Jan. 7 (UPI) — U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who is closing out his tenure of two terms, offered a “Parting Prescription for America” on Tuesday to relieve “pain, disconnection and division” in the country.
“As I finish my tenure as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription, my final wish for all of us: Choose community,” Murthy urged after hearing from thousands who shared their stories.
“With every conversation, I saw the stakes more clearly: The fracturing of community in America is driving a deeper spiritual crisis that threatens our fundamental well-being,” Murthy wrote in his 32-page prescription. “It is fueling not only illness and despair on an individual level, but also pessimism and distrust across society, which have all made it painfully difficult to rise together in response to common challenges.”
As a physician, Murthy said he believes that health encompasses the whole person, not just the physical being cured through medication. On Tuesday, he called the unhappiness ailing Americans “the erosion of our sense of community.”
“Today, we are faced with a profound choice: Do we continue with the status quo, marked by pain, disconnection and division? Or do we choose a different path — one of joy, health and fulfillment, where we turn toward each other instead of away from each other; where we choose love over fear; where we recognize community as the irreplaceable foundation of our well-being?” Murthy wrote.
Instead, Murthy is urging Americans to “recenter their lives around relationships, service and purpose.”
Relationships, Murthy said, reduce stress. Without them, he added, “we can experience loneliness.”
Murthy said a third of all adults and about half of all young people experience loneliness, which can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, anxiety and premature death.
A study funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health in October found persistent loneliness also takes a toll on aging brains and can significantly raise a person’s odds for dementia.
Murthy urged Americans to live in service to others to make us “feel more connected,” which can have profound benefits in reducing the risk of hypertension, stroke, early death, depression and cognitive decline.
The Surgeon General urged Americans to live with purpose to have an “overarching life aim that guides our decisions and actions.”
“It’s not ‘what’ we do. It’s ‘why’ we do it,” Murthy said, adding that a strong sense of purpose may reduce depression and anxiety by instilling a greater resilience to stress.
In August, more than three-quarters of Americans believed, according to a poll, that the country was on the wrong track and that the government in Washington, D.C., was broken, as a majority feared some form of civil war would break out.
And during the COVID-19 pandemic and presidential election in 2020, a study published in the journal Science found for the first time that partisans’ hate for their political rivals topped their affection for their own party.
“America and the world need a new generation of community builders. A generation defined not by age but by spirit — by a fierce, unyielding commitment to each other and a clear-eyed, full-hearted recognition that we are kin, not enemies, and that we fundamentally need each other. We must be that generation.” Murthy implored.
“It is up to us to reject the pessimism and animosity of our time and instead choose courage and hope,” he continued in closing. “The choice we make to build community has the power to change lives and transform society.”
