120 I Can Read You Like a Book
Adaptors
Adaptors are a way that the body tries to comfort itself. The
primary cause of this is discomfort due to a real or perceived threat,
or boredom. The body will invent innumerable ways to do this, but in
true human fashion, we have developed standard ways as well.
Because adaptors are often gender-specific, I will go into greater
detail about them in the discussion of filters. The key thing to know at
this stage is that reflect energy displacement is a way to relieve stress.
Why does a baseball player rub his legs before grabbing the bat?
(a) Wipe the sweat off his hands.
(b) Wipe the dirt off his hands.
(c) Relieve stress.
He has gloves and pine tar on his hands, so he isn’t doing (a) or
(b). The gesture is an adaptor.
Other examples of adaptors are:
ƒ Fidgeting of nearly any kind.
ƒ Rubbing fingertips together.
ƒ Wobbling legs back and forth while seated (a typically
male adaptor).
ƒ Tapping.
ƒ Scratching.
ƒ Grooming.
ƒ Picking.
ƒ Rubbing a body part.