Defined Terms and Documents      'Aboriginal Teenager Life Skills' RTV Social Inclusion Early Intervention Programme 

Combating Life's Negative Stressors With Regular Positive Stressors means Live A Balanced Lifestyle is the third of four determinants of Maximising Life Opportunities which involves achieving a balance between -

i)           Aspiring To A Successful Working Career;

ii)          restorative sleep;

iii)         leisure activities; 

iv)         a healthy food/fluid intake; and

v)          regular Positive Stressors to combat Negative Stressors.

Generally, young children in Australia receive a surfeit of Positive Stressors due to loving/caring parents who dote on their new born.  As young children grow into their Youthful Exuberance Growth Phase the surfeit of Positive Stressors usually continues, through playing with other local neighbourhood children, classmates and cousins, which often replace doting attention from their parents.  Thankfully, most Australian children experience very little exposure to Negative Stressors.

Seven Lifestyle Behavioural Influences explains that human 'animals' are exposed to seven explicit influences which commence around puberty, that other 'animals' do not experience, which can dangerously swing the pendulum from a surfeit of Positive Stressors to a surplus of Negative Stressors.

Positive Stressors includes item "8. Training for and achieving challenging physical goals which can produce powerful Adrenalines and Endorphins and materially increase self-belief" and points out that for all but the last scintilla of Homo sapiens 125,000 years tenure on 'terra firma', Homo sapiens -

(A)       led an exceedingly physically active life hunting or farming - otherwise s/he could not feed their family the next meal - exercise was integral to human survival, particularly as 'hunting' generally involved running down faster animals due to man's greater stamina than the faster animal that s/he was chasing for the next meal; and

(B)       had a diet of one type of meat, two or three vegetables and two or three fruits - generally prepared the same 'local way' day after day - many survived on fish or rice.  There were no refrigerators, supermarkets or motor cars to take the plentiful foods sourced from a plethora of cultures home which are available today (ie. Chinese, Thai, Mediterranean, French, Italian, Greek, Lebanese 'et al'.).  Hence, it was not as easy for a human to 'over eat' relative to their fuel requirements due to materially less variety of foods and ways of preparing it.

In this electronic, automotive age where physical exercise is often optional, relying upon or re-igniting the skills learned during a human's Youthful Exuberance Growth Phase by setting regular physical challenges/goals, ideally with friends or other local residents amidst a Local Community Common Bond Support Group, will invariably provide an enormous fillip through enhanced Wellbeing and self-belief to offset the Negative Stressors of life. 

These physical challenges/goals which create Positive Stressors can be training for annual fun runs, hiking expeditions, swimming laps in order to complete in annual surf club beach swims, kayaking/canoeing, cross country skiing, bicycle rides, ideally in the company of other members of the local community who fuel resolve and determination to succeed.

Better to cross-train, say hiking, football or basketball in the Winter and kayaking, cycling, 'touch football' or swimming in the Summer, to mix 'em up, as relying on only one exercise, say running may itself bring on a Negative Stressor, if a knee or foot injury presents, whereupon the jogger can suffer nasty withdrawal symptoms when his/ her 'fix' is denied. 

In summary, Positive Stressors includes item "8. Training for and achieving challenging physical goals which can produce powerful Adrenalines and Endorphins and materially increase self-belief" because for all but the last scintilla of Homo sapiens 125,000 years tenure on 'terra firma', Homo sapiens lead a highly physically active Lifestyle with a simple diet.  Drastic changes to what earlier Homo sapiens lived by can evidence deleterious physical and mental consequences.   A Balanced Lifestyle involves Positive Stressors combating the Seven Lifestyle Behavioural Influences, each of which can create Negative Stressors.  Regular, rigorous, challenging recreational exercise, ideally amidst a Local Community Common Bond Support Group, either in an existing team competition, or merely amongst local like-minded neighbours, will invariably provide an enormous fillip through enhanced Wellbeing and self-belief to offset the Negative Stressors.