Recognition signs

 

Basket Cases                                                Cliff Walkers

 

+ In constant “energy crisis”                           + A walking life insurance company “risk

+ Energy often fades by mid-day                      factor chart” … high blood pressure;

+ Frequent aches / pains in muscles                 smoking; alcohol misuse; no exercise

   or joints                                                     + Believe “It will never happen to me”

+ Sometimes depressed; feel most                  + Usually a somewhat worn appearance

   activities are too much to do                        + Difficulty sustaining energy

 

While the secondary StressTypes for Basket Cases and for Cliff Walkers are usually different, these two Types are combined here because the start-up prescriptions for both are very similar.

 

Two skills best for Basket Cases and Cliff Walkers -  The first foundation skill is high performance nutrition, then supported by essential exercise.

 

Root causes -  Feelings of low energy, more frequent minor illnesses, or aches, pains and other “run down” feelings can arise from a number of interacting sources, including poor nutrition, sleep or cardio-respiratory fitness, as well as from impairment on any of the other four vital factors at the heart of your secondary StressType.

 

For example, a low score on the factors of Control-of-Stress or Worry Control means that you are relying too frequently on the high octane hormones of stress to drive your activities. If this is habitual, you will also experience longer and longer periods of fatigue because (a) all body systems [e.g. digestive, immune, etc.] function less and less efficiently under chronic high stress; and (b) your body’s self-protective hormones will periodically induce fatigue-like time-outs in order to repair and reverse stress-driven inefficiencies.

 

Alternatively, low scores on the factors of Fulfillment or Personal Relationships can also lead to stress-based fatigue experiences. Low scores on either factor are invariably associated with feelings of frustration, deprivation, and anxious or depressed mood. All these drive the person to “try harder”, to generate more stress until fatigue or illness inevitably sets in.

 

Focus for action - To regain peak vitality, the action plan for these two StressTypes is usually best pursued in two stages.

 

First, rebuild a reliable store of energy on tap, focusing on (i) high performance nutrition and then, within two to six weeks, build in (ii) essential exercise to improve cardio-respiratory fitness.

 

And, then, when both these factors are solidly re-established, you should learn simple energy conservation techniques to protect against future overdrafts on your energy account. Daily take-a-break sessions with a 10-minute autogenic relaxation tape are a vitally important tool for re-programming the body to a more even keel biochemistry. Basket Case and Cliff Walkers’ stress hormones have become locked in at chronically high levels because they rely on adrenaline so frequently to compensate for the inadequate energy they get from (a) their diets and from (b) typically inefficient cardiorespiratory systems.

 

High performance nutrition does not require mega-doses of anything. In fact, such radical solutions almost always fail radically. Rather, it requires consistent practice of the following eight vital guidelines. While none of these guidelines is miraculous, their combined effects on feelings of energy and on resistance to colds, flu, etc. are very impressive.

 

• Eat a variety of unprocessed and minimally processed foods

• With high nutrient density

• In moderate amounts

• During at least three regular meals a day, definitely including breakfast

• Combined with smart snacking patterns

• While drinking at least six to eight glasses of fluid daily, with at least four of them being water

• And taking a broad-based vitamin-mineral supplement if you think your nutrition is compromised for any reason.

   

  As you phase in your exercise program, make sure it is realistic and truly motivating for you. Be sure it builds in the “seven S’s”, namely that it targets: stamina; suppleness; strength; stress recovery; self-image; sensory pleasure; and social stimulation.

   

  Now, you’re on your way. While it takes years of self-neglect to become a Basket Case or Cliff Walker, within two months you’ll have all the energy you need to make solid progress on turning around the strain drains coming from your secondary StressType.