My jaw keeps clenching even now, sitting here on the couch, the way it remembers the stress even when the email's sent, the door is locked (times four), the work is done...the startup isn't burning down, Seattle isn't collapsing. It’s just… a habit now. Muscle memory for panic. And isn’t that what they say is supposed to happen when you get good at something, it’s supposed to become instinct, well congrats brain, you’re GREAT at being afraid. I wonder if it's less about being "good at" fear and more about the brain prioritizing efficiency: that old pathway is just WELL-PAVED, the default route when the landscape gets even a little bumpy. Retraining isn't about forgetting, it's about building a parallel highway.