Most people agree that vacations are good for the psyche. But just why, exactly, is this so? Because traveling to a paradise like Florida is relaxing? Well, yes . . . and no. A psychologist explains.

"It was the vacation from hell," remembers Candy. "My husband didn't want to spend any money. He bickered with every single staff person we met, from the waitresses to the poor guy at the hotel registration to the rent-a-car agency where we got the van. I was so mad at him by the time we got home I couldn't LOOK at him." Want to have a really horrible time? Feel like threatening your marriage and losing your friends? Candy's experience, alas, isn't all that uncommon. Vacations can bring out the worst in some of us. But they can also bring out the best. You can maximize the benefits of a week or two in the subtropics while minimizing the hazards that all travelers everywhere encounter. To keep your vacation in paradise from becoming a sojourn in hell, read on . . . ALL IN THE ATTITUDE The first thing a traveler needs to know is that psychologically, traveling isn't really relaxing. It's stimulating. Going where the sights, sounds, smells and sensations are different from one's normal environment actually creates a condition of heightened arousal in the brain. Most humans find it pleasing to address the challenge of "newness," as long as the change is within acceptable limits. Presented with a contrast from their usual reality, the neurotransmitters in our gray matter fire away with renewed vigor, glad to have something novel to deal with. Even if you were to spend most of your Florida vacation lounging on a sunny beach, your body would rest but your brain would be picking up signals that were satisfyingly new to it. But if you're a worrier--if

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