Neuroscience reveals that the reason some people can't relax on vacation isn't stress addiction - it's that their childhood taught their brain to treat safety as temporary, so calm feels like the moment before something goes wrong - Silicon Canals

"For a significant number of people, the default was never calm. Calm was the exception. And the body learned to treat exceptions with suspicion."

"Conventional wisdom frames this as a modern problem. We're overstimulated. We're addicted to our phones. We've forgotten how to do nothing."

"The wellness industry has built an empire on this narrative: buy the app, take the retreat, breathe through your left nostril, and your nervous system will comply."

"Growing up, my house wasn't chaotic in any dramatic way. Nobody was throwing furniture. But the emotional weather shifted without much warning."

Relaxation is often perceived as a default state, but for many, it is not. The feeling of unease during moments of calm can stem from past experiences where quietness signaled potential problems. This phenomenon is not merely a modern issue of overstimulation but a deeper psychological response. The wellness industry promotes the idea that relaxation can be achieved through various methods, yet for some, calmness was never the norm, leading to a suspicion of quiet moments.

Read at Silicon Canals