Inspiring News Articles
Excerpts of Highly Inspiring News Articles in Major Media
Below are one-paragraph excerpts of highly inspiring news articles from the major media. Links are provided to the original inspiring news articles on their media websites. If any link fails, read this webpage. The most inspiring news articles are listed first. You can also explore the news articles listed by order of the date posted. For an abundance of other highly inspiring material, see our Inspiring Resources page. May these inspiring news articles inspire us to find ever more ways to love and support each other and all around us to be the very best we can be.
A "social prescription" [is] a referral to nonpharmaceutical, community-based resources and activities, like art classes and cycling clubs. Instead of a recommendation to exercise or socialize, a social prescription is tailored to that patient's specific interests–what brings them joy, purpose, awe, flow and childlike curiosity. It's a medicine based on what matters to a patient, instead of just what's the matter with them. More than 80 percent of our health outcomes are driven by social factors in our environments, while only 16 percent are related to clinical care. In other words, to be healthy, we need access to basic resources–clean air, nutritious food, stable housing, freedom from violence and discrimination, and psychological resources–outlets that help us cope with stress, activities that give us a sense of purpose, people we can call at 3 A.M. in a crisis. Social prescriptions addressing both kinds of these social needs should be a no-brainer addition to the menu of options that American docs, therapists and social workers can prescribe. I've seen firsthand how social prescriptions can not only alleviate symptoms of sickness but also create lasting wellness–from the woman whose prescription for a sea-swimming prescription severely reduced her antidepressant dosage and helped "her life become bright again," to the man whose prescription for a cultural excursion group helped him overcome his social anxiety and "feel like himself again."
Note: Explore more positive stories like this on healing our bodies and healing social division.
In Stockholm, Stina Larsson, 98, stood among fragrant lilacs, lilies and lavender, inspecting the garden that she has tended for more than 40 years. Ms. Larsson's garden, situated on a postage stamp of land beside the Karlbergs Canal, is one of more than 7,000 garden allotments, known as koloniträdgĂĄrdar, in Stockholm. The gardens, established as part of a social movement around the turn of the 20th century, offer city dwellers access to green space and a reprieve from crowded urban life. Though most are modest in size – Ms. Larsson's garden is about 970 square feet – koloniträdgĂĄrdar are prized for providing a rare kind of urban sanctuary, a corner of the city where residents can trade pavement for soil, and the buzz of traffic for birdsong. The garden programs were specifically designed to improve the mental and physical health of city dwellers. The idea was that a working-class family would be able to spend the summer there and work together but also have some leisure and fun. Cecilia Stenfors ... at Stockholm University, said her research shows that those who frequently visit green spaces, whether a forest or a koloniträdgĂĄrd, "have better health outcomes, in terms of fewer depressive symptoms, less anxiety, better sleep and fewer feelings of loneliness and social isolation." These positive effects can be particularly pronounced in older people and can help combat symptoms of age-related mental and physical decline.
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