MANAGING STRESS

As an expatriate working in Doha, I know how the hectic lifestyle here can wear us down.

Your spouse reminding you about the bills to be paid, the kids need a ride going to school, your boss never stops shouting, and your best friend desperately needs your help -- all at the same time.

These and more are some of the reasons why you can't find a minute for relaxation? You may have even forgotten how to relax!

Though the experts say that some stress is good for you -- it can sharpen your senses and your mind -- too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health. At the same time, relaxation can do wonders to restore balance in your life -- and may even reduce some of the health risks associated with stress.

If you want to find out how you can achieve some relaxation  (any time and almost anywhere) to reduce the tension in your life, here are some things that you can do right at the comfort of your home or office:

1. Learn how to meditate.

Now, by meditating, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do some uncomfortable position and uttering "oohs" and "omms" for an hour. Any repetitive action can be a source of meditation.  This includes walking, swimming, painting, knitting -- any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment.

Try it for just 5 to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.

2. Breathe Deeply

Being calm is associated with relaxed breathing while feeling stressed evokes tense, shallow breathing. So to turn tension into relaxation,  change the way you breathe.

Try this: Let out a big sigh, dropping your chest, and exhaling through gently pursed lips. Now imagine your low belly, or center, as a deep, powerful place. Feel your breath coming and going as your mind stays focused there. Inhale, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feeling your belly, back and sides contract. Repeat 10 times, relaxing more fully each time.

3. Be Mindful

Mindfulness means focusing on one activity at a time, so forget multi-tasking! Staying in the present-tense can help promote relaxation and provide a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Practice it by focusing on your immediate surroundings. If you're outdoors, enjoy the shape and colors of flowers, hear a bird's call or consider a tree. In the mall, look at the details of a dress in the window, examine a piece of jewelry and focus on how it's made, or window-shop for furniture, checking out every detail of pattern and style. As long as you can keep your mind focused on something in the present, stress will take a back seat.

4. Avoid Coffee

Try green tea instead. Coffee raises levels of the notorious stress hormone, cortisol, while green tea offers health and beauty.

Chamomile tea is a traditional favorite for calming the mind and reducing stress. And black tea may be a stress-fighter, too. Participants who drank regular black tea displayed lower levels of cortisol, and reported feeling calmer during six weeks of stressful situations than those who drank a placebo with the same amount of caffeine.

5. Spread Love

Induce the relaxation response by cuddling your pet, giving an unexpected hug to a friend or family member, snuggling with your spouse, or talking to a friend about the good things in your lives. When you do, you'll be reducing your stress levels.

Why? Experts say social interaction helps your brain think better, encouraging you to see new solutions to situations that once seemed impossible, she says. Studies have also shown that physical contact -- like petting your dog or cat -- may actually help lower blood pressure and decrease stress hormones.

6. Try Self-Massage

When your muscles are tense and you've no time to visit a pro, try this simple self-massage technique:

  - Place both hands on your shoulders and neck.

  - Squeeze with your fingers and palms.

  - Rub vigorously, keeping shoulders relaxed.

  - Wrap one hand around the other forearm.

  - Squeeze the muscles with thumb and fingers
 .- Move up and down from your elbow to fingertips and back again.
  - Repeat with other arm.

7. Take a Time-Out
Adults need time-outs, too. So when you sense your temper is about to erupt, find a quiet place to sit or lie down and put the stressful situation on hold. Take a few deep breaths and concentrate on releasing tension and calming your heartbeat. Quiet your mind and remember: Time is always on your side, so relax. The stress can wait.

8. Try a Musical Detour
Music can calm the heartbeat and soothe the soul, the experts say. So, when the going gets rough, take a musical stress detour by aligning your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song. And you might want to make that a classical tune. Research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10 mg of Valium.

9. Take an Attitude Break
Thirty seconds is enough time to shift your heart's rhythm from stressed to relaxed, Rozman says. The way to do that: Engage your heart and your mind in positive thinking. Start by envisioning anything that triggers a positive feeling -- a vision of your child or spouse, the image of your pet, that great piece of jewelry you're saving up to buy, a memento from a vacation -- whatever it is, conjuring up the thought will help slow breathing, relax tense muscles and put a smile on your face. Rozman says that creating a positive emotional attitude can also calm and steady your heart rhythm, contributing to feelings of relaxation and peace.