Every shift I work as a physician in the Emergency Department allows me to feel the pulse for conflicts we manage, in addition to the deeper challenges facing society. The pandemic has exacerbated the alarming trend of mental health concerns, and we experience this first hand in the ER. Currently, mental health issues begin on the average at age 13, and the suicide rate has increased by 30% between the year 2000 and 2022. I imagine a different world - a post-pandemic culture where we incorporate the tools of social prescription to manage our mental health in a healthy way. By integrating depression and incorporating the tools of social prescribing into our daily education and conversations, we can bridge the current gap of understanding mental health and forge a path towards healing.
Social prescribing is an approach that seeks to fill in the gaps by connecting people with community resources by understanding their passion and purpose. It is an intervention that pivots from our traditional model of treatment of slapping down prescriptions and instead encourages us to start weaving in solutions by connecting with our community. Let us smash the stigma of seeking help into pieces. Dr. Anita Bangale is an emergency physician and has served as Medical Director of the Emergency Department at St. Luke's Hospital at The Vintage. She currently works as a physician and owner at America's ER, where she focuses on effective communication as a leader and prioritizes working under pressure with compassion and empathy. Additionally, Dr. Bangale is a certified life coach and founder and CEO of Diya Coaching - through which she aims to spread joy by improving mindset and believes in the magnificent, ignitable power of each person's inner light. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx