Just came across this thread, and found it useful Chad

Thanks for posting.
My cortisol levels seem to spike quite easily too and I'm a worrier that goes into fight-flight easily. A year ago or so MOD was recommending to me BCAAs but I found them too expensive and instead experimented with Vit C. Vit C helped a little but had quite limited effects. I also tried eating meat throughout the day but it didn't seem to help much and I ended up gaining some weight.
A week ago I finally decided to give BCAAs a shot, and am surprised and very pleased with how well it is helping. I think it is well worth the cost! And with your AHA moment, I understand better why Vit C couldn't too much, and meat couldn't help that much either. Both were just not enough.