Rescue Me!

Back in 2003, I switched jobs at work, and took on something that was way out of my comfort zone. One of those “feel the fear and do it anyway” moments, where the outcome is supposed to be life-changing and wonderful and so, so worth it. I had imaginary conversations that went something like this:

“Yes, I was nervous about taking the job, because I knew nothing about it, but I’m so glad I took the chance, because I love it!”

The real conversation went more like this:

“I can’t do this!” followed by crying on a bus (for real, crying on the number 33 to Swords, where we lived at the time)

The workload was far greater than I had expected, and the learning curve far steeper. I needed something to turn to for stress. Normally that would have been shopping, but we were paying two mortgages at the time (a flat we couldn’t sell) so retail therapy was out of the question. Another option was lots of wine and cake, but we were planning our wedding at the time, so a daily wine-and-cake habit wasn’t ideal either. Of course I had friends and family, but they were very far away from our house in Swords (we have since fixed that issue). And I had my ever-patient now-husband – the person who bought me creme eggs and held my hand when I cried on the bus.

I had one other little support – Rescue Remedy. I remember taking it every day for a few months in 2003, to stave off any middle-of-the-office tears, and to keep going – the work had to be done. I wasn’t entirely sure how it was working, but it was. Perhaps I just associated it with feeling better, but even that was enough to have an effect.

And as tends to happen, the tough times passed, the work got easier, and I became a happier, less stressed version of myself.

I haven’t needed Rescue Remedy at work since then, and the next time I used it was on my wedding day:

After that, for many years, I forgot about Rescue Remedy. Then I had kids. Lovely kids, I should add. But sometimes (read: every day) it was stressful. Particularly when I had two-under-two. Or three-under-five. I bought a new bottle of Rescue Remedy, and it sits on my dresser, for those moments when I feel like i need it. I can’t tell you how it works or if it will work for you, but it does make me feel better.

I don’t need it at work anymore – only when I’m at home. I wonder does that mean work is genuinely never as stressful anymore as it was in 2003, or is that having kids has given me perspective? Perhaps work issues that would have caused stress in the past, just don’t anymore – because I know what it’s like to face three crying children, and there’s no comparison? Or maybe I’ve just been lucky at work, and tougher times are ahead again – I’ll keep the bottle on my dresser, just in case. It definitely beats crying on the bus.

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Competition Time! **Competition is closed now**

Would you like to be in with a chance to win a hamper of Rescue Remedy goodies from Wholefoods.ie?

Just comment below, or like and comment the Rescue Remedy post on Facebook, or retweet and follow on Twitter.

Draw will take place on Sunday 22nd and is only open to residents of the Republic of Ireland. Part of this competition is hosted Facebook but is not endorsed by Facebook. I received Rescue Remedy products from Wholefoods Ireland for review but wasn’t paid for this – in fact, I haven’t opened what they sent me yet as I have my own bottle on the go 🙂

Good luck!

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