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| I ordered a steak last night! From B.J.H in Iowa. |
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For most people, this is an unremarkable statement mainly implying they spent a little more at the restaurant for a special celebration meal.
For me, it was a triumph! After more than ten years of carefully ordering only soft foods at restaurants - fish, mashed potatoes, soup, etc. - I could finally order anything I wanted thanks to The Simple Method®.
I am in the pioneer generation of women in business. My first Fortune 500 employer went from 0% to 100% of their first Equal Employment Opportunity goal when they hired me out of Wharton Graduate School. From then on, I was usually the highest paid woman in whatever department of the companies I worked for, always walking in the spotlight. By the time I reached my late 30s, the stress was taking a toll - on my stomach.
First I noticed that if I ate something stringy too fast that it would “catch” my throat would grow a golf ball, and eventually the offending chunk would be tossed back out. This started happening more and more frequently especially in situations of stress or excitement. After spending a half hour in the ladies room at a family reunion dinner, Dad’s cousin said: “Oh you have the family problem with Schatzki’s Ring - I have it too.” “What’s that?” I asked. “It is the valve at the entrance to the stomach that looks like a rubber band. If it tightens up or shrinks, chunks of food get stuck. Sometimes it takes a while to get them back up.” Wonderful - what can I do about it?” “Not much. I go to Mayo Clinic every six months to get mine stretched out, but it gradually tightens back up again. Last time, the Doctor basically said “learn to live with it.”
As the years went by, I gradually got worse. I looked for medicines/vitamins in liquid form or learned to chew them up (Tylenol tastes terrible!). I avoided business meetings over meals, fundraising dinners, or ordered only soft foods I could chew up thoroughly. When the ring locked up, not even water/saliva would stay down for thirty seconds to over an hour. One three day conference I ran into trouble at every meal – I nearly starved.(I do NOT recommend it as a diet plan!) Finally, every time I sat down to eat - at home or away - I started with a hot drink and wondered if I could get through the meal.
I started working with Ken Markham and The Simple Method over a year ago because of a relationship issue. As Ken taught me how to release my resistance to negative emotions, I gradually became aware of a constant level of tension in my body that had become so “normal” I did not even know it was there. I re-learned what it was like to walk around being truly relaxed.
I also noticed that eating was becoming easier. I no longer had to focus on each mouthful. I remember the first time I realized I had eaten a whole meal without once thinking about it.
Last night we took my parents to the best restaurant in town to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary. For the first time in nearly ten years - I ORDERED A STEAK! It was wonderful. Thanks to The Simple Method I will be enjoying lots more!
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