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A SHANA TOVAH (HAPPY
NEW YEAR)
TO ALL OUR JEWISH
MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
A CANDY FILLED HOLLOWEEN
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Mother and her Child’s Story.” David will
answer the question of whether
Polio can be passed to the infant through the
pregnancy of the mother.
Security Disability
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CONTENTS
My Adventures
Fight back against salt overload
Emotional Eating
Living with Post-Polio
Strategies for Living in Peace with Polio
Dues
Upcoming Conferences
Hotel Key Information
Credit Card Death…
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MY ADVENTURES
Well, my adventures this time start off with
trips to various “parks” – My grandson, Joseph, came to spend some time with me
and we decided to go to Daytona USA, right here in town, so that was an easy
drive. We took the tour, by shuttle,
around the track – I was able to ride up their ramped shuttle with my
scooter. The simulated NASCAR rides that
my grandson went on, were somewhat accessible – that is, if you could walk onto
them. As I am really not a thrill rider
I opted not to go on any of them. We did
spend an enjoyable 3 hours at the attraction.
The next day, the day
before the actual shuttle launch, we took a drive to the
Don’t know where I’ll take
Joseph the next time he comes to visit, but, hopefully, we will enjoy it as
much as we did Daytona
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Reprinted from
EATSMART
By Jean Carper
Fight back against
salt overload
Sure, you can take the salt shaker off the table. It’s tougher to get rid of salt overloads in
the processed foods that account for as much as 80% of the sodium, we consume.
Today, more companies offer low-salt
and “no salt added” alternatives.
Choosing those, plus other low-sodium foods, can help lower blood
pressure, as well as the risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease,
diabetes, cataracts, brittle bones, stomach cancer and dementia.
Too much salt now accounts for nearly
150,000 premature deaths a year, says the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, a consumer advocacy group that has sued the FDA to make it crack down
on sodium in foods. Government guide-lines
limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams a day (about 1 teaspoon) for adults under age
45, and 1,500mg daily for African Americans, older adults, and those with high
blood pressure. Most Americans eat
3,500mg to 4,500mg a day.
HOW TO SHAKE SODIUM
■ Always check food labels for sodium content. Compare brands.
■ Buy no-salt-added foods.
■ Rinse canned beans and tuna to remove some of the salt.
■ Restrict bacon, ham, hot dogs, cold cuts, smoked salted
fish, sauerkraut, pickles and processed cheese.
■ Eat fresh vegetables.
They’re naturally low in sodium and high in potassium. Bonus:
Potassium forces the kidneys to excrete more sodium.
~*~*~*~*~*~
SALT-BUSTING CHOICES
Tomato Sauce:
Cut 345mg per 1/4 cup
Use “no salt
added” canned (15mg), not regular caned (360mg).
Corn kernels: Cut
284mg per 1/2 cup
Use frozen,
unsalted (2mg), not canned (286mg).
Cereal: Cut
200mg per ounce
Use Oats (0mg),
not corn flakes (200mg).
Peanuts: Cut
228mg per ounce
Use unsalted
dry-roasted (2mg), not salted dry-roasted (230mg).
Cheese: Cut 245mg
per ounce
Use cheddar
(176mg), not processed American (421).
Popcorn: Cut
at least 50mg per cut
Use air-popped (0mg), not regular micro-wave (50mg or more).
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The following article
was presented at the Post-Polio Health International’s Ninth International
Conference on Post-Polio Health and Ventilator-Assisted Living,
EMOTIONAL EATING:
“What is Emotional
Eating?”
“What Can We Do About
It?”
Linda Bieniek, CEAP
“Emotional Eating” is the use of food to dull the
pain
underlying an important emotional need.
Some people use alcohol, drugs, sex,
money, gambling, work, and even TV, to avoid and numb their feelings. Overeating, binging, and compulsive eating
are ways of using food for similar pur-poses.
Regardless of which behavior we feel
a compulsion to turn to, we need to explore these sensitive subjects with
compassion and curiosity. Criticism or
shame will only contribute to a cycle that leads to emotional eating. Instead, this paper offers several strategies
and resources for beginning to explore the underlying needs of emotional eating
in creative and fruitful ways.
Lightening Our Loads!
Most of us
realize that emotional eating can add distress to any existing chronic health
conditions. However, sometimes we need
evidence of how our bodies are affected before we reach out for the support we
need to take action. For example, gaining
weight from emotional eating may…
·
Add pressure to our diaphragm, interfering with our
breathing.
·
Limit our mobility and/or functioning.
·
Increase pressure to our joints, causing pain and wearing
them out.
·
Place more stress on our heart, resulting in shortness of
breath.
·
Create or exacerbate sleeping problems, such as sleep apnea.
·
Decrease our energy levels, possibly contributing to
depression.
What Can We Do About It?
“The only way out of the feelings,
is through them.”
Our bodies hold our
physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and sexual wounds. Emotional eating is one of the ways that our
wounded parts express their need for our help.
We need open minds and kind hearts to support us in exploring our
feelings. Each step requires patience
and a deep appreciation of our needs for safety, support, and hope.
Pay attention to our body’s sensations. We can learn from our bodies. Listening to our hungry feelings can lead us
to insights. The feeling of a compulsion to eat is one way that our bodies may gain
our attention. Expressing gratitude for our body and its messages is
important. Appreciation encourages
truthful revelations of our real needs.
For example, using a Gestalt approach, we could ask our “inner wisdom”: “What is my body trying to tell me?” Possible responses may include: “Notice Me!” or “Don’t keep pushing me.” We gain clarity by continuing to dialogue
with our body. For example, we could
then ask: “What do you want me to
notice?”
Author Geneen Roth has said: You can
take any avenue into your heart and soul.
Just start with the physical. The
physical is a reflection of the deepest part of yourself…” In her book, Feeding the Hungry Heart she provides an example of dialoguing with
our problems on pages 44-48.
Learn skills that create safety and support before
searching for an understanding of emotional eating and solutions. Internal and external safety, often described as a
sense of security or trust, is of foremost importance before exploring our
behaviors and feelings. For this reason,
we need to learn skills for “pacing” our explorations and for “staying
grounded” in reality. They will
contribute to digesting new insights without “feeling overwhelmed” – a common
trigger that can result in emotional eating.
Being “grounded” means being focused
in reality rather than distracted by thoughts, fears, or activities. One way we can get grounded is to press our
feet flat on the ground, if we are able.
Otherwise, we can visualize our bodies connected to the earth in an
appealing way (e.g., by gardening, sitting under a tree). Taking a few deep breaths will add to our
ability to connect with our body’s sensations or to our intuition. Imagining having a choir of supporters
surround us – good, affirming, trustworthy people – will contribute to a sense
of safety. Deep breathing, stretching,
visualizing, expressing positive intentions, and using forms of the Expressive
Therapies and/or Energy Therapies are options for calming anxiety and
connecting with our body. A Treatment
Approach Options chart is at www.post-polio.org/ipn/ppn18-4A.html.
Identify one external trigger at a time to gain
insights. Since emotional eating
typically is an unconscious reaction rooted in good intentions (e.g.,
protection, com-fort, connection), we to apply our curiosity and play private
detective to uncover what truly causes us to overeat, binge or eat
compulsively. In this context, a
“trigger” is as an external event or sensory experience that produces a
feeling, sensation, thought, behavior, or memory which can set off the cycle of
compulsivity. Typically, the trigger
sequence outlined below can occur in split seconds:
□ We see, hear, smell, taste, feel, think or experience
something;
□ We unconsciously or consciously are reminded of something –
an experience, a feeling, trauma, loss, person, disappointment, etc.;
□ We experience reactions:
a body sensation such as discomfort; a thought such as “Oh, not that!”;
or a feeling such as fear.
□ We turn to food to avoid or control our feelings.
For example, upon hearing a certain
song, “Jim” thought about a past relation-ship that left him heartbroken. Instead of allowing his grief over his
unresolved hurt to surface, he ate ice cream and cake and watched TV. Eating comfort food and watching TV were his
ways of dissociating from his feelings.
We may identify our own “triggers” by
noticing our eating patterns and then asking ourselves “What happened just
before I overate?” and “What did I notice, hear, smell, think, taste, and/or
feel in my body before I binged on cookies?”
If we continue backtracking with these questions, we may discover a
series of triggers that contributed to a particular emotional eating pattern.
Most importantly, we need to remember that our
responses to our emotional needs are rooted in “good intentions.”
Before moving
into the next section about the “Parts” approach, clarifying some distinctions
may help. “Triggers” are external – what
happens outside of us – whereas “Parts” are internal characteristics of our
Core Self. We each have a variety of
“Parts” of our personalities: a kind part, an angry part, a competent part, a
communicative part, a quiet part, etc. When a “trigger” stirs up an internal reaction – often
unconsciously – that reaction may stem from an old unresolved feeling or
experience that we can identify as a “Part” of us. This simple description introduces us to a
model that has proven very effective with individuals who have struggled to
change their emotional eating patterns.
Consider the “Parts” approach to identify and respond
to our emotional needs. The “Parts” approach is one
option for pursuing the next level of self-exploration and uncovering feelings
that are closer to our hearts. Several
versions of this approach exist. In the
Internal Family Systems model, known as IFS, each aspect of our personalities
and our behaviors may represent a “Part.”
Identifying the positive intentions and benefits of an “Emotional Eating
Part” can provide us with valuable insights.
These clues, in turn, enable us to find an affirming response to our
feelings or beliefs instead of choosing to pursue the feeling of a compulsion
to eat.
Our “emotional needs” are “Parts” of
our Core Self. “Protective Parts” may
use food to suppress or to substitute for emotional needs such as
security/safety, nourishment, or affection.
For example, the “lonely part” of us may turn to eating, but really
needs human contact. In another
situation, a “Part” that hungers for more food, may actually long for a purpose
in life – signs of spiritual undernourish-ment. The following personality issues include
examples of individuals’ “emotional needs” or “Parts.”
An individual who DESIRES intimacy and sexuality, and
also FEARS these needs may eat when…
□ craving support, connections with others, or a sense of
belonging
□ desiring a certain person’s love or attention yet reluctant
to reach out
A person with unrealistic expectations may eat when…
□ becoming disillusioned about the future
□ lacking acceptance of his/her limitations
A person that seeks independence yet NEEDS and WANTS
people to depend on may eat when…
□ needing help, yet resenting when people don’t offer their
assistance
□ remembering being excluded from social activities as a child.
REFERENCES and RESOURCES
Schwartz RC (2001). Introduction to the Internal Family Systems
Model,
Stone H and Stone S.
(1989). Embracing Our Selves: The Voice Dialogue Manual. Nataraj L., Elisabeth.
(1987). Listen to the Hunger: Why We
Overeat.
Sonder, B. (1993). Eating
Disorders: When Food Turns Against
You.
Explore resources and treatment approaches that teach
us nourishing ways of responding to our bodies, beliefs, emotions, and
experiences. The good news is that
therapeutic approaches and resources in the 21st century are far more effective
than ever before. Emotional eating is a
complex, multi-dimensional subject.
Seeking assistance is a courageous step in breaking its cycle. Most importantly, we need to work with a
professional who has vast experience, an enormous range of skills, and deep
sensitivity to how our past experiences may affect our responses in
therapy. When we develop a safe, trusting
relationship with a competent professional we can make significant progress.
The following lists identify books,
treatment options, and professionals.
These can help us create shifts in our minds, bodies, emotions, and
behaviors. My hope is that each of us
will learn what we truly hunger for and will find the inner strength and
support to embrace our deepest emotional needs.
The Best of Health!
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES and RESOURCES
Geneen Roth’s workshops and books,
especially: Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating (p. 142-146); Feeding the Hungry Heart (p. 44-48); When Food is Love (p. 23-25; 200-201),
and her Guide-lines. www.geneenroth.com 408.685.8601.
(Not Therapy)
Hollis, J. (1985). FAT is
a Family Affair.
Finney, L. (1995).
Reach for joy: How to find the right therapist and therapy
for you. Freedom,
Louden, J. (2000) The Comfort Queen’s Guide to Life.
Harmony Books.
(Delightful!)
Napier, N. (1993). Getting through the day:
Strategies for adults hurt as children.
Olkin, R. (1999). What
psychotherapists should know about disability.
Rutledge,
T. (2002). Embracing Fear.
Whitfield, C.
(1993). Boundaries and Relationships:
Knowing, Protecting and Enjoying the Self.
Zukav, G. (2001). The
Heart of the Soul: Emotional
Awareness.
TREATMENT APPROACHES and PROFESSIONALS
Bieniek,
L. (2003) Treatment Approach Options. Polio
Network News, 19(1).9-11.
www.post-polio.org/pn/ppn18-4A.html.
Internal Family Systems
Mode: Center for Self Leadership, P.C.,
www.schoolforliving.org
Judy Steele, MTP, Dynamind Practitioner, Tapas
Acupressure Tech-nique (TAT), NLP (Neuro-LinguisticProgram-ming). Judy.steele@earthlink.net 612.590.3139.
Trauma Recovery and
Eating Disorder Programs:
www.riveroakshospital.com/newsite/programs.htm Dan Glaser, BCSW, Director. 800.366.1740.
www.castlewoodtc.com
www.mccallumplace.com McCallum on the Park.
1.800.828.8158. Practitioner
Referrals.
Linda Bieniek, CEAP
14
708-354-3640, LindaBieniek@msn.com
FECPPSG Editor’s Note:- Linda says that if we
have questions or concerns, we could send them to her at
LindaBieniek@msn.com, or mail them to
Both Linda and I encourage you to join
Post-Polio Health International (PHI). While our organization is
regional, PHI is international and offers extensive information, ideas,
and contacts about physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health issues
that complements our newsletter. If you are
interested in obtaining program books and/or tapes of the
3-day international conference sessions including the one on Emotional Eating
or in becoming a member of PHI, log onto www.post-polio.org or call
314-534-0475.
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The following article was sent to me by an Indian post-polio
survivor that I met at the 1999
LIVING WITH POST-POLIO
By Neena
Bhandari
It was a meek October morning in 1967, only a month away
from my third birthday, I had worn my frilled frock and white laced shoes to go
and receive the triple polio vaccine. As I sang and danced along the way,
making it difficult for my maternal grandfather to keep pace, little did I know
that it was the last time I would be walking by myself.
Later that night, I remember my grandmother cuddling my tiny
body burning with high fever as I complained of acute pain in my legs. She had
carried me to the bathroom, where my legs collapsed.
In the days that followed, many more children like me began
pouring into the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
It was two weeks before the outbreak was diagnosed as `Poliomyelitis’.
The word didn’t mean much to me then and I certainly didn’t realise
the implications it would have for a life just beginning.
The 1960s was a period when the mass epidemics of polio that
had gripped mostly the industrialised countries for
over 30 years were finally being brought under control with the introduction of
effective vaccines. In
It seems there was a snag: the cold chain, critical for
maintaining the potency of OPV in transport, was very poor. Some claimed the
vaccine administered to us had already expired. Others said it had been left
exposed to the sun at the airport; but this argument was dismissed on the
grounds that the vaccine loses its potency when exposed to heat – neither
harming nor doing any good.
In
While children of my age played, I spent my days at the
hospital doing physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. My doctors became my playmates
and the kittens born in the ward’s huge ventilators were a pleasant distraction
from the painful exercises.
After a year of confinement, I started school and that’s
when the harsh reality dawned: I
couldn’t run or go on the swing like other children, who constantly called me
names and teased. Throughout my growing up years, wearing the long, rigid steel
calipers and heavy boots - one bigger than the other to compensate the
shortening in one leg - I was unable to use the Indian toilets. Western style
toilets were few. I tried to control the bladder for hours at school, in trains
and at public places.
The straight leg in the caliper made going to a film,
sitting on a scooter, traveling on a bus, a nightmare. It made things really
difficult for my family, especially my maternal grandmother with whom I spent
most of my childhood. She tried every possible cure from daily physiotherapy to
faith healers and rubbing the stinking fresh sheep’s milk.
As the 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
once said, “There is no education like adversity”, I adapted to the situation,
learning to skip for long distances on the good leg, playing basketball,
marching with the school band playing the flute and spent the time indoors
reading, writing and learning the various arts and music.
Unlike the thousands of other polio-affected children in
During college I realised, how
important it was to be financially independent even for an able middle class
girl to defer an arranged marriage. Straight after graduation, I joined The
Times of India as a trainee journalist and soon discovered how physically
demanding the profession was.
It was not until 1998 when we moved to the
My greatest joy was to be able to walk and do what I wanted
without stares and glares from the people around. It was a relief to find disabled-friendly
buses and the Underground, which offered concession tickets. Even the famous
black
On days when I would slip on the black ice, there was always
help available. And I was no longer restricted to a bench in the park as there
was an electrically-operated buggy to take the old and disabled around in
Two years later, when I presented a paper at the Eighth
International Post-Polio & Independent Living conference at St Louis,
Missouri, I spoke on the role played by family and community in shaping the
lives of polio patients to an audience that, in sharp contrast, had led a very
individualistic and independent high-tech lifestyle.
Assessing my muscles and activity chart, Dr Jacquelin Perry, one of the first women orthopaedic
surgeons in the
Chance brought us to
Societies in the west are grappling with ageing polio
patients and young doctors who have not dealt with a single fresh polio case.
Most doctors are not trained to recognise Post Polio
Syndrome (PPS) or late effects of polio and are reluctant to treat it as a new
condition. and
While polio survivors initially recovered and made the most
of life with disability, today many of us are battling with profound fatigue,
increasing muscle weakness, joint and muscle pain, increased sensitivity to
cold temperatures and sleeping, breathing or swallowing difficulties linked to
PPS.
The main advocates for increased medical and government
attention to PPS have been the grassroots groups of polio survivors and we have
a few in
As we advance into the 21st century, cure for
polio is still a cherished dream. However, there is prevention, lighter and
more effective calipers or braces, provision of electric scooters and power
operated chairs, alternative medicine systems, legal benefits, new
legislations, disabled friendly public places and a stronger than ever
worldwide campaign to globally eradicate polio by 2005.
Governments across the world need to invest in medical and
health care for ageing polio patients and to you my friend on the street -- a
limp makes me no different.
The
end.
FECPPSG EDITOR’S NOTE:- I have not changed a word of this
article. Some of the spellings are as
the English spell them – they are not typos.
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The following article
was presented at the Post-Polio Health International’s Ninth International
Conference on Post-Polio Health and Ventilator-Assisted Living,
SPIRITUAL HEALTH:
Strategies for Living in
Peace with Polio