11 Tips for Living A Long Healthy Life

3. Love yourself. Remember to take care of yourself first. You cannot be good for other people unless your own needs are met first. When you look in the mirror, are you happy with what you see? Your self-image can have a tremendous affect, either positive or negative, on your health and happiness. Are your relationships healthy ones? Think about the people who are close to you. Do you feel like these people respect you? Do you choose people who are good for you? Or do you choose people who abuse you in some way? Abuse can be physical, but it can also be sexual or emotional.

Learn how to say "no." If you are the type of person who always feels like you have to do everything you are asked to do, learning to say "no" can be a valuable way to make sure that your own needs are being met. Remember that you cannot be everything to everyone.

If your self-image is not what it should be -- if you choose people in your life who bring you down or abuse you -- if you feel depressed, emotionally drained, or anxious -- seek the help of a mental health professional. This can be anyone from your priest, minister, or rabbi to a psychiatrist or other licensed mental health services provider. The most important rule when choosing a mental health provider is that you feel comfortable with this person -- that this person is someone you feel safe sharing your thoughts and feelings with.

If you are in a situation where you may be physically harmed, it's important that you get out of that environment immediately. Contact your local women's shelter, telephone crisis line, or police department for resources in your area.

4. Everyone experiences stress. Stress can be good or bad. Stress is any change in your normal routine or health. Getting a raise or promotion is stress, just as getting fired from your job is stress. Science is constantly learning about the impact that stress has on your overall health. Stress is or may be a contributing factor in everything from backaches and insomnia to cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (many people believe that CFS and fibromyalgia are the same illness). If you are over-stressed, take some time to learn a few stress management techniques and lower your risk of stress-related health conditions.

5. Always, always wear sunscreen! Sunscreen is important year-round to help prevent skin cancer, as well as wrinkles and other signs of aging. You are never too young to start a daily regimen that includes using a good sunscreen lotion. The most doctor-recommended line of lotions, some with sunscreen, are called Eucerin. I've used various products in the Eucerin line since my daughter was a baby with eczema, and the facial lotion with sunscreen was recommended by dermatologists at a skin cancer screening several years ago. You can find these products at most drugstores, discount stores, or grocery stores.

If you think a tan is something that you really need, try using one of the self-tanning products that are available. Don't believe you are safe from skin cancer because you tan at an indoor tanning salon, instead of in direct sunlight. Although many of us think we don't "look healthy" without the glow of a tan, there is almost nothing that will age your skin faster than years of tanning and the accompanying sunburns that almost always occur before the tan sets in. Remember that any change in the pigment of your skin is damage to your skin!