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.