Many sleeping pills and other tranquillisers. These may have their use in acute cases but in day-to-day tensions these should be shooed away. They produce a deadening effect which lulls the tensions only for a while. Ask yourself, "Am I running through life too fast?" If the answer is yes, chances are you have formed the "hurry" habit. Thus, leisure time should be used to produce and conserve energy.

Just as nerves carry messages from the brain to the muscles, nerves also carry messages from the muscles to the brain. In other words, the body can teach the mind to relax. Here’s an example: You confront something that makes you feel sharp, jerky and your heart bolts like a colt. Now, if you slow down, count 10 slowly, the jumpy reaction slows down. Try it.

You are so enclosed in your tension and anxiety like barbed wire that what you really want is not known to you. Some unexpressed desire keeps on gnawing at your mind. Get on its track and pin it down. You strive to put the last bit of your energy to achieve perfection, though praiseworthy, leads to tension. You gear yourself to a constant state of unease because you feel you are not doing enough.

When you feel you cannot cope, the best thing is to escape. It is no use inflicting punishment upon yourself. In order to escape, it’s not necessary to go to a foreign land. Go for some off-beat activity like viewing the stars at night, give free play to your imagination by listening to classic music. Visit the pavement book-seller. It can turn out to rewarding beyond imagination.

Take steps to cultivate the reading habit. There are lots of books that entertain and instruct. Do away with the notion that every serious book is loaded with unintelligible philosophy. There are thrills in store for any one who cares to look into the world of the printed word:

Widen the range of personal pursuits which absorb your off-work hours. Choose such activities as can absorb you with delight. Do not consider yourself too old for music, painting or drawing. Write a short article (or a letter to the editor) of your newspaper or magazine. It might bring you a cheque.

Tranquillity of mind is essential to assuage jumpy nerves. This can be achieved by training the mind to turn away from the harsh and the unpleasant to the sweet, and the soothing by conjuring up pictures of beauty, lush greenery and by reading serene scriptures.

Tension consumes so much energy that it can make you a wreck. Try this test. Knit your brows as you do when tense. How long can you do that? It shows how unnatural and uneasy it is to remain in this state.