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

How Govt. Shutdown Affects Telemedicine

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

6 days 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…

2 weeks ago

‘How Healing Works’ Author Dr. Wayne Jonas Explains His Approach

Dr. Wayne Jonas, who formerly led the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine,…

3 weeks ago

‘Next Week Will be Telling’: Reporters Prepare for Ex-CDC Dir. Testimony

Next week former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez will testify in…

4 weeks ago

RFK, Jr.’s Vaccine Fight: ‘Threat to Good Public Health’

Supporters say Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is fulfilling his vision…

1 month ago

Mayo Clinic Doctor Leads The Patient Revolution: Insights & Tools to Improve Health Care

Originally broadcast Wednesday, August 27 Dr. Victor Montori, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, internationally recognized researcher,…

1 month ago