by Lawrence Wilson, MD

‘TRYING TOO HARD’ PATTERN

A fairly common hair analysis pattern I call ‘trying too hard’. It is a combination of two simpler patterns, and this can help elaborate the meaning of the pattern. The two patterns that combine to create trying too hard pattern are:

1. A calcium shell. The calcium level is above about 165 mg%.

2. Sympathetic dominance. The potassium level must be 4 mg% or less.

Qualification. In addition to the above, the ratios of calcium-to-magnesium and sodium-to-potassium must usually be fairly close to normal. If both are high, for example, then it is a different pattern we call step down pattern or stepping in to life, or “digging in the heels” pattern. This is a more productive pattern than trying too hard.

Also, due to the nature of the two simpler patterns above, trying too hard is always a slow oxidizer pattern. This also yields clues as to the meaning of the pattern.

Thus, trying too hard is a combination of two other common patterns, sympathetic dominance and a calcium shell.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PATTERN

General. Trying too hard pattern means what the words say. It is a person who is pushing himself or herself quite hard, and yet not achieving too much by so doing. This is the basic meaning of the pattern. It is thus a lifestyle problem in which one’s great efforts in a particular direction are not, at least at this time, paying off very much.

Visual. The pattern looks like the person is being pulled in opposite directions – calcium is very high and potassium is very low.

The pattern also looks very yin – open, split, or expanded - and this is the truth about it.

Whom. The pattern is most common in younger women and some young men. It is not as common in children, particularly younger children, or in those over age 50 or so. They have generally “settled down” by this age. The pattern is also found in more spiritually-minded and often intelligent people.

Physical symptoms. Common symptoms include fatigue, some depression, impaired digestion and/or elimination, sweet cravings, hypoglycemia, allergies, exhaustion at times, and often other symptoms related to copper imbalance and a low thyroid gland such as emotional upset, PMS, skin rashes, weight gain on the hips, and others.

Psychological aspects. These are often prominent. Often the person is rather stubborn and hard-headed, so he or she continues in the same direction even though little reward is found in it. This may be viewed as a type of “spinning the wheels” behavior. It is not always bad, but it is hard on one’s health.

Sympathetic dominance, in particular, is considered a failed transition pattern. This means that the person still thinks he or she can worry or run hard like a fast oxidizer, even though the body has ‘burned out’ and is now in slow oxidation. In particular, the thyroid gland is depleted.

The person may feel very compelled for some reason, to continue pushing oneself or worrying a lot, both traits associated with sympathetic dominance. This might be due to psychological factors such as intense fear, which is associated with this pattern. It could also be due to the presence of toxic metals, especially biounavailable copper in most cases.

Another aspect of this pattern is a strong tendency to worry. This may not be obvious from speaking with the person, however, as the person may stay very busy and distracted. Worry is sometimes just a bad habit. In other cases, however, worry and preoccupation or compulsion is a spiritual trait in which a person really wants to learn something, or move on in one’s life. However, in this case, the method chosen is not working well.

Development. Trying too hard is often found more in those who are very intelligent and developing mentally and spiritually. It is often related to an early stage of development, as defined on this website.

Chakra pattern. Often the seventh energy center or chakra is wide open and perhaps too open for balance with the others. This is a spiritual trait, by the way.

However, the first center or chakra is generally poorly developed, for whatever reason. This is very common in girls and young women today because they are not given enough opportunity to relax, be at home, work in the garden or at peaceful, grounding activities.

Instead, they are pushed in school, pushed socially to interact with boys and adults, and they are not relaxed, pushed ahead intellectually and sometimes sexually by silly parents, teachers and friends, so they are “up-set” (meaning their energy moves upward in their bodies), for these reasons.

In addition, the fourth energy center or chakra may be out of balance. This means that they do not have a good sense of give and take, and so they overreact, push too hard in some areas, and they easily go into fear.

A stuck movement pattern. This is an interesting type of stuck pattern, and not like others such as a four lows pattern or a bowl pattern. It can be more temporary and one often has more room to maneuver. However, it is stuck in the sense that a lot of effort is being expended and results are so far not forthcoming, at least not at this time.

Also, there is the danger that one will become more depressed and more depleted if one continues in this pattern.

The Roy Masters exercise is one method to help raise their awareness and help them slow down. However, they may have a difficult time slowing down enough to do the exercise every day daily.

OTHER POSSIBLE TRAITS OR MEANINGS

Driving oneself crazy. This pattern is often found in people who have a frantic quality about their lives, with not enough rest and sleep, a poor diet of mainly carbohydrate foods, and a rather disorganized view or approach to life.

A strong desire to move on and complete something. This pattern is associated with a desire to move on, which means to complete where one is at this time, and change the way one is living, working or something else.

Ungrounded. Most people with this pattern are ungrounded. This is another way of saying their first chakra or lower energy center is not well developed. As a result, they are not as realistic, centered and in control of their bodies as well they need to be.

Somewhat numb and out of control. I believe that in many cases of trying hard pattern, the person is somewhat numbed to reality, and this may be one reason the person keeps pushing and worrying when it is not too productive.

Accustomed to whipping the self. These people often whip themselves, thinking they must do this or they must do that. The affirmation “I need do nothing” may help, as may the affirmation “I am in the right place at the right time”, which may be even better.

The calcium shell and its role in this pattern. A calcium shell pattern on a hair mineral test when the hair is not washed at the laboratory usually indicates that the person is withdrawing psychologically to some degree. It is worse if the shell is higher.

It also means the person is somewhat out of touch with reality. It can also often mean one is discouraged and/or depressed. The shell is also associated with feelings of being emotionally or otherwise suppressed, numbed or repressed. Any of these situations or feelings may be present with the trying too hard pattern.

It is also possible that a calcium shell is the body’s response to extreme stress, or a very sensitive person, or an inability to handle stress correctly or well. This is often the case with the trying too hard pattern.

A definite conflict pattern. Here the conflict is with moving ahead and yet one is “hitting the wall”. This is very hard on the body and brain.

A split personality pattern. This may be viewed as somewhat of a lowered awareness pattern in which the person does not realize that little progress is being made, so he or she just keeps on beating the head against the wall instead of trying a different tactic or approach to life. The cause of the problem could be a toxic metal, a toxic chemical, an infection, or a neurosis or fixed idea, perhaps.

WHAT IF THE PATTERN IS VERY SEVERE?

An extreme trying too hard pattern is indicated by:

1. A very low potassium level of perhaps 1 or 2 mg%.

2. A very high calcium level of 250 mg% or greater.

3. A combination of #1 and #2 above.

This generally just reinforces the pattern, and might be called a double or even triple trying too hard pattern.

There may be more physical or psychological symptoms, although when the calcium level is very high, a person is often not in touch with feelings and is somewhat numbed, so that the person may not report a lot of symptoms.

A very severe form of this pattern also always indicates some degree of depression. However, it may be what I call “spiritual depression”. This means that the person knows there is a great future ahead in some way, and is anxious to get there, but doesn’t quite know how to do it.

Once again, the remedy in this case only is to relax, breathe, ground, center, do the Roy Masters meditation exercise and no other, and life will flow more easily.

CORRECTION OF A ‘TRYING TOO HARD’ PATTERN

This is a very important pattern to correct because extreme sympathetic dominance is associated with the development of many illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, inflammation and pain, arthritis and others. In fact, some die in this pattern of these diseases, so correction is critical.

Slowing down. Since this is at least partially a lifestyle pattern, a person must learn to slow down, and often to eat slower, talk slower, walk slower, think slower and do everything in a more gentle, measured fashion. This is often difficult at first, though it can be learned easily enough by most people.

Rest. Also, more sleep and rest are excellent and often needed.

Loving the self where it is. This is also critical for some people with this karmic pattern.

Diet. Another thing is to learn to eat much better. One may not want to eat meat and eggs, for example, as they may feel heavy in the stomach. They may even “make one sick”. However, they are very important foods for this metabolic pattern. Enough high quality fats or oils are very important as well, even though it is a slow oxidizer pattern.

Certain foods will help greatly with this pattern. Lamb is one of them. It is meat, so it is grounding and centering. It is also a very spiritual type of food, if one recalls the Hebrew bible. Lamb was eaten at many festivals and Jesus spoke of himself as “the lamb of God”. There is meaning here, as lamb contains minerals that are helpful for development and relaxation.

Another excellent food for this pattern today is sardines, along with organic blue corn chips and blue corn tortillas.

A sympathetic dominant nutritional balancing supplement program. This is important so they do not get so much energy to just push and whip themselves harder, wearing them out. Too much adrenal support or B-complex, for example, are not helpful, and they often take these on their own, thinking they are getting better when it is temporary and adds to their failure feelings later.

Red infrared light sauna therapy, in particular, is extremely beneficial for this pattern, as are coffee enemas and the rest of the nutritional balancing program.

The sauna will, however, make one feel tired at first by inhibiting the excessive sympathetic dominant tendency of the body. This must be tolerated, which is hard for some people. It is necessary to realize that one is accustomed to “whipping the horse” and the sauna stops this tendency, even if only for a short time each day.

The Roy Masters meditation, along with perhaps prayer and church attendance at a relaxing church, not a fire-and-brimstone one, and other relaxing activities are often extremely helpful to correct the pattern.

Love in your life helps, too. These people feel unloved, unfulfilled and while it is not the case, they feel unloving in some cases. If love comes in, not sex, by the way, which ungrounds them further, but real love from anyone – a parent, a friend or other – the pattern turns around faster, and much faster in some cases.

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