Actually it took me long time until I think I somehow grasped the reason for those years of life lost or similar metrics in epidemiology: As far I understand it

Actually it took me long time until I think I somehow grasped the reason for those years of life lost or similar metrics in epidemiology: As far I understand it it is rather a measure of ranking to inform regulatory action. It is not really meant to compare against your real life but to compare different things like the impact of pollution, smoking etc on a society on a common scale rather than being used in any absolute fashion. IMHO they often become meaningless if applied to your own life or if they are quoted in press.