Today Dr. Beth Frates and I discuss what research shows about social connections and health.
Dr. Beth Frates is a pioneer in Lifestyle Medicine education and is an award-winning teacher at Harvard. This is a conversation that isn’t had enough about how our health is impacted by our social connections.
Listen into this powerful conversation about social connections and health and make sure to jump in our community after to share any thoughts or ask any questions you may have.
Big 3 Episode Takeaways
- There is a science and art of social connection that we don’t discuss enough today around our health. We touch on different lifestyle medicine topics like what exercise does for your heart or the importance of nutrition, but rarely do we discuss the science of social connection and the impact on our health. Research consistently shows that those who have more social connections compared to those that don’t, tend to live a longer healthier life.
- We all need to have someone in our life, a charismatic adult as Dr. Robert Brooks states, that we gather strength from. We all should have one person that we can go to or call and have a heart to heart with. We should not only know who that charismatic adult is in our life but we should also know who we can be that charismatic adult for.
- It’s important to be kind and compassionate by accepting gifts from others. Compassion isn’t just us giving, but it’s us being willing to receive also. Showing our vulnerabilities is also important for our health instead of us bottling it up. Lastly to improve our health we should consider expressive writing.
Here’s a minute by minute of Social Connections and Health (What Research Shows):
0:00 Dr. Beth Frates reaching higher ground
0:40 Who is Dr. Beth Frates
3:41 Pillars of Social Connection
8:00 We need to nourish and nurture social connections
8:50 You must connect once a day to be healthy and happy
10:40 Social Media paints a different picture
13:35 We can have perfect and imperfection at the same time
16:37 Dr. Robert Brooks and charismatic adult
18:40 Having a sense of purpose in our life
21:40 Find someone you can find joy from
26:40 Being kind and compassionate by receiving
29:39 Showing your vulnerabilities is important
31:50 Lack of control
34:20 Learning to accept when we lack control
36:10 Expressive writing for Health
40:00 Why embracing a growth mindset can improve your health
43:22 Thank You Dr. Beth Frates
Who is Dr. Beth Frates:
Elizabeth (Beth) Pegg Frates, MD is a pioneer in Lifestyle Medicine education, is an award-winning teacher at Harvard, and currently works with patients to help them adopt and sustain healthy habits. Dr. Frates’s interest in and passion for wellness started well before medical school.
When Dr. Frates was 18 years old, her father suffered a heart attack and a stroke. He was only 52 at the time. This event sparked her interest in medicine, physiatry, and stroke, in particular.
Dr. Frates went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard College, majoring in both psychology and biology. She then attended Stanford Medical School, interned at Mass General Hospital, and completed her residency in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School where she served as Chief Resident.
After residency, Dr. Frates focused on stroke with an emphasis on stroke prevention. Fascinated empowering people to adopt healthy habits, Dr. Frates pursued further training in behavior change through health and wellness coaching programs as well as motivational interviewing training.
Since 1996, Dr. Frates has been on faculty at Harvard Medical School and has won multiple teaching awards for her work in many different pre-clinical core courses covering topics including nutrition, the musculoskeletal system, the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and an introduction to the medical profession. She also developed and taught a college Lifestyle Medicine curriculum at the Harvard Extension School, which is one of the most popular courses offered at the school and was chosen as a case study for successful courses.
Dr. Frates is also an accomplished author, having published several books, medical textbooks, and calendars. After co-authoring a book titled “Life After Stroke: The Guide to Recovering Your Health and Preventing Another Stroke”, Dr. Frates spent a great deal of time lecturing and writing about health and prevention topics, including nutrition and exercise. More recently, her book titled “The Lifestyle Medicine Handbook: An Introduction to the Power of Healthy Habits” was included in a list of the 100 Best Medicine Books of All Time by BookAuthority.
Learn more about Dr. Beth Frates by visiting: https://www.bethfratesmd.com/
