I wanted to give a shout-out to C25K for helping me manage my stress.
I'm working overseas, getting ready to move back to a domestic assignment in three weeks, and due to a staffing shortage I'm suddenly doing two people's jobs just when I thought I had everything under control. A few days ago I was at my desk when suddenly a dull sort of pain blossomed in my chest and radiated up my throat to my jaw... uh oh! So I called our company doctor and said, "Not to overreact, but here's what's happening..."
He asked me a couple of questions and said, "Based on what you're telling me, it's probably not a heart attack. It could be heartburn, or an anxiety attack. Are you under stress?'
"Well yes, quite a bit of it, but I'm not UPSET about being stressed."
"Uh huh, almost certainly an anxiety attack."
How annoying! But better than a heart attack, at least. He gave me permission to go on and exercise if I felt all right an hour later. Since then, I've done two C25K runs, and have really paid attention to how I feel psychologically after doing them. Short answer: I feel so much better, that's how I feel!
(Then again, it's hard to know if it's the exercise, or having time to exercise. The day my chest was bothering me, I had wanted to run for two days but simply hadn't had time in my crazy schedule. It was aggravating.)
Anyway -- hurray for C25K, keeping bureaucrats sane one run at a time!