about your recovery
- You pay attention to what you need for your recovery to make sure you always have what youneed
- You keep track of time, so your meals are set to go
- You make sure you have the money tosupport your recovery no matter what else gets shortchanged
- Your life is organized around your recovery
- You don't have to talk about it, you just take care of getting and doing what you need
Pretty astounding reframe, isn’t it? And you know it’s true. You are skilled, determined, smart, meticulous, focused, single-minded, and resourceful. Whatwonderful skills to have! Reframing the how we look at a situation affects how our brain registers it. If you think of yourself as a shameful person because of your sugar addiction, then your brain will hold that concept and act from that belief. Thinking or feeling this way overand over creates a “rut” in your brain. It can become your default way of thinking about yourself. If you think of yourself as a person who used sugar addiction to run from the pain and who has a huge repertoire of addictive skill gleaned from those years, you will stop thinking ofyourself as “less than” and start thinking of yourself a skilled person who needs a new place to use those skills. Reframing sugar addiction as the source of a profound skill set that can support your recovery is a powerful tool. It's my belief that this kind of reframingmoves us out of the fear and shame side of the amygdala and into the joy side. This enables our recovery to flow from a place of forgiveness, strength, and opportunity. Rather than trying to fix your “character defects” like resentment, grandiosity, and irresponsibility, you can look at them as the result of a misguided application of natural skill. Then you can stop beating yourself up and get on with your recovery with confidence in your ability to achieve it. Thinking of yourself as skilled, competent, and experienced gives you a way to lead from strength. Think about how excited you get when you feel that you know what you're doing, you have the skills to do it, you have the experience to do it, you know how to do it, and nothing will get in your way.Your belief in yourself changes everything. Remember, these are skills you already have. You don't have to learn them. You know them. They are embedded in every part of who you are. You've used them for years. You have put energy, passion, time, money, resources — your whole life — into building them.You are not a newcomer to the task. In fact, you have the equivalent of a PhD in addictive skill. It’s time to start thinking of yourself as a star player rather than a loser. I think that having these addictive skills is the reason that people in recovery have such an extraordinary advantage overother people. Recovery supports this reframing. Rather than seeing yourself as a victim, you see yourself as a winner based on skill crafted in the trenches at great cost. Now it’s time to use that skill. I encourage you to claim the power of your addictive skill, bless it, and useit to build recovery skills with grace and joy. What you thought was your pain will become your teacher. You will no longer run from it. You will embrace your past with a passion that will create a future of hope and excitement. You will once again be a loving, warm, caring, intuitive person, as you were when you were little. You will embrace the best of your sugar sensitivity and act from a place you never realized was there to serve you. I truly believe that this is Grace unfolding, and we are not alone.
It gave me shivers to read it again. I want to redo. This is Grace unfolding.You are not alone. | | | |
| ©2024 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[emailprotected]of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery®website atfor additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healingaddiction. You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery®in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter will also be found posted on the web. |
|
