Learn Hardcore Greek: Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω το βράδυ χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος, για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου. - I try to relax in the evening without thinking about the stress, so that my head calms down.

να χαλαρώσω = aorist subjunctive: to (manage to) relax, focusing on achieving the state of relaxation.
- Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω = I try to relax / I’m trying to (finally) relax.
να χαλαρώνω = present subjunctive: to be relaxing (as an ongoing activity), focusing on the process or a repeated action.
- Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώνω would sound more like I try to be in the habit of relaxing (regularly).

In this sentence, the speaker wants to achieve relaxation in the evening, so the aorist να χαλαρώσω is the natural choice.

What does να do in this sentence?

να is a particle that introduces the subjunctive mood. It does not literally mean “to” like the English infinitive.

Here it appears three times:

να χαλαρώσω (after Προσπαθώ)
να σκέφτομαι (after χωρίς)
να ηρεμεί (after για να)

Common triggers for να are:

verbs of desire/effort: θέλω να, προσπαθώ να, πρέπει να
purpose/result: για να, ώστε να
some prepositions/particles: χωρίς να, πριν να (often just πριν)

So να here is a subordinator that forms “verb groups” like να χαλαρώσω, να σκέφτομαι, να ηρεμεί, all in the subjunctive.

Why is it χωρίς να σκέφτομαι and not χωρίς να σκεφτώ?

Again this is an aspect choice in the subjunctive:

χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος (present subjunctive)
= without thinking about the anxiety (during that time / in general)
It suggests an ongoing mental process that is not happening.
χωρίς να σκεφτώ το άγχος (aorist subjunctive)
= without (even once) thinking about the anxiety
This would sound like avoiding a single act of thinking about it.

The sentence describes a general way the speaker spends the evening – trying to stay in a state where they are not constantly thinking about the stress – so the present να σκέφτομαι is more natural.

Why is the verb σκέφτομαι and not something like σκέφτω?

In modern Greek, σκέφτομαι is the normal verb that means “I think” / “I’m thinking”. It is:

middle/passive in form, but active in meaning (like a “deponent” verb).
There is no everyday active form σκέφτω meaning I think.

So:

σκέφτομαι το άγχος = I think about the anxiety
In the sentence: χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος = without thinking about the anxiety

Why do we say το βράδυ and not just βράδυ?

Greek uses the definite article το more often than English uses the, especially with:

times of day: το πρωί, το μεσημέρι, το βράδυ, τη νύχτα
general repeated situations

το βράδυ can mean:

in the evening / at night (in general, as a routine)
as in this sentence: I try to relax in the evening…

You could see βράδυ without the article in some short, elliptical phrases (e.g. βράδυ θα βγούμε;), but το βράδυ is the normal, neutral way to say “in the evening” here.

Why is το άγχος with the article? Could it just be άγχος?

Both forms exist, but they feel different:

το άγχος = the anxiety / the stress, usually something specific or already known (my usual anxiety, the stress I have, etc.). Here it’s the stress in the speaker’s life.
άγχος (without article) is more like “anxiety” as a substance / in general, or as part of fixed phrases (e.g. έχω άγχος = I’m anxious / I feel stressed).

In this sentence, το άγχος works like “the stress I have”, which is something concrete in the speaker’s mind, so the article is very natural.

Why is it για να ηρεμεί and not για να ηρεμήσει?

Both are grammatically correct but have different aspect and nuance:

για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου (present subjunctive)
= so that my head is (keeps) calm / so that my head can be calmer (in general).
It suggests an ongoing or repeated state: every time I do this, my head stays calmer.
για να ηρεμήσει το κεφάλι μου (aorist subjunctive)
= so that my head (finally) calms down / settles down.
Focus on reaching a calm state once.

In everyday speech, many people would actually prefer για να ηρεμήσει το κεφάλι μου here, because we usually think of calming down as reaching a result.

The given για να ηρεμεί sounds a bit like: I do this so that my head is generally calmer / stays calm over time.

What is the subject of ηρεμεί?

The subject is το κεφάλι μου.

The structure is:

για να ηρεμεί → so that it calms down / is calm
το κεφάλι μου → my head

Greek word order is flexible, so you can say:

για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου (as in the sentence)
για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου (you wouldn’t usually move το κεφάλι μου earlier here)

But logically, το κεφάλι μου is the thing that ηρεμεί.

Does το κεφάλι μου mean literally “my head” or is it more like “my mind”?

Literally it means “my head”, but in this kind of phrase it is idiomatic and close to “my mind” or “my brain”.

να ηρεμήσει το κεφάλι μου / να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου
= for my head to calm down → for my mind to calm down / for me to feel mentally relaxed.

Very similar everyday expressions:

Θέλω να ηρεμήσει λίγο το κεφάλι μου.
I want my head to calm down a bit → I need to clear my head a bit.
Πονάει το κεφάλι μου από το άγχος.
My head hurts from the stress.

You could also say το μυαλό μου (my mind), but το κεφάλι μου is very common and natural here.

What exactly does για να mean here? How is it different from just να or from ώστε να?

για να introduces a purpose clause: in order to / so that.

Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω… για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου.
= I try to relax… so that my head calms down.

Differences:

να alone after a verb usually links a complement clause:
- Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω. = I’m trying to relax.
για να makes the idea of purpose explicit:
- Χαλαρώνω για να ηρεμήσω. = I relax in order to calm down.
ώστε να is also “so that”, often a bit more formal or explicit about result:
- Χαλαρώνω ώστε να ηρεμήσει το κεφάλι μου.

In this sentence, για να is the most natural, everyday way to express “so that…”.

Why is it σκέφτομαι το άγχος and not σκέφτομαι για το άγχος?

With σκέφτομαι, the most common construction is direct object without a preposition:

σκέφτομαι κάτι = I think about something
→ σκέφτομαι το άγχος = I think about the anxiety / the stress.

You can sometimes see σκέφτομαι για κάτι, but:

σκέφτομαι για… often has a nuance like I’m considering / I’m reflecting on… and is less basic.
The neutral, standard way to say “think about X” is just σκέφτομαι + accusative.

So χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος is the natural phrasing: without thinking about the stress.

Can the word order change? For example, can we move το βράδυ or χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος?

Greek word order is quite flexible, so several variants are possible and correct, with slight changes in emphasis. For example:

Το βράδυ προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος, για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου.
(Emphasis on το βράδυ – In the evening, I try to relax…)
Προσπαθώ το βράδυ να χαλαρώσω, χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος, για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου.
Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω, το βράδυ, χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος, για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου. (less typical punctuation, but possible in speech-like writing)

The original:

Προσπαθώ να χαλαρώσω το βράδυ χωρίς να σκέφτομαι το άγχος, για να ηρεμεί το κεφάλι μου.

is very natural: time phrase το βράδυ right after the main verb, then the χωρίς να… phrase directly after what it modifies. The comma before για να is also standard, marking the purpose clause.