Maintaining a Healthy Outlook

People today have busy, demanding lives. You may feel pulled in different directions and experience stress from dealing with work, family and other matters, leaving little time for yourself. Learning to balance your life with some time for yourself will pay off with big benefits: a healthy outlook and better health.

Steps you can take:

• Stay in touch with family and friends.

• Be involved in your community.

• Maintain a positive attitude and do things that make you happy.

• Keep your curiosity alive. Lifelong learning is beneficial to your health.

• Healthy intimacy takes all forms but is always free of coercion.

• Learn to recognize and manage stress in your life. Signs of stress include trouble sleeping, frequent headaches and stomach problems; being angry a lot; and turning to food, drugs and alcohol to relieve stress.

• Good ways to deal with stress include regular exercise, healthy eating habits and relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing or meditation. Talking to trusted family members and friends can help a lot. Some women find that interacting with their faith community is helpful in times of stress.

• Get enough sleep and rest. Adults need around eight hours of sleep a night.

• Talk to your health care provider if you feel depressed for more than a few days; depression is a treatable illness. Signs of depression include feeling empty and sad, crying a lot, loss of interest in life, and thoughts of death or suicide. If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, get help right away. Call 911, a local crisis center or (800) SUICIDE.