Emotions and their effect on dyslexics & hyperlexics

You have come upon a blog discussing tools to help dyslexics and hyperlexics.  The topic, this time, is emotion.

When I was first diagnosed as dyslexic (age 45) I was told there were no solutions to help me. The reason: I could sound out works, read words and had a good vocabulary — the usual definition of a dyslexic. Yet, the test pigeonholed me as a dyslexic.

What to do? I kept asking and two years later I was given two invaluable pieces of advice:

1.   Give up eating foods with refined sugar. The reason:  stop the inner rushing in my body. I followed the advice and a year later the rushing stopped almost entirely. This correction made me ready to move to the second piece of advice.

2.   Work with a therapist to discover within myself emotional issues that were unresolved. At first I wondered, is this really necessary? But going off refined sugar had improved my ability to be quiet within and more willing to pick up a book. So, perhaps clearing pesky emotions was worth exploring.

My therapist was brilliant.  Her intuition told her I was masking anger. It took me some time to find it, but find it I did. As I released my hold to past anger I discovered many things about reading:

  • my buried disruptive emotions stopped me from wanting to read and reading
  • when reading a book with characters who had emotional issues that resonated with me, I would not continue reading the book.  When I discovered this behavior I taught myself to stop reading. I defined  where the emotion being expressed in the book was existent in my life and then processed it.  By processing, I mean delving into the issue, seeing where I was the victim or the perpetrator and then discovering how to forgive myself and others. The change doesn’t happen quickly but eventually positive results emerge. When done, I went back to the book and continued reading until another emotion stopped me.  It took me about a year using this discipline to move out of this “stopping reading behavior” caused by buried emotions that needed attention.

What I now understand is that my feelings were hidden, or not accepted as real by me or others.  They were churning about within, an explosive energy. No longer were they simply a feeling.

My technique as a child and adult was to bury my dark feelings. Feelings left unexpressed build up. They took up space inside me. They tried to get my attention by “preventing” me from being able and/or willing to read. I didn’t realize they wanted attention.  I can see now that my emotions are my reactions to my feelings I was choosing to avoid.

Years later I was re-diagnosed as hyperlexic:  meaning I could read words fine, but comprehension was the problem. If I hadn’t done the emotional homework I know that my work of correcting the hyperlexia would have been much more difficult, if not impossible.

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If you have topics that you would like me to address about my experience in overcoming dyslexia and hyperlexia feel free to send your ideas through the comments below.

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Information on this blog is intended to complement, not replace, the advice of your own physician or health care professional

Removing refined sugar

Welcome!

This blog is focussed on dyslexia and hyperlexia. I have both conditions.

Some blogs will offer tools I have implemented to reduce the discomfort of being dyslexic and/or hyperlexic. I will also report on meetings I attend or other information that I feel might be useful for a dyslexic or hyperlexic.

If you wish to comment on this blog, simply scroll down to the bottom of this blog and hit comment.

My first topic is:

Removing refined sugar from my diet with healthy sugar substitutes.

I feel passionate about this step.  It has made a big difference in my life.

Background

I will be honest. It was not easy to do. In fact, it took about six months. But, removing refined sugar was worth it. The uncomfortable feeling of an inner rushing which ran up my chest and into my head all but disappeared. I thought this inner rushing was naturally me. Not true! And, now, I stay focused longer on reading tasks.

Suggested sugar substitute products:

This list comes from my shopping at Rainbow Grocery, 1745 Folsom St. San Francisco, CA. www.rainbow.coop They offer a wide variety of healthy products. These products can be bought nationwide.

Note: the abbreviation ECJ: refers to Evaporated Cane Juice as the sweetener.

1. Sugar substitutes for cooking and with tea or coffee etc.

For more information on Natural Sweeteners check out: www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Fitness/sugar.html

Comments:

  • I do not use honey. It is too strong a sweetener
  • I make a wonderful pecan pie, using the Joy of Cooking recipe substituting sugar with Brown Rice Syrup or Agave syrup and substituting corn syrup with pure maple syrup. My friends say it’s better than the original recipe.

2. Cereals:

  • Nature’s Path; www.naturespath.com These products come in many different packaging types, the most economical is Eco Pacs which are large in content and reasonable in cost. Including:
  • Corn Flakes sweetened with organic grape or pear juice
  • Mesa Sunrise (flax, corn amaranth combined and are flakes) sweetened with ECJ
  • Millet rice (in flakes) sweetened with organic grape or pear juice
  • Peanut Butter Panda Puffs – for kids sweetened with ECJ *
  • Shredded Wheat: Sweetened with ECJ
  • Organic Amaranth: Sweetened with fruit juice
  • Oat Flakes with Wild Blueberry Chips, sweetened with ECJ
  • 7 Whole Grain Puffs: no sugar

These are some of my favorite cereals which come in bulk size.

  • Raspberry Muesli: sweetened with ECJ
  • Organic Blueberry Muesli: sweetened with ECJ
  • Raspberry Granola: sweetened with ECJ
  • Banana Crunch Granola: sweetened with apple juice concentrate and rice syrup
  • Hint: Some of these products can be bought in bulk through Amazon.com.
  • 3. Chocolate:

    • Chocolate Chips.

    Sunspire offers Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips in both packages and Bulk. www.sunspire.com

    I eat these chocolate chips as a snack. They are not too sweet and satisfy my sweet need. They are delicious in Chocolate Chip Cookies, etc.

    Sweetened with ECJ

    • Cocoa: Unsweetened Chocolate sweetened with one of the sugar substitutes listed above

    4. Cookies: Here are just a few examples.

    • Enviro Kids: Chripsy Rice Bars: Berry, Peanut Butter etc flavors
    • Organic Whole Grain bars in pear, raspberry, cherry, apple
    • Chocolate Chip Cookies: Fruit Juice sweetened
    • Bunny Graham cookies – Chocolate sweetened with ECJ

    5. Drinks:

    Soda: cola, orange, etc. sweetened with Stevia www.zevia.com

    Spritzers: Grape, red raspberry etc. 100% fruit sweetened. www.knudsenjuices.com

    6. Ice Cream

    Ice cream made with milk and sweetened with ECJ

    Alden’s Ice Cream: www.aldenicecream.com

    Julie’s Organic Ice Cream: www.juliesorganic.com

    Ice cream made with soy products and sweetened with brown rice syrup

    Soy Delicious: www.turtlemountain.com

    7. Jams

    All these jams are fruit juice sweetened

    Sorrel & Ridge: www.naturalgrocers.com/sorrel_ridge

    Crofters: www.crofterorganic.com

    Bionature: www.bionaturae.com

    8. Yogurt

    Brown Cow Yogurt sweetened with ECJ:

    www.browncowfarm.com

    9. Fruit

    Don’t forget fresh fruit. That is the best source of natural sugar.

    A future blog will discuss the symptoms I experienced while eliminating refined sugar and some of the steps I took to help myself through the detox period which lasted about six months.

    If you have topics that you would like me to address about my experience in overcoming dyslexia and hyperlexia send your comments through this blog.

    And, I am planning to continue evolving this site. I want to incorporate dyslexic and/or hyperlexic  information that others have to share.  Yes, I am looking for your ideas.  Send them via the Comments. below.

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    Information on this blog is intended to complement, not replace, the advice of your own physician or health care professional.