Prednisone and cortisol

The totality of submission was unexpected and, I hope!, unrealistic. The level of punishment to her while pregnant - how much cortisol is flooding that fetus? Not good. Messed up.

hmmm....presumably Billy not sneaking cigs/boozing, and Sharon didn't whip up a spicy curry or pasta arrabbiata w/garlic bread for dinner, tho asshole Walter prob got both their cortisol levels sky high...

I find it amusing that it's supposedly civilized to tolerate infidelity and uncivilized not to tolerate it. So... is it civilized to tolerate those that break laws and oaths and uncivilized not to tolerate them? Civilization is ultimately creating an orderly system that promotes the interests of society and, in general, its members. Ultimately, it comes down to procreation, which is governed by the hypothalamus, not the cerebral cortex.
Civilization is simply a means of amplifying and channeling the drives of humans. Yet, not all human males share the same natural drives. It depends upon whether they are cortisol dominant or testosterone dominant. A cortisol dominant male becomes more passive when put under stress or challenged. A testosterone dominant male becomes more aggressive when under stress or challenged. Each has his own role in society. Some tend towards submission. Some are dominance-seeking.
The fact is that there is no right solution for everybody. A coping solution for one type of individual would drive another type of individual mad. Testosterone dominant males are driven to mate-guard and to seek vengeance because of the testosterone receptors present in the hypothalamus. They can no more change who they are than they change their gender preference. Cortisol dominant males are driven to accept. The problem is that they are often confused by what is natural and what society tells them.

Courtship had more red flags pop up than in the annual running of the bulls, yet our put-upon protagonist can't hear the sound of the Mack truck bearing down on him, at full ramming speed.
Goodness, do all such folks have to be possessed of IQs lower than their age? How does this guy manage to dress himself?
Given all that family and friends dished out on him, I'm surprised that: (a) he hadn't been institutionalized; and (b) his revenge was so weak...poison ivy/oak for most folks, a few days of prednisone will handle that.

Ironic that I'm hopped up on prednisone & some antibiotics that I think are called Godzilla. I've got pneumonia gagantuosa, & lo & behold your story speaks to me. I love the sweet, gentleness of this story, how so many people show their concern & caring. The worst thing after a rape is the loneliness & I'm glad that wasn't part of the mix. You are a joy to read & a gifted writer. I'm moving on to the next installment, happily, because I have the company of a beloved writers stories to help me heal.

I met an Armenian girl who was, is, a friend of one of my daughters; petite little girl, long curly black hair, eyes so black they hypnotize. She's just lovely; all perky and saucy. She'll be my next heroine. I showed her this story and she was furious! She wanted to know what was going to happen to poor Poncho and Lefty.
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold, so the story ends we're told. Poncho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too. He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old. (They played it on the radio...)
You guys are going to be sorry when Poncho's gone and you didn't give him one measly tip of the hat. That's thoughtless indifference to a national institution.
The story's still pretty good in a silly sort of way, but shouldn't the sun be up by now? There's going to be a lot of commuter traffic, and I bet a lot of people are double parked. Can't remember the name of the island in the Arctic where they think the last Mammoths lived. Save that damn pachyderm; I heard some nefarious Zambians were out to get his tusks.
These things should all be getting fives; for balls if nothing else. (Elephants have big balls)
Oh, oh I just felt a rush of blood to the head! The damn Prednisone is kicking in. By for now...

First, NTH, thanks for writing YOUR story, not those demanded by the BTB cabal. I inwardly cringe when I read phrases that hint at understanding, measured thinking (versus blind reaction), forgiveness, love, and...... (drum roll) reconciliation. I envision the cabalists reading these words and experiencing the endocrine and cortisol dump into their hypo-oh-oh-whatchamacallit, causing their autonomic responses to launch their pre-loaded, inescapable conclusion that they just read cuck sh*t! With that realization, their minds shut off, their fingers fall upon the keyboard like a homeless guy on the dumpster at Ruth's Chris, and they spew their vitriol ending in a 1-star bomb (the LW Tsar Bomba).
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I gah-rawn-damn-tee (hat tip: Justin Wilson) this was a trigger phrase for those self-same knuckleheads: **I wasn't going to lose my basic humanity, too.** I offer Skinner and Jung as evidence.
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As for your character's HR department failing him, Federal Law is squarely on your side, and any attorney would gladly take that case, especially with photographic proof. That's essentially a strongly worded letter, including statutory and case law references and the very real threat of discovery. (The Feds love 'incidentally discovered evidence of other violations'.) Essentially, MC would get a nice fat check and lifetime job security, at-will employment be damned (The Supremacy Clause).
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Mostly, you write within the cerebral and emotional lanes, where all good drama actually occurs. You include enough cheek, a measure of snark, and a tiny sliver of cynicism that keep the work fresh and not too uptight. Goldilocks would be proud of your evenhandedness, and anyone who appreciates good writing applauds you. To the aforementioned cabalists? Rodney Daingerfield once advised: If you don't like my act, get your ass up here and do better. Otherwise, kiss my ass.
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Every time you write, you raise your own bar. So far, you keep clearing it... Thanks for writing and publishing here.