21st U.S. Surgeon General Issues Parting Prescription for America

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Urges Americans to Recenter Their Lives Around Relationships, Service, and Purpose

The United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released his Parting Prescription for America – PDF, weaving together reflections on his personal and professional experiences having spent six of the last ten years as our nation’s Surgeon General.

Throughout his service, the Surgeon General has sought to understand the root causes of pain and unhappiness felt across our country. As a physician, Dr. Murthy believes that health is about more than tests and medications: it includes taking time to listen and focus on the whole person. As America’s Doctor, he has taken a similar approach with the nation.

After spending years hearing stories from thousands of Americans, delving into scientific data, and convening researchers, Dr. Murthy has found something deep and widespread ailing Americans: the erosion of our sense of community.

The Surgeon General’s Parting Prescription shares Dr. Murthy’s recommendations for how Americans can cultivate health, happiness, and fulfillment by rebuilding community centered around relationships, service, and purpose.

“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 for our well-being?” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy writes, “As I finish my tenure as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription, my final wish for all of us: choose community.”

Dr. Murthy makes the case that relationships, service and purpose create an ecosystem of meaning and belonging that are essential for fulfillment. These three elements form the triad of fulfillment. By contrast, modern culture has become increasingly centered on the triad of success defined by fame, money, power. We need a cultural shift that moves us toward the triad of fulfillment.

In his Prescription, the Surgeon General details each element and how they impact our health:

• Relationships are the connections we build with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and others we encounter. Healthy relationships where we feel seen and where we can be ourselves can be a powerful source of joy and support and can be buffers to stress.
  • When we lack meaningful relationships, we can experience loneliness. Currently, a third of adults and around half of young people experience loneliness. Being socially disconnected increases our risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, and premature death.
• Service comprises the actions we take that benefit others. Even though service is defined as benefiting others, filling one’s life with service can have profound benefits to the person rendering the service.
  • Studies show that sustained service efforts can reduce the risk of hypertension, stroke, early death, depression, cognitive decline, and can make us feel more connected to others.
• Purpose is the feeling of having an overarching life aim that guides and prioritizes our decisions and actions. It’s not “what” we do. It’s “why” we do it.
  • Purpose can be good for our physical and mental health. A high sense of individual purpose may reduce the risk of early death as well as stroke, lung disease, and dementia for some. Research also shows that people with a strong sense of purpose may experience lower levels of depression and anxiety and greater resilience in the face of stress.

As he closes out his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy is urging Americans to recenter their lives around relationships, service, and purpose – the triad of fulfillment and the core pillars of community. He calls for a shift in culture, policy, and programs that will strengthen community as the critical path to health, happiness, and fulfillment.

As the Nation’s Doctor, the 21st Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Murthy, has launched Surgeon General’s initiatives on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, Tobacco Disparities, The Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents, Firearm Violence, Loneliness and Isolation, Social Media and Youth Mental Health, Youth Mental Health, Health Worker Well-Being, and Workplace Well-Being.

Read the full Parting Prescription for America – PDF. For more information, visit the Office of the Surgeon General website.