It's a strain on the brain.
"The Foreign Hand Tie"
Gordon Randall Garrett
The long strain of anxiety and fear and then the sudden release had been too much.
"The Eye of Dread"
Payne Erskine
"I thought I saw something pass," said she, trying to strain her eyes through the tears that now rose to them.
"The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. II (of II)"
Charles James Lever