Personal+Maintenance

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Reducing Resilience Liabilities (Risks)
** Tackling Depression ** Recovery begins with recognition and acceptance. Denial and “hard-man stonewalling” is the greatest obstacle. Get help!. Start with your family doctor and make sure you have enough time to understand the options. Do not be afraid to seek alternative opinions. You must be comfortable and supportive of your treatment plan.

> 1. Time, patience and the good work of nature > 2. SSRI or other anti-depressant medication > 3. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) > 4. Support groups and counselling > 5. Lifestyle rejuvenation

Recovery usually begins within 10 days to three weeks and after 6 months of normal function you might consider yourself recovered. There is strong support for well-structured lifestyle discipline right from the beginning. Stop alcohol and drugs. While it can be hard to motivate oneself in depression, find a way to get regular exercise, eat well, practice relaxation and find joy, gratitude and appreciation in your daily activities. Bounce Back article.

** Dissolving Distress ** The key is to understand how your body signals distress. These symptoms include: headaches, muscle pain, digestive disorders, chest pain, skin rashes, allergies, sleep disturbance, irritability and worry. These symptoms alert us to extreme overload and the beginning of body/mind failure. The goal is to have no symptoms but many of us are so used to persistent symptoms we consider them “normal” and pay little attention.

> 1. Deliberate, slow diaphragmatic breathing practice > 2. Facilitated relaxation (massage, yoga, tai chi) > 3. Daily meditation, prayer and exercise > 4. Stop alcohol and drugs > 5. Lifestyle rejuvenation

** Reducing Vulnerability ** We become vulnerable when we forget to take care of ourselves. You have to be strong to help others.

> 1. Take a proper holiday > 2. Build exercise, good nutrition, sleep and relaxation into each day > 3. Take a long weekend each month (no work, phones, e-mail) > ** Reconnecting from Withdrawal ** Withdrawal is a natural response to overload, error and failure. It is easy to recovery from provided you reconnect with those who matter to you.

> 1. Talk to someone even if you have to pay > 2. Connect with older and wiser people or find a coach or mentor > 3. Make time for those who matter (partner, children, parents, friends) > 4. Re-establish a regular ‘me time’ (shopping, friends, sport)

** Re-engage Regularly ** Build a daily practice of relaxation or mindfulness. Learn to take short, effective relaxation breaks during tasks, which can include:

> 1. Breathe with the diaphragm – low and slow > 2. Regular, long exhalations followed by a pause > 3. Work in short, super-focused bursts > 4. Stretch breaks, sunshine, activity, coffee or protein snack

** Clear the fog of Confusion **

> 1. Focus on one task at a time > 2. Delete what is not important > 3. Delegate everything you can > 4. Sharpen your priority list to no more than five issues

We all plunge into the spiral from time to time. This is normal and natural. Frequently, we spend longer than we need with these “liabilities” in our life. Bounce back is first, finding how to remove these liabilities from your life. Secondly, bounce back is working out how to restore optimal performance following adversity.

**Building Resilience Assets**
As one learns to identify, up-skill and apply your resilience assets, life becomes more fun and successful. We all recognise this fundamental truth. Resilience training helps people to build these assets. We recommend attending our [|Practical Resilience] training or reading [|our books] if you want to know more. Here is a short list of practices to lift your Diagnostic Ratio over 3:1 and help you enjoy the fruits of Resilience.

Master Stress Learn to relax (breathing, exercise, yoga, mindfulness, prayer) Develop a powerful practice of recovery (www.heartmath.com)

Energise Body Get a preventative health assessment Exercise, sleep, eat smart..

Engage Emotion Learn about emotions and their effects Reduce destructive emotion & build positive emotions ( [|www.positivityratio.com] )

Train Mind Observe your thoughts (internal chatter) Define the monkey and shoot it Pay attention to your thoughts, speak positively

Spirit in Action Know who you are and define your talents Pursue your passions Care about others

Stage 1: Physical Vitality > Health assessment feedback and risk management > Exercise and fitness > Sleep and fatigue > Nutrition and meal planning > Integral Daily Practice

Stage 2: Self Mastery > Death Spiral and Bounce Back > Relaxation and Rejuvenation > Breath control > Flow: optimal performance states

Stage 3: Performance Mindset > Introduction to mind and emotion > Impulse control > Self awareness and Empathy > Reframing and Practical Optimism > Emotion regulation > = Sleep: Tips from Australian Institute of Sport =

Kinsman reinforces our key guideline to lock down a regular sleep rhythm with early to bed to grab your Deep sleep and avoiding sleep ins to align your circadian rhythm. The Institute adds: 1. The best time to go to sleep is when body temperature peaks which is early evening. 2. Exercise and fitness improve deep sleep 3 fold, increase growth hormone and feel younger. 3. Reinforces importance of regular and quiet evening routines. 4. Powernaps between high intensity exercise sessions also gives deep sleep and growth hormone. 5. Hot and cold showers before bedtime may help deep sleep. 6. Excessive REM sleep (last two thirds of night) is associated with depression and demotivation 7. Therefore avoid sleep-ins and long afternoon sleeps as they will make effort more difficult.