ous tension.

When she felt annoyed at noises she easily noticed that in response to
the annoyance her whole body became tense and strained. After she had
done her exercises and felt quiet and rested something would happen or
some one would say something that went against the grain, and quick as
a wink all the good of the exercises would be gone and she would be
tight and strained again, and nervously irritated.

Very soon she saw clearly that she must learn to drop the habit of
physical strain if she wanted to get well; but she also learned what
was more--far more--important than that: that _she must conquer the
cause of the strain or she could never permanently drop it._ She saw
that the cause was resentment and resistance to the noises--the
circumstances, the people, and all the variety of things that had "made
her nervous."

Then she began her steady journey toward strong nerves and a wholesome,
happy life. She began the process of changing her brain impressions. If
she heard noises that annoyed her she would use her will to direct her
attention toward dropping resistance to the noises, and in order to
drop her mental resistance she gave her attention to loosening out the
bodily contractions. Finally she became interested in the new process
as in a series of deep and true experiments. Of course her living and
intelligent interest enabled her to gain very much faster, for she not
only enjoyed her growing freedom, but she also enjoyed seeing her
experiments work. Nature always tends toward health, and if we stop
interfering with her she will get us well.

There is just this difference between the healing of a physical sore
and the healing of strained and irritated nerves With the one our
bodies are healed, and things go on in them about the same as before.
With the other, every use of the will to free ourselves from the
irritation and its cause not only enables us to get free from the
nervous illness, but in addition brings us new nerve vigor.

When nervous illness is met deeply enough and in the normal way, the
result is that the nerves become stronger than ever before.

Often the effect of nervous strain in women is constant talking.
Talk--talk--talk, and mostly about themselves, their ailments, their
worries, and the hindrances that are put in their way to prevent their
getting well. This talking is not a relief, as people sometimes feel.
It is a direct waste of vigor. But the waste would be greater if the
t