US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy once focused on traditional issues for the country’s doctors. He led campaigns and wrote reports to promote doctors’ rights. Physical activityYouth Electronic cigarettesimproving treatment Alcohol and drug addiction. he I remembered They feed us fruits and vegetables.
These days, he speaks a lot about friendship and how Americans need more of it. Last year, he seriously and publicly defined the phenomenon: “The nation is ‘The epidemic of loneliness and isolation” His office Encourage Record how people connect with others Postcardswhich is said to help boost immune system function.Amazingly simple” Relationship-building techniques, such as company-mandated conversations with coworkers about personal matters. The Surgeon General’s official website states: Pressed The third-party digital solution, called FriendApp, is positioned as a gentler alternative to the most popular social media platforms. These are some of the more specific recommendations in Murthy’s anti-loneliness campaign. Recommendation It also encourages people to “spend time nurturing relationships through consistent, frequent and quality engagement” and to “be responsive, supportive and appreciative.”
As someone who has struggled to make connections, I appreciate Murthy’s concern. Speaking as a doctor, I think he’s a bit of a goof. Past Surgeons General have primarily told the public, tobacco or Cholesterol and saturated fat. Murthy’s predecessor, Jerome Adams, Takes priority The opioid epidemic, oral health, and COVID. Meanwhile, Murthy said, Emotional fulfillment,use Love is medicineand treatment Art as a source of healingThe Surgeon General appears to have been transformed from the nation’s physician into something new: the nation’s first chief health officer.
When I spoke to Murthy a few weeks ago, I remarked that his argument reminded me more of self-help cliches than public-health advice. I asked him why so many of his recent projects, like his immunity-boosting postcards, seem so superficial and quirky. “Well, I don’t think our work is ‘superficial and quirky,'” he replied, with his usual affability. Talk Mindfulness exercises from the meditation app Calm. “Even small steps to build social connections make a difference,” he assured me, and his work is backed by data. “Everything we do in our office is based on science,” he said. By the end of the call, I felt like an anti-health demon.
Murthy first ventured into the gentle world of holistic health during the Obama administration’s first term in office. (In 2015, he Predetermined Happiness He told the audience at his TED Talk that after he retired, he wrote the bestselling Books He spoke of the “healing power of human connection.”Since President Joe Biden reappointed him as Surgeon General in 2021, Mursi has been playing up health metaphors. Reports and press release He promotes “work-life harmony,” supports a “culture of appreciation and recognition,” and treats “silent retirements” like illness outbreaks. Podcasts He promises to help listeners “find meaning and joy through life’s turmoil and uncertainty.” said Health and fitness guru Andrew Huberman says, “Even if you don’t have a diagnosable mental illness, people are not living their lives optimally, and this is diminishing their sense of fulfillment.”
According to Murthy’s diagnosis of the national sentiment, loneliness isn’t just a bad emotion, it’s a poison to the body. While loneliness is certainly not good for us, the Surgeon General makes a strangely specific point: Isolation is really Smoke up to 15 cigarettes Can you save $100 a day, as his social connection advice proclaims? study Medical experts have made similar statements, Sitting, alcohol, Air pollutionand Processed FoodsAlthough each of these has been characterized as a “new form of smoking,” traditional tobacco remains the most important public health concern. Main causes The odds of preventable death are the same as smoking five cigarettes a day. And if loneliness were as bad as smoking five cigarettes a day, would we feel so bad about it? I think most people know that claims like this shouldn’t be taken literally; they’re metaphors, not statistics. But when the Surgeon General spreads unbelievable statements — implying that loneliness is literally as harmful as inhaling dozens of carcinogens into your lungs — some Americans are going to buy into his credible claims, e.g. Gun Violence.
As I spoke with Murphy, I couldn’t help but be touched by his passion and drawn in by his personability. He began the conversation by asking about my college experience, and told me about the times I struggled to get to know people in school. I don’t think his priorities are entirely wrong. I’ve seen the longing for connection in my community. I’ve also seen the effects it has on people’s bodies. Some of my patients have waited a long time to seek treatment because they had no one to take care of them. And there is certainly a meaningful element to his health-based approach. Murphy supports paid family leave and improved public transportation as policies that could bring relief to our isolated nation.
But overall, loneliness Report offers only vague directives. Social connections should be a priority for research institutions, governments, health systems, and workplaces. Public health agencies are asked to find “sustainable interventions and strategies” to promote them. The details of these interventions and strategies are mostly left to the reader’s imagination. For example, at dinner one night, I suggested to my partner that Murthy’s advice might help us make friends in our new home in Baltimore. We followed the Surgeon General’s advice to join community groups, eventually landing at an LGBTQ dinner club. In the months that followed, we met nice people and had fun conversations. It was nice to get out of the house. But I can’t say we built any deep, lasting friendships of the type that I think of as “quality engagements” that might extend life.
For Murthy, focusing on general health will allow him to tap into a market that will be lucrative for many years to come. Speaking engagements, book deals and consulting opportunities will surely be waiting for him after he leaves office, if he so desires. He will be particularly well-positioned in the corporate world of chief health officers. Required(Recently, C.I.A. He already Finished work He has served as a director at companies such as Netflix, Airbnb, and Estee Lauder. Advisor Murthy, who took over as CEO of Attention, described in its 2021 financial disclosure as a “mental health-focused technology company,” said that while his future plans remain unclear, “the question of how to enhance the overall health and well-being of people across the country and around the world will continue to be central to my work.”
But Mursi now presents a conundrum for any Surgeon General who follows him: Should the nation’s physician continue to give prescriptions for happiness and love? Or should the Surgeon General go back to giving stodgy advice on how to curb the nation’s chronic disease rates? Promoting the overall physical and mental health of the nation sounds nice, but it’s also pretty ambitious. Mursi’s reliance on gimmicks and gestures may be a sign he’s bumped up against the limitations of his role. Helping someone quit smoking is a measurable goal with clear outcomes, but eliminating loneliness equal to 15 cigarettes a day is a more nebulous project. And no matter how well-intentioned Mursi may be, the federal bureaucracy is not a natural place to seek emotional healing. American doctors may have to settle for getting us to eat a few more fruits and vegetables.
