Medicine

Studies have revealed that not only are physical, mental, and social well-being important components for total health, but they are tightly interrelated. The evidence also shows that a happy, engaged, and fulfilling psychological and social life is not just a consequence of good health. It leads people to live a healthy and long life. Medical providers, patients and their families need positive medicine.

The three studies by Crum, Salovey, and Achor suggest that our stress mindset is malleable, and that adopting a stress-is-enhancing mindset can help us handle the pressures that come our way.

How I learned about the psycho-social costs of chronic degenerative disease and what I decided to do about it: the genesis of the HEART initiative.

On May 6-7, 2018, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) hosted a ground-breaking Summit on Happiness Science in Health Care: Infusing Positive Psychology into Medicine and Health Care. Participants all recognize the need to connect positive psychology and health care.

Therapist self-care represents a unique application of the principles of positive psychology. Self-care that supports and sustains clinicians’ well-being through positive evidence-based strategies has immense potential not only for the therapists’ wellness, but also for the benefit of those they serve.

To work on positive medicine, I had to decide where to start. The opportunities to make medicine a more positive discipline are vast. Finally I decided that the place to start was with the healers themselves. Principles of self-care and positive psychology could be embedded in medical training starting as early as Day 1 of medical school.