Categories: Social Media

Using the Monomyth as a Therapeutic Tool

Recently, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published a report, Culturally Appropriate Storytelling to Improve Blood Pressure.  Their research found:

African-Americans with uncontrolled high blood pressure benefited from an intervention using DVDs of real patients’ stories of how they dealt with their chronic disease.

It has generated a lot of interesting discussions.  Should this research be replicated in different ways?  Would it work with other communities?  Other health conditions?  Other ways of distributing the stories?    Could stories of successfully controlling high blood pressure be shared on blogs or YouTube as effectively?

All of this got me thinking about Joseph Campbell’s idea of the Monomyth.  The idea of the Monomyth is that there is a common structure to many stories from around the world.  Put simply, a hero is called to some adventure, tries to refuse the adventure, often encounters some sort of supernatural aid that provides a talisman to help the hero in the adventure, and goes through many trials.  After the hero completes the adventure they return to normal life and are expected to share the wisdom gained from the adventure with those around them.

Could the DVDs of those heroes who have been on an adventure of learning to control hyper-tension,  be similar to the sharing of wisdom by heroes returning in the Monomyth?  Could this apply to other health conditions?  Could it be done via blogs and online videos? 

As a controlled experiment, blogs and online videos might be more complicated.  It might introduce additional variables making the research more complex.  But, as part of a social movement to build healthy communities, it could be a powerful tool.

What do you think?

Sofia Dupi

Share
Published by
Sofia Dupi

Recent Posts

Shutdown Threatens Food Benefits: Family Physicians Leader Urges Resolution

Food insecurity could soon worsen for millions of families and result in devastating health outcomes.…

19 hours ago

New Research Bolsters Model for Preventing Infant Mortality

Originally broadcast June 5, 2024. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and…

1 week ago

Preventing Veteran Suicides: Strategies & Tactics

Veterans Day, which is less than a month away, is a time to honor and…

2 weeks ago

Government Shutdown Stalls Drug Discount Program 340B

Originally broadcast October 9, 2025 $44 billion in drugs that help Americans are purchased through…

3 weeks ago

How Govt. Shutdown Affects Telemedicine

Originally broadcast October 2, 2025 The federal government is shut down and the ripple effects…

4 weeks ago

The 16th Anniversary Show: Our First Guests Are Back!

Originally broadcast Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Happy anniversary to “Conversations on Health Care”! We posted…

1 month ago