SURGEON GENERAL’S RX FOR STRESS IN AMERICA

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has put itself firmly on record as being deeply concerned about our national epidemic of stress at the individual, organizational and societal levels. NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) broadcast on September 7th its annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary Therapies. The lecture was titled A Nation Under Pressure: The Public Health Consequences of Stress in America.

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PROMOTING RESILIENCE WITH OPTIMISM AND MINDFULNESS

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently documented a worrisome increase in stress in the U.S. population (Stress in America https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress). Uncontrolled stress can cause or worsen anxiety, depression, PTSD and a wide range of clinical conditions affecting every organ system. Medical students, residents and practicing physicians experience higher levels of stress than their age-matched counterparts at all levels of medical training....

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ALLOWING AWE IN MEDICINE

Of all the sciences, medicine uniquely combines all domains of the human condition-biological, cognitive, emotional, environmental, interpersonal and transpersonal. The more we learn about the benefits of the interpersonal and transpersonal dimensions of health, disease and medical practice, the more we seek to populate medical schools with well-rounded students and humanize medical training and the healthcare workplace.

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WHAT MAKES YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE?

Medicine has always attracted the best and the brightest. Most applicants to medical school are also inspired by a desire to be of genuine service and express their deepest human values through their professional lives. This ethic of altruism, compassion, meaning and service distinguishes medical students from most other professional students.

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LIFE IS SHORT - LIVE ACCORDINGLY

Neena Thomas-Eapen, MD is a family practice physician in the UK Department of Family and Community Medicine. She has completed the University of Arizona’s fellowship in integrative medicine and brings that broader perspective to the department’s faculty, staff and residents. Growing up in India, she liked biology and always thought she would be a teacher. She had seen the poor conditions in Indian government hospitals and didn’t initially consider medicine as a career.

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EATING CAN HEAL. EATING CAN KILL.

This new patient was a desperate, mid-career physician, referred to me by his cardiologist for mindfulness training and stress-reduction. He confessed to regularly eating as much as 5,000 calories in a single meal. His facial expression and body language spoke of his hopelessness and exhaustion. In a telling example of the crucial importance of body awareness, he consistently expressed difficulty feeling physical sensations in his body during body scan meditation.

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S.T.O.P. A SIMPLE MINDFULNESS PRACTICE FOR PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS

Modern life is taking its toll on our nation’s mental and physical health. Physicians and their patients both suffer from stress-related conditions and burnout. Multiple national surveys in the last year have documented an alarming increase in perceived stress, anxiety, depression and suicide. Our health and our very lives depend on our ability to manage stress in healthy ways at home, at work, in traffic, in relationships- and simply inside our own skin.

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R.A.I.N - A MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION PRACTICE

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy MD has sounded the alarm regarding our country’s epidemic of stress.(1)  He calls for a serious national effort to mitigate the corrosive effect of chronic stress on every organ system. He calls for a nationwide campaign to spread a preventive, behavioral lifestyle prescription of healthy eating, physical activity and genuine social support (other than social media). Based on solid peer-reviewed evidence, he also recommends meditation as a health....

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BODY SCAN MEDITATION

Behavioral medicine research confirms the value of mind-body approaches for both physician self care and patient care. Physician adoption of such lifestyle approaches is a key ingredient in our professional well-being, helping us promote resilience, manage stress, prevent burnout and cultivate compassion. Stepping off the daily treadmill of hurry and worry is a critical component of our personal strategy to live an ethical, effective and compassionate life in medicine.

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RELATIONSHIPS: HEALING PHYSICIANS AND THEIR PATIENTS

Relationships are at the very heart of medicine.  I recently saw one of my favorite patients whom I had not seen in 10 years. I have thought of her often since the hospital took over my Estill County practice in Irvine and I moved to Lexington. Wanda always lifted my spirits. She always asked me how I was doing because she cared about me. We joked and laughed while managing her chronic medical conditions. She was good medicine for me.

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YOUR BEST POSSIBLE SELF

Defining resilience: The American Psychological Association (APA) describes resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress, such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means ‘bouncing back’ from difficult experiences.” APA further describes resilience as “ordinary, not extraordinary. People commonly demonstrate resilience.

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THE HOPE NOTE - HEALING ORIENTED PRACTICES AND ENVIRONMENTS

Wayne Jonas MD is clinical professor of family medicine, Georgetown University, retired Lt. Colonel United States Army Medical Corps and a complementary medicine researcher. He previously served as Director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH, which is now called the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. He has recently proposed the HOPE note (Healing Oriented Practices and Environments) as a clinical tool to help physicians….

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MINDFULNESS FOR KIDS

Anxiety, depression, loneliness and suicide are increasing- not just in adults, but also in children and youth. Public health officials and educators are looking for ways to limit the harm caused by the pandemic, the pace of modern life and the endless stream of disturbing news. Mindfulness practice has emerged as an important tool that can benefit children as well as their teachers, parents and physicians.

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THE EPIDEMIC OF STRESS AND LONELINESS

US public health officials are alarmed by a growing mental health epidemic  of  stress,  anxiety,  depression,  loneliness,  substance  abuse and  suicide.  Britain  has  created  a  Minister  of  Loneliness  to  tackle this  ‘sad  reality  of  modern  life’  and  its  $3.5  billion  annual  drain  on  UK  employers. Vivek  Murthy  MD  is  the  21st  US  Surgeon  General.  He  was  also  the  19th  Surgeon General  under  president  Obama.

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YOUR BEST POSSIBLE SELF

SUMMER 2019