How To: Improve your mental health

Stressed, sad, or just feeling blah? There are lots of ways to improve your mental health. Watch this video to learn how to get out of a slump, and improve your mental health.

You Will Need
* A fitness routine
* Meditation
* A journal
* A hobby
* A volunteer job
* Modest goals
* A sunny attitude
* A fitness routine
* Meditation
* A journal
* A hobby
* A volunteer job
* Modest goals
* A sunny attitude

Step 1: Exercise
Get into some kind of fitness routine. Regular exercise releases endorphins, reduces stress, and improves your energy levels.

Step 2: Meditate
Meditate for a few minutes each morning, even on weekends. It will help you start each day relaxed and collected.
*Tip: To meditate, sit quietly with your eyes closed, focus on your breathing, and clear your mind.

Step 3: Keep a gratitude journal
Take a few moments daily to jot down what you are grateful for that day. Research shows that this simple habit improves your outlook on life.

Step 4: Set a sleep schedule
Get on a sleep schedule that provides seven or eight hours of shut-eye every night. Not sleeping enough or sleeping too much can both lead to lethargy.

Step 5: Take up a hobby
Take up a hobby—studies show it can improve both your mental and physical health.
*Tip: If stress is your problem, take up sewing, knitting, or crocheting. Research shows these are some of the most relaxing activities around.

Step 6: Volunteer
People who help others are happier than those who don't.

Step 7: Set goals
Keep them simple and attainable, so you'll feel like you're making progress when you reach them.

Step 8: Focus
True joy comes from concentrating on one task so intently that you enter what's called a "flow state," that pleasurable feeling of being "in the zone."

Step 9: Confront negatives
Rather than trying to ignore them, confront problems in your life head-on.