Ep. 192: Beyond surviving to thriving with the essential elements of well-being; with Julia Hotz

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Can art, nature, and movement be just as powerful as medicine? In this episode, I’m joined by solutions-focused journalist Julia Hotz, author of The Connection Cure. We explore how social prescribing—using nonmedical resources like music, service, and belonging—can improve mental and physical health. Julia shares the science behind this approach, real-life success stories, and how it’s spreading worldwide. Tune in to discover how you can bring more joy, meaning, and connection into your life and your community!

Guest

My guest today is the author of a new book, released in June, called The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging. Julia Hotz is a solutions-focused journalist whose stories have appeared in media including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, TIME, and Scientific American. She currently works at the Solutions Journalism Network, where she helps other journalists rigorously report on what’s working to solve today’s biggest problems. Julia is a world traveler, graduate of the University of Cambridge in England, and a former Fulbright Scholar in Greece.

Notes

We discuss:

Julia’s book tells the story of social prescribing, including the science supporting it, real life examples, and how its practice is spreading throughout the globe.
Jules provides a refresher explanation of what social prescribing is. (Listeners who are regular listeners of this show will be familiar with the term “social prescribing” or “social prescription.” See the links below to previous episodes related to this topic, with guests Tasha Golden; Chris Appleton, CEO of Art Pharmacy; and Renee Fleming.)
Instead of replacing other kinds of medicine, social prescriptions complement them and can help treat the real symptoms of real diagnoses like type 2 diabetes, depression, stress, insomnia, ADHD, addiction, anxiety, chronic pain, and dementia.
What are “social determinants of health” and how important are they to our health and well-being?
The historical foundations of social prescribing.
Why art (with a focus on music) is so valuable as a social prescription, and examples of how and why it’s being prescribed.
Is there a difference on the health impact of creating art/music vs. consuming it?
What is bibliotherapy and how can it help with mental wellness?
Julia’s recommendations for musicians/organizations who would like to get involved in this movement of social Rx.
Recommendations for listeners who would like to see social prescribing offered by their practitioners. How can we be the change we want to see, give this movement momentum, get involved, and move the needle?
Some of Mindy’s favorite quotes from the book:
- “Movement, nature, art, service, and belonging were once staples of our daily lives. But since our survival no longer requires these five ingredients, we no longer structure our lives around them… But we know it’s not our screens, our salaries, and our stuff that we’ll be thinking about on our deathbeds. We know that what really matters in the grand scheme of life are the connections in our environments: the joy and meaning we experience, and the relationships we build. The things that make us light up when we talk about them. The things that give us reasons to wake up in the morning. The things that matter to us.” (Julia Hotz, The Connection Cure)
- “The end point with all of this is not social prescribing. The end point is developing a health-creating community.” (Michael Dixon in The Connection Cure, by Julia Hotz)
- “Social prescribing isn’t, hasn’t been, and never will be a cure-all. We still need other kinds of prescriptions. But here’s what I do understand. As we wait on health care to put social prescribing on its menu of options, each of us can work in our own lives to make its sneakier goal come true: creating our own health, in our own communities. Becoming our own health professionals—experts in and practitioners of the connections that uniquely bring us joy, meaning, and relationships.” (Julia Hotz, The Connection Cure)

Connect/Other Resources

Julia’s book: The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging (also available on Kindle and Audible
Julia on social media: @hotzthoughts
Julia’s website

Other episodes we mentioned or that you may enjoy:

In-Episode Promo

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Coda

Jules shares the meaning and significance of her college a cappella choirs.

Closing Words

Thank you so much to Jules for joining us today and for writing this fantastic book. Be sure to get your own copy; there are links in the show notes to the book, ways to connect with Julia, and screenshots of us on our call – we had so much fun chatting about this topic!

You’ll also find a transcript of this episode and links to related episodes you may enjoy, including the three we mentioned in our conversation, and a link to all episodes in the Science & Health category. You may already know that all Enhance Life with Music episodes can be found listed by category so you can quickly find topics most related to your interests. In addition to Science & Health, the other 3 categories are :

Just go to the Archives tab of my website.

I want give a quick shout-out to Dr. Sheetal Ajmani. Dr. Ajmani is a physician and fellow podcaster who recently had me as a return guest on her show, Essential Self-Care, where we discussed how I utilized music as a tool for well-being during a challenging season in my life.

You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Until next time, may your life be enhanced with music.

View Episode Transcript

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MINDY PETERSON, NCTM