Our mental and emotional health has a big effect on our physical health.  It's true, scientists have found that negative emotions can make us sick and positive emotions can make our immune system stronger.  Our immune system is what protects our body from things like  colds, flu, and even cancer. Suggestions for getting and keeping a healthy attitude towards life:

• Worry less and laugh more  -  Easier said than done isn't it?  Here are some things we can do to cut down on worry time and give ourselves more time to think about the good things.
  • Share your worries with a supportive friend
  • Give yourself a set time each day to think about your worries (limit this time to 10 or 20 minutes a day), Then the rest of the day when you catch yourself worrying, tell yourself you will think about it during your worry time.
  • Make a "to do" list of things you can do to help solve the problems you find yourself worrying about.
  • When you find yourself worrying remind yourself of the things that are good in your life.
  • If you believe in God, share your worries with God in prayer.
• Build and maintain high self-esteem -  Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves, our level of self-confidence and self-respect.  When we feel good about ourselves, we become less stressed out when things around us aren't going well;  and reducing stress is healthy for our bodies.  While good healthy self-esteem doesn't happen over night, there are things we can do that will help build self-esteem over time:
  • Go easy on yourself - we all make mistakes, view your mistakes as an opportunity to learn to do better next time. 
  • Stop beating up on yourself - We can be our own worse critics, harping on the way we look, what we said to someone, and all kinds of things.  Tell that inner critic to stop beating up on you, and start thinking positive thoughts about yourself.
  • When you think about your faults, use a mirror, not a magnifying glass
• Spent more time with friends and family that build you up and help you feel good about yourself.  Spend less time with people who criticize you a lot and bring you down.