It's been a rough two weeks. My husband has a genetic eye condition which suddenly got worse. The company my husband works for was sold, and we don't yet know what changes will be coming. There has been a disagreement in our extended family which has affected our lives even though we live many miles away. Without ever meaning to, I let worry and anger creep into my thoughts. I knew I had let it go too far when on Monday I began to feel rumblings in my stomach that I haven't felt for a year.

I share this with you because it underlines the different facets of living right for your type. I can't blame this relapse on food. There have been two occasions when politeness dictated that I eat avoid foods. I'm sure they didn't help any, but when everything else is normal a piece of cake or a spoon of pasta doesn't set me back this much.

Exercise is part of the problem. My running and swimming days have continued as usual. But the weight work I do at night has been neglected. Several times I have dealt with the stress by playing cards on the computer. Card games do not qualify as intense physical exercise. Part of what I feel in my stomach is a build up of stress that my Type O body would have liked to release by exercise.

There is also the emotional/spiritual side of life. The Bible says, "Be angry but sin not," and "Have no anxiety about anything." I have ignored both those principles. I have let my imagination run wild. I have worried about things I have no control over. I began yesterday to take those kinds of thought captive.

I saw the pictures of my red irritated stomach in the spring of 2003 before I started the BTD. What I feel now is nowhere near as bad as what I felt then. But after more than a year of feeling great, even a little relapse is uncomfortable.

What am I doing? Yesterday I turned off the news and turned on music. As much as I enjoy current events, I don't need to take on the worries of the whole world until I get myself back in balance. The soothing effect is already helping. I have ginger juice in the refrigerator and I'm taking that as well as peppermint. I've increased DGL licorice, bladderwrack, bromelain & quercetin. And as soon as I post this blog, I'm going to swim ¾ mile - fast.