The Power of Prescribing What Matters To You

Location: We will meet at True Food Kitchen (Bethesda) (7100 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20815)

What if the most powerful medicine isn't found in a pharmacy, but in your community? In this inspiring talk, journalist and health researcher, Julia Hotz, reveals how "social prescribing" is revolutionizing healthcare across 32 countries. By connecting patients with community resources like art classes, nature walks, and volunteer opportunities, doctors are treating not just symptoms, but the whole person. The results are remarkable: reduced emergency room visits, decreased healthcare costs, and most importantly—improved wellbeing. Discover how focusing on what truly matters to you can become your most effective prescription, and learn how to start "prescribing" yourself the activities that bring you joy, purpose, and better health.

Please watch this 14-min video before joining the discussion:
https://youtu.be/Al2WiqTH4QI?si=Wz2QWvaiVxRddI69

If more than 10 people join the discussion, we will break out into separate groups.
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1. Our health is shaped far more by our environment and social connections than by medical care alone. How might we redesign our daily routines to support health through our surroundings, relationships, or habits?
2. Asking “what matters to us” rather than “what’s the matter with us” shifts the focus from fixing to understanding. How could this shift influence how we approach challenges not just in health, but in relationships, leadership, or decision-making?
3. Non-medical “prescriptions” like music, volunteering, or nature can restore health by reconnecting us with purpose.How can we build a personal “medicine cabinet” filled with activities that recharge our energy and motivation?
4. Real stories show that simple, tailored experiences can ease depression, anxiety, and chronic pain more effectively than medication alone. What criteria can we use to identify the kinds of activities that might support our mental and emotional healing?
5. If awe, beauty, and meaning have measurable effects on health, then perhaps well-being is less about avoidance of pain and more about presence to life. How might this reframe change how we define a “good life” or “successful life” in our culture?
6. We’re taught biology and health as a series of systems, symptoms, and facts, but rarely as something shaped by identity, joy, and relationships. How might health education look different if it included emotional literacy, creative expression, and community engagement as core subjects?

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To provide an enjoyable experience for fellow participants, here are three ground rules during discussion events:

1. Step up and step back. (If you feel that you’ve been talking too much, step back to listen more. If you feel that you’ve been relatively quiet, step up to share your perspective or ask a question)
2. Listen to understand, not to respond.
3. Be open-minded and value differences.