Blogging Makes you Happier and Healthier

Apparently proven by science! A study from Taiwan that administered a self-reporting tool to about 600 college students found they felt “better social connections”

• sense of greater social integration
• an increase in social bonding
• social bridging

Not all that surprising as this is just another variation on well worn advice of sharing of problems and worries :a problem shared is a problem halved. There is historical research that supports this base don personal writings (the diary for instance) and even when the content is made more public

when people share their innermost thoughts of their moods or feelings with others through writing, they may gain greater social support and improve their social relationships and feelings of connectedness

Especially important when people blog on personal challenges and int he case of a friend of mine ePatientDave (his blog and twitter feed) he described his blogging and ability to share the experiences efficiently as a big benefit to the his healing process as well as the therapeutic effect of sharing knowledge learned with others and learning from others in similar circumstances. It has clearly been so inspiring for him that he’s started up another work related blog – No Lines, No Waiting that offer advice on getting the most out of your time including age advice for employment in the downturn. There are many other support networks and infinitely more available than they used to be in the days of visiting your local hospital in search of the photocopied list of support groups!

Patient’s Like Me is a great Place to Start assuming it has a group for your area of interest but if not as in all cases these days – Google is Your friend to finding a relevant support group to join

Do you know any others that are helpful starting points – if so please post comments and links

Finding Good Healthcare Information on the Web

The NY Times ran an article yesterday titled “You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge is Power“. One of the phsycians states

The goal is to find an M.D., not become one.

I am not so sure – I think the goal is too become better informed so you can be a better partner with your physician. The article is right about balance and everyone must determine their information personality. If you like lots of information you can find it, if you don’t it is easy to get overwhelmed. No matter your desires there are many sources and not just limited to Google and the world wide web (although in todays digital age these are the easy choices).

Gather the information, try to distill it and then use it to educate yourself and bring the information with you when you consult your doctor, being careful not to overwhelm him the process with hundred’s of pages of print out that would be impossible for anyone to process in a time limited consultation.

If you are lucky your doctor will have the time to help you process the information and will use it to help guide your care. But even if they don’t being more informed is always better than being uninformed.