CONNECT: October 17, 2014

Talk is cheap? Maybe, but conversation is king....

Spoiler Summary: Humans act on their most deeply held beliefs.....and our conversations with people we respect influence what we believe a ton....so are meaningful conversations at the root of health change?

It's been a scary couple of weeks. The Ebola virus outbreak is not something to be taken lightly.  Yet somehow, something that causes bleeding from from the eyes, ears, nose, etc and suffering which usually ends in death was a remarkably small story before it made landfall in the US a couple weeks ago. Maybe it was easier for us to ignore when it was so far away? Maybe "it won't happen to me" was mostly true? But once it was real....and relatively close to home....the conversation abruptly changed.

Whether it's your profession or not, when we all start thinking-about and talking-about the same things, we're much more likely to start pulling in the direction of progress; The Ebola conversation is an excellent example of how conversation leads to commitment (belief) which becomes action which eventually swells to momentum....and when there's momentum, things begin to change.

The Process

It starts with awareness and high-alert: In this case a pair of American mission workers are flown from the front lines to Atlanta, GA for an experimental treatment for what experts say is Ebola.  Both survive the ordeal and American citizens are now far more aware of the largest Ebola outbreak in history (primarily impacting the Western African countries Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) which was getting pretty small press before this incident.

Some weeks later the first case of Ebola discovered on American soil is diagnosed in Texas.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention begin "contact tracing" (see how it works HERE) in an effort to block the spread.  At the same time Americans start educating themselves furiously (some with good information, some not) as Ebola-attention churns and eventually explodes on September 30th where the conversation (as measured in tweets about Ebola) swells to 11 times the previous day and more than double the previous 30 day record. The internet literally lights-up with related activity as we try to wrap our collective brain around what is happening and what it means to us (see interactive graphic HERE).

Now, there's momentum.  The news is talking about it; people are contemplating "what would I do?", the President is cancelling plans, 95.5 WPLJ is making CDC jokes in the morning and resources are beginning to mobilize.

Can we learn anything from this scary but powerful "viral" spread of information? Is there anything positive here? Perhaps. Maybe now that this terrible virus has captured the (ever-shrinking) attention of society, things will improve.  Let's hope.

Communicable disease deserves our attention....but so does non-communicable disease?

Although most of us have yet to have a personal connection with Ebola (and we're hopeful it stays that way), there is no shortage of health-topics worthy of our attention and energy.  Heart Disease continues to claim nearly 600,000 lives annually in America alone and Cancer takes another 575,000 meaning nearly every person in America will be impacted (either personally or by way of someone they know/love) in their lifetime. Said another way, we lose more lives to those two diseases annually than will be born next year in ALL eastern states combined (excluding Florida).  Scary.

And with growing evidence that the vast majority (nearly 9 of 10) of heart disease cases are preventable with lifestyle changes.....and strong evidence that many forms of cancer are too...we're not helpless or hopeless. So what are we missing?  Do we need more or better technology?  Not-so says the science....we have the information....we have the tools....and we know what works; and yet, many more will die than need to (read a Cardiac Electrophysiologist's take on it HERE).

It seems what we really need to stop the spread of these diseases (or accidents in the workplace or injuries at home, etc) doesn't start with better or more cures necessarily....it starts with more or better conversation because, as previously stated, conversation becomes action....and action (when sustained) gets things done. Admittedly, the conversation on prevention is not lighting up twitter, but it is happening.....and every single one of us can play a role. Whether it's about Ebola, or heart-disease or slips/trips/falls - we can fix it whenever we decide it's important enough.

Talk to your co-workers.  Talk to your loved ones.  Talk to your friends.  Tell them that we can all do a little better.  Show them how you got started and the impact it's making in your life.  Explain how many setbacks you had before you had your breakthrough.....and why it was still TOTALLY WORTH THE EFFORT.  Hear yourself saying "if I can do it, ANYONE can" out loud and with passion.....because it's the "doing it", every single day, that's going to stop the injuries and the diseases we face....but way before we do it, we must believe we can.....so help the process along - and keep the conversation rolling.

And if you haven't gotten started or you haven't had that breakthrough.....believe it - you can.

Have a great week,

Mike E.