GROWW E-Mail Newsletter
12 April 2003	Circulation: 381	Volume 1, Number 6
Editor · Pat Sirni Associate Editor · Margot Hill Newsletter Staff · Angela Dyer · Lori Petersen GROWW Officers · Anne D’Ambrosio, Executive Director GROWW Staff · Libby Morningstar, Director of Branches · Pat Sirni, Grief Recovery Room Manager · Rachel Frank, Message Board Manager · Phil D’Ambrosio, Director of Security	Message from the Executive Director - Anne D’Ambrosio Happy Spring to all of you. It’s a season of rebirth and growth. My article this month is about finding support groups, with real people. They are a wonderful source of caring and support and they are a great help to many. It’s a wonderful feeling to have a support group to go to every couple of weeks and a great support group that is here for you 24/7. They each have their jobs and when you combine the 2 together, there is a remarkable amount of support to be had. So give it a try, search them out; you may have to try 2 or 3 until you find the right one. You may find the right place on the first try or even meet with just one person that you hit it off with. It can change everything; it’s worth a try. This is also the time of year that can bring on more tough days for you, you see things growing and you are without your loved one. People tend to get a little bit more emotional, lets try to all remember to be extra sensitive to all of our friends in all of the chat rooms here. A little kindness makes a lasting impression, sit back, don’t jump up so fast and correct someone or tell him or her they should NOT be feeling this way or that way. Remember to always think before you type. We can’t see each others expressions and what one thinks is funny or a joke some one else may be offended by it. On a brighter note, thank you to all those who have helped to keep GROWW alive and funded. We have paid the chat rooms for the next fiscal year starting May 1^st 2003 thru April 30, 2004. Thank so all so much for you contributions! Every penny makes a difference, keep sending those checks, we have some dreams out there we would like to accomplish this year. Don’t forget the Michigan Gathering is coming up July 18^th to 20^th, its for all GROWW friends and family. Check out the Gatherings page for all the details. Until next month….GOOD GRIEF to us all! Meet Your Host - GRHostCharliebug GRHostCharliebug Charlie is well known to those who visit Grief Recovery during the day. He gives countless hours each week to both GR and Heavenly Angels. Charlie and his wife, Jean, lost their only child, Nicole, in July 2001. Nicole was found dead in her Detroit apartment and the cause of her death is unknown. The suddenness and unexplained nature of her death have left questions that will never be answered, making closure very difficult to obtain. Charlie and Jean focus on Nicole’s life and remember her as a good student with a sharp mind, an outgoing personality, and an excellent and aggressive organizer. She was a softball catcher, “who played hard and took no prisoners”. A host since July 2002, Charlie has been coming to GROWW since December 2001. Retired from the Post Office, Charlie says his foremost hobby is the computer, surfing the net, learning about the computer and talking to his many friends on-line. A voracious reader, he is slowly regaining that interest as well. Charlie’s advice to someone new to grief is “Make no major changes for at least a year afterwards. Do not hurry to dispose of items related to the loss. Do not allow others to tell you how to grieve. We must all grieve at our own pace, and in our own way. Do not focus hard on long-term goals at first, because those are volatile and could change drastically. Seek counseling, preferably one-on-one, and make sure you connect with the counselor/therapist. Do not attempt to compare losses with people, because all losses hurt, and it is impossible to compare them. I recommend coming to GROWW for its many resources for grieving people. Talking to others has been immensely beneficial for me.” Charlie has realized that time really does help us to heal and cause our pain to lessen. While he realizes that life will never be the same for him, he feels that he is very slowly moving on. He says that talking with his GROWW friends has been most helpful to him and he is happy to be able to help others. We at GROWW are grateful for Charlie’s friendship. Message from the Director of Branches - Libby Morningstar We have made it through winter. As the seasons are changing, and spring is breaking with all it's smells and sounds, many of us are missing the special sounds made by our children. GROWW has a wonderful place for those grieving the death of a child. Heavenly Angels, with its wonderful leader Maggie, and newly appointed assistant manager Nancy, meets 7 days a week from as early as 6:00 PM EST to as late as 11:30 PM EST. You can locate Heavenly Angels by going to our Chat Index and Site Map and checking out their schedule. They offer so many different sessions from general discussions, stillborn/miscarriage/newborns, to death of an adult child. As you enter GROWW grieving the death of your child, what you find are many loving people to share similar feelings. With Easter around the corner, many are missing their children no matter what the age at death. WE can have those nagging woulda, shoulda, coulda's when our children are involved. What Heavenly Angels offers you is a place to share your heart with others who can cry and laugh with you. It is a true statement that crying will not hurt your keyboard. Only those who have been on your journey can possibly understand your pain. While spending time with your GROWW family, it is our hope that through your pain you can see hope for the future. I won't lie, this road called grief is not an easy one, but it can be better with time. As with all our rooms within GROWW, knowing that you have a special place to call home in your time of grief makes you a much stronger individual. Guest Columnist GRHost Ruth Are We Healing Yet? How will I know if I’m healing? Is grief recovery ever going to happen and how will I know when it does? What should I look for and what should I do if my grief doesn’t get better? Anyone who has experienced a significant loss will wonder if there are answers to these questions. C.S. Lewis, a British author remarked after the loss of his wife, “In grief nothing stays put. One keeps emerging from a phase, but it always recurs…. everything repeats. Am I going in circles, or dare I hope I’m on a spiral? But if a spiral, am I going up or down? Psychologists tell us there are many myths associated with grief and mourning. One such myth is that it takes between three months and a year to ‘get-over’ loosing someone you love. The truth is that the time for grieving is dependent upon a number of factors that are often culturally related. The time frame for healing is unique to each individual and varies between men and women. It is also known that when we are allowed to grieve and mourn openly, grief becomes less intense. As we enter into the GROWW chat rooms and/or read the Message Boards, we find that our grief is accepted and understood – we are not labeled as weak, crazy, or unrealistic. We can openly share our feelings and come to know we all experience similar emotions. Another myth is that the griever should be strong and get over grief as soon as possible, including less crying. The fact is crying is nature’s way of reducing tension as stress toxins are thought to be released as we cry. Refusing to cry or suffering in silence (crying or not) are not conducive to healing. This also means we need to develop the ability to stop blaming ourselves for the loss of our loved one. We need to accept that we did the best we could at the time. We can be reassured that we are progressing in our journey towards healing if we actively engage in grief recovery, including the ability to verbalize our loss. We are making progress if we believe that our own recovery can take place. Taking responsibility for our own recovery is a positive step toward healing. Now that does not mean we have to do it alone; we just need to believe that it can happen. Once we begin looking for an “open door”, we can learn to honor the memory of our loved one and celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. As recovery progresses, we become increasingly empowered to deal effectively with our loss and move toward renewed health of both our minds and bodies. It is at this point we find that we are able to offer encouragement to others in their journey of grief recovery. We then accept that indeed there is hope for a new tomorrow. Reactions that may signal the need for professional intervention include: ü Feelings of panic that do not lessen over time ü Overwhelmingly incapacitated by fear and distress ü Emotional numbness that remains after an initial period of grieving ü Abusing drugs or alcohol ü Extreme immersion in work or social activities ü Symptoms of clinical depression including chronic insomnia, disordered eating, inability to participate in activities of daily living, and thoughts of death or suicide. We come to GROWW alone and afraid. We find a community of love and caring where we can be truthful and face our grief in an atmosphere of non-judgmental understanding. We cry together and yes, learn to laugh together. My own healing continues because of GROWW and the lessons I’ve learned here. May God bless and hold you in the palm of His hand. GRHost Ruth Talyor, A. We Can Recover From Our Losses. (2003). Realizations Inc., CA Hartman, E, Young, E, & N. J. Rosenkranz. (2003). University of Cincinnati, Psychological Service Center. Healthy Place.Com Depression Community. 4/6/2003 Phil’s Corner - Phil D’Ambrosio As we all know as we get more “mature” in years the stuff we loved to eat now stays with us a little longer than we would like. So I figured I would try to keep my weight somewhat reasonable, being Italian & loving to eat, not an easy task. I have been told by many a folk that water is a pretty good staple in the quest for burning calories. I was looking on the web for some kind of magical potion when I came across this article from “The Snowbird Diet” by Dr Donald S. Robertson M.D. I thought I would share it with youz guyz. After reading it I will never take water for granted again! How Eight Glasses A Day Keep Fat Away! Incredible as it may seem... Water is the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off! Although most of us take it for granted...Pure, clean water may be the only true Magic Potion for permanent weight loss! Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase! And an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits! Here's the reason why... The kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they do not work to capacity, some of their load is dumped on the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it cannot work at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat... more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops! Drinking an adequate amount of water every day is the best treatment for fluid retention. But when your body is given less water than it needs... it perceives the shortage as a threat to survival and will begin to retain every drop. Water reserves are stored in extra-cellular spaces (outside the cells). This water can show up as swollen feet, hands and legs. Diuretics only offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs - plenty of water - only then will stored water be released. If water retention is a constant problem for you... excess salt may be to blame. Your body will only tolerate sodium in certain concentrations. The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it. But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy -- just drink water! As the water is forced through the kidneys, it will remove the excess sodium. Over weight people need more water than thin people. Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism... it follows that the over weight person needs more water to metabolize excess fat. Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone... which in turn, aids proper muscle contraction and prevents dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plums the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient. Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has more waste to get rid of - all that metabolized fat must be shed. Again . . . Water helps flush out this waste! Water can help relieve constipation... The colon is a primary internal water source. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. Result? Constipation. But when a person drinks enough water... normal bowel function will return. So far, we have discovered same remarkable truths about water and about weight loss... the body will not function properly without enough water and cannot metabolize stored fat efficiently. On the household weight scales... Retained water shows up as excess weight. It may seem strange, but to get rid of excess water... you must drink more water! Drinking water is essential to losing weight. How much water is enough? If you are of normal weight for your height, then on average you should drink (8) eight -- 8 oz. glasses of pure water every day. However, if you are overweight you should take (1) one additional glass for every 25 lbs. of excess weight you are trying to lose. The amount that you drink should be increased if you exercise, or if the weather is hot and dry. Preferably, your drinking water should be taken cold... Cold water is absorbed more quickly into the system than warm water. Some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually burn calories. To utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, follow this schedule: Morning: 1 Quart of pure water over 30 minutes Noon: 1 Quart of pure water over 30 minutes Evening: 1 Quart of pure water between 5-6 P.M. When the body gets all the water it needs to function optimally, all body system fluids will perfectly balance. When this happens . . . you reach the "breakthrough point”. So what does that mean? Endocrine gland function improves... Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost... More fat can be used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat... Natural thirst returns... There is a loss of hunger almost overnight. But don't forget this...If you stop drinking enough water your body fluids will again be thrown out of balance. . Once again you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst! So what's the remedy to this situation? Start over . .. . increasing your water intake to force another breakthrough! Now that we've determined the need to increase your water intake, there's another problem we need address...Specifically, where to get pure, contamination free water. In spite of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water purification and treatment standards for Municipal water systems, there continues to be incidents of contamination which can be harmful to your health. A more practical and reliable solution is to obtain a home Water Filtration System... For just pennies per gallon, you can have all the pure water you need... And when compared to bottled water services and commercial water treatment systems, you can't beat the convenience or cost! There are many types of water filtration systems perfect for home and office applications. Well there ya have it. I figure, what the heck I’ll give it a shot. Hopefully I can shed some unwanted pounds or I can become the poster child for Depends…..
GROWW, INC.© Judy Divers 11877 Douglas Rd - #102-PMB101 - Alpharetta GA 30005 501(c)(3) Non-Profit EIN: 59-3445877	Recipes From Members Submitted by:  Libby Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken & White Bean Soup 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cubed 1 cup chopped onions 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp cumin 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn 1 can (14oz) Chicken Broth 1 cup Chunky Salsa 1 can (about 16oz) White Beans, drained and rinsed Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.  I also added the onion and garlic to give flavor to the meat while browning.   Place cumin, broth, salsa, beans and corn in at least a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker.  Top with browned chicken, onions and garlic.  Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours  * OR on HIGH 4 to 5 hours Serves 6   If you would like to submit a recipe for publication in this newsletter, please send your submission to newsletter@groww.org To unsubscribe to this email click reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line. For questions about this Newsletter or to submit an article, email newsletter@groww.org