Stable (Stable Adaptive Function)
The body is managing load coherently. Energy is stable, symptoms are minimal, and demands are absorbed without a delayed cost. This is your functional baseline — not necessarily feeling great, but the body is working with you rather than against you.
Immune Active (Inflammatory Amplification)
The immune system is actively engaged and this is reducing your functional capacity. Fatigue may be disproportionate to activity, cognitive fog is common, and the body is more sensitive to load. This is not always visible from the outside — you may appear functional while the system is under significant pressure.
Mild Immune Activity (Inflammatory Amplification with Functional Capacity)
Inflammatory signals are present and measurable, but your capacity has not yet been significantly impaired. You can function, but the system is working harder than it looks. The key risk: these days can transition to full Immune Active quickly if demand increases before the inflammation settles.
Crash Day
Capacity has already been exceeded. The body is in enforced recovery — not choosing to rest, but unable to do otherwise. Physical energy is very low, sensitivity to stimulation (noise, light, activity) is high, and emotional bandwidth is reduced. This is the body's circuit breaker. It typically follows a period of overextension, load stacking, or false readiness.
Fragile Recovery
The body is moving out of an acute phase but has not yet rebuilt its reserves. Capacity may appear to be returning, but resilience — the ability to absorb unexpected demand — is not yet restored. This is the phase where re-escalation is most likely if load is reintroduced too quickly. Note: Fragile Recovery is not the standard path after a Hormonal Phase day — most HPL days resolve directly with the phase shift. Fragile Recovery applies after HPL only when the episode was severe enough to produce genuine physiological depletion beyond the hormonal mechanism.
Depleted (Resource Depletion / Delayed Cost)
Capacity is depleted because reserves have been exhausted — not because of active inflammation, but because the cumulative cost of recent days has arrived. This may show up as waking already depleted, or as energy that drains steadily across the day. It often follows overextension or load stacking, sometimes by 24–48 hours.
Physical Restriction (Mechanical Constraint)
Function is limited by musculoskeletal pain, structural restriction, or joint instability. In hypermobility and connective tissue conditions, Physical Restriction may represent a permanent structural baseline — a daily capacity ceiling — rather than an acute flare. The key distinguishing feature: emotional energy and cognitive clarity are typically preserved, which distinguishes this from systemic states like Immune Active or Crash Day. Operates alongside, not instead of, systemic states.
Hormonal Phase (Hormonal Phase Limitation)
Capacity is reduced by hormonal or cycle-related changes — not by inflammation or exhausted reserves. This includes luteal phase limitation, PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), perimenopause, and endometriosis-related capacity reduction. The key difference from other reduced-capacity states: recovery happens with the hormonal phase change, not through rest alone. Most HPL days resolve with the phase shift rather than following the standard recovery arc.
Nervous System Strain (Autonomic Dysregulation)
Capacity is primarily limited by nervous system dysregulation — most commonly orthostatic intolerance (symptoms that worsen on standing and improve lying down), POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), or related dysautonomia. The key distinguishing feature: capacity is position-dependent. A high resting heart rate in this state is a primary symptom, not a signal of inflammation or crash. Partially responsive to management strategies like hydration, compression, and positional pacing.