Stress

A couple years ago, I think, CortiSlim(TM) was being heavily advertised on the radio ("...something something something stress hormones something something weight loss..."). I thought, "Stress? Yep, that's me." So I bought some to try to lose some weight, but I only managed to remember to take it for about a week. During that week, though, I remarked to one of my co-workers that my handwriting had improved and I didn't seem as tight on the inside as usual. But then I forgot about taking it, and the bottle eventually ended up in the cupboard with the other forgotten supplements, like vegetables or fruits in pill form. Mm-hmm.

At work the past couple months, with Fiscal Year End coming up (today, in fact), we've been under a lot of pressure to do lots of work in as few days as possible, in order to bring as much income as possible into the company so everyone who is eligible can get a bonus. That meant lots of very late nights under high pressure (except for last week, which was inexplicably slow). It wasn't until last weekend that I remembered the CortiSlim(TM) languishing in the cupboard, so I brought it out and have been taking it this week for the stress.

I think it worked.

A few days ago, I was given a high-pressure, high-visibility project that should take a week to process, but it absolutely had to be finished no later than early afternoon today. And my other projects had to be finished today too. And even though things weren't happening quickly enough today, and in spite of the copious amounts of highly caffeinated tea I drank, I didn't feel the same tight sense of panic/dread/doom that I would usually feel under the circumstances. I juggled my projects, anticipated issues with them, and acted to head those problems off before they they could throw a wrench in the whole works. And I got everything done in each thing's nick of time.

And now that Fiscal Year End is over, I can breathe and look ahead to a future that stretches beyond the next deadline. It feels strange. It feels calm. It feels good.