As a rule of thumb, chronic uncontrollable anxiety can bring about physical problems. According to incomplete statistics, anxiety can cause fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, tremors, irritability, false sweating, hot flashes, mild headaches, difficulty breathing, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, and frequent urination. These seemingly unrelated symptoms all boil down to one thing, and that is the result of a nervous system that is chronically stressed. In this chapter, we will discuss how the nervous system works and talk about 4 relaxation techniques to combat chronic tension. Continued practice can change your mindset and move you from nervousness to calmness and relaxation. Before you start a regular relaxation program, it is essential to understand how your nervous system works. Or more precisely, understand how your nervous system works. You know we have two major nervous systems, like a car, and your body has both a gas pedal and a brake. The accelerator is what we call the sympathetic nervous system, which flares up during anxiety. When anxiety occurs, your body puts it into action, your heart beats faster, you inhale faster, your blood pressure goes up, and then your mouth goes dry, and subsequently blood flows from your digestive tract to your muscles. This is your behavioral flight-fight response. Evolution has used these responses to arm us and help us escape dangerous situations. Without them, humans could not have survived as long as they did. On the other hand, the nervous system brake is the so-called parasympathetic nervous system that slows your body down. When the parasympathetic nerves kick in, your heart rate, your breathing rate slows down, your blood pressure drops and your muscles relax. And then the digestive system starts to move. You’ll find the parasympathetic nervous system at work when you relax or drift off to sleep late at night, as opposed to the fight-flight response, which is called the rest-digest response. If you experience chronic anxiety, it’s as if you’re constantly stepping on the gas and the brakes parasympathetic nerves are rarely used. With practice, we are very good at accelerating ourselves. At the same time your ability to slow down becomes rusty. The way mentioned in this section will help you regain this ability to become relaxed and at ease. 2. Relaxation In order to learn how to relax, you need specific relaxation methods. In this chapter, we will learn four different ways to achieve a deep state of relaxation. 1. progressive muscle relaxation 2. belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) 3. guided imagery 4. meditation Relaxation as a skill Before trying any method, it is important to understand that to achieve a deep state of relaxation is a skill that requires long-term training. It may seem unusual to think of relaxation as a skill. After all, relaxation is not a typical, practicable, but simply something you do. If you’re constantly anxious, you’ll find it hard to relax. In fact, when you try to relax, you become frustrated because you’re excited and feel on the edge of a cliff. Previous relaxation activities, such as gardening or reading, no longer create a sense of peace and calm. Instead, you spend almost all of your time feeling anxious and worried, and even have trouble falling asleep at night. Because it takes you a long time to relax and drift off to sleep.