Live Your Life Well Campaign Overview

Live Your Life Well is a national public education campaign dedicated to helping people better cope with stress and enhance their well-being. With increasing economic worries added to the pressures of work and family, stress can take a huge toll on a person's health, mood, productivity and relationships. But research shows that it is possible to counterbalance these effects and to build resiliency and well-being.

The 100-year-old non-profit Mental Health America has created Live Your Life Well to increase the number of people who take action to protect their mental health both in the face of life's ongoing stresses and in times of great personal challenge.

At the heart of Live Your Life Well is a new website, www.LiveYourLifeWell.org, which offers research-based, practical tools to promote mental health. The site brings together decades of evidence and dozens of practical suggestions from a broad range of approaches all in one place. There is no other website or public education effort like it.

Live Your Life Well offers 10 evidence-based tools that support optimal mental health. They are:

• Connect with Others. Research suggests that people who feel connected are happier and healthier - and may even live longer.
• Stay Positive. People who regularly focus on the positive in their lives are less upset by painful memories.
• Get Physically Active. Exercise relieves your tense muscles, improves your mood and sleep, and increases your energy and strength.
• Help Others. Research suggests that those who consistently help other people experience less depression, greater calm and fewer pains.
• Get Enough Rest. People who don't get enough sleep face a number of possible risks, including weight gain, decreased memory, impaired driving and heart problems.
• Create Joy and Satisfaction. Positive emotions can boost your ability to bounce back from stress.
• Eat Well. Eating healthy food and regular meals can increase your energy, lower the risk of developing certain diseases and influence your mood.
• Take Care of Your Spirit. People who have strong spiritual lives may be healthier and live longer. Spirituality seems to cut the stress that can contribute to disease.
• Deal Better with Hard Times. People who get support, problem-solve or focus on the positives in their lives are likely to handle tough times better.
• Get Professional Help if You Need It. If the problems in your life are stopping you from functioning well or feeling good, professional help can make a big difference.

The website emphasizes that the 10 Tools don't require drastic changes in your life. Just by setting aside a manageable amount of time each day, you can strengthen one of your greatest assets: your mental health. Good mental health keeps us productive, energetic, happy and hopeful-even in the face of life's challenges.

Mental Health America is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With more than 300 affiliates nationwide, Mental Health America is uniquely positioned to promote this campaign. Live Your Life Well is made possible through unrestricted educational grants from Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Forest Laboratories, Inc.