VIVEK MURTHY

We can't underestimate the power that we have as individuals to provide the support that people need to provide that transition from a place of pain to a place of possibility.

Not all social interaction is uplifting.

When I was training in medicine for example, there was a culture in medicine that strong people didn't need sleep, that the less you slept, the more you just powered through a tough call not on no sleep, the stronger you were. That is not helpful to have a culture that supports healthy practices like that.

Sometimes people get upset when you tell the truth, when you share the facts as science dictates.

The A.C.A. is not perfect, but it has helped us move forward.

Emotions are a source of power, and that's what science tells us. But many people I encounter have been led to think of emotions as a source of weakness.

It's easy to say that health is all about personal responsibility and we should all make good decisions for ourselves, but the reality is far more complicated. We know that in the case of motor vehicle accidents, how other people drive makes a difference in how safe you are.

Climate change poses a serious, immediate and global threat to health.

Gun violence is a problem that this country should be addressing.

Kindness is more than a virtue. It is a source of strength.

When I began my tenure as surgeon general, I did not intend to focus on emotional well-being.

When I was Surgeon General, I spent a lot of time talking to people in living rooms and town halls all across the country, and one of the things I started to notice was that behind many of the stories of addiction, violence, depression and anxiety were threads of loneliness.

Despite growing up in very poor circumstances, my father had big dreams.

Science tells us more and more now that there is a strong connection between emotional well-being and health outcomes, and that you can proactively cultivate emotional well-being through relatively simple practices like sleep, social connection and meditation.

Arranged marriages are ones where you got to learn who the person is after you actually get married, which can be challenging.

We can no longer remain within our exam rooms and ignore what happens in our communities. As physicians and dentists, we must have a presence in both places. Our sacred responsibility is both to help the patient in front of us and also to safeguard the health of the nation.

As all of us know, health is deeply intertwined with culture: what we eat, how active we are, how much we sleep. These are rooted in cultural norms.

When I look at the patients that I've cared for with mental illness, I know that many of them took years to come forward and tell somebody that they were in pain and that they needed help.

I have come to believe that America is a promise we have made to one another.

Touch is incredibly important as part of the human experience. Our ancestors relied on human touch to form and strengthen bonds with each other. Touch can accelerate a feeling of connection and releases hormones in our body that engender trust and build connection.

I firmly believe that everybody in America needs a safe place to walk or to wheelchair roll.

When it comes to creating emotional wellbeing, we are only going to achieve this, I believe, if we help each other in that effort. Part of that is reaching out and building social connections in people who may not always have the social connections or the support that they need.

When people tell you that you're less-than and that you don't matter and that you're inferior, you internalize some of that.

When you help someone else, not only do they benefit, but you reaffirm to yourself that you have something of value to give them, and you help to strengthen and nurture a bond with an individual that you're helping.

For far too many people, the stigma around addiction prevents them from stepping forward for help.