As the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions and the host of his own television program, “The Dr. Oz Show,” Oz was named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2008 and is also the parent of a Princeton alumna.
In his introduction of Oz, Sustained Dialogue vice president Jared Griffin ’13 described Oz’s lecture as important for opening up the dialogue on improving mental health on campus.
“Why is it so difficult to talk about mental health?” Griffin said. “In a way that is interesting and informative and candid, he has changed the way we talk about health.”
Oz began the lecture by talking about his personal experiences as a healer and the challenges people face in addressing health issues.
“We push as hard as we can on the door of health, and it doesn’t open for us,” Oz said, displaying a cartoon picture of a person pushing on a pull door.
Showing another picture, this time of an obese cat next to a beer on a couch, Oz directly discussed mental health issues as relevant to Princeton students.
“My oldest daughter Daphne went to Princeton, my niece goes to Princeton, I grew up near Princeton, I know a lot about what Princeton life is like,” Oz said.
Oz then described the importance of changing habits by appealing directly to people’s feelings rather than simply using hard facts.
“People don’t change their minds based on what they know,” Oz said. “They change their minds based on what they feel,” Oz said.
Oz then demonstrated how he has convinced patients to make lifestyle changes, from using visual images of a healthy lung and a smoker’s lung to showing patients images of bones with osteoporosis.
“This is about standing up for yourself,” Oz said. “When you deal with addiction, that is the primary message, always. You’re worth it.”
Next, Oz demonstrated a technique he said he personally often uses to deal with stress, whether he is upset in a meeting or dealing with an upside-down heart in the operating room.
“If you look at the foundation of most meditative practices ... it comes down to learning how to take a deep breath,” Oz said.
Oz said that these techniques were very important because stress often prevents rational people from doing what they want to do by triggering biological mechanisms.
“One thousand years ago, there was only one primary stress cause. It was famine,” Oz said. “You eat food you want to eat because that’s what you do in a famine.”
For good health, Oz emphasized waist size rather than weight and also recommended a small adjustment of 100 fewer calories each day rather than making weight loss a willpower exercise.
“How many of you can hold your breath indefinitely underwater?” Oz said, using an analogy to describe the irrationality of trying to lose weight simply through willpower. “There was never a time in humanity’s history when we wanted to lose weight so your biology is never going to recognize you’re trying to do it on purpose.”
Oz soon moved on to issues of mental health, briefly speaking on the importance of sleep before discussing the importance of forgiveness.
“One of the most important things comes down to the issue of forgiveness, not forgiveness of other people but of yourselves,” Oz said. “If you miss your turn, what does the GPS say? Does it berate you? If you miss the turn, it’s not a big deal: Just make a U-turn.”
In an interview after the lecture, Oz elaborated on how important self-forgiveness is for Princeton students, who he said are accustomed to being at the top of everything in which they participate.
“When you’re at Princeton, you’re at the pinnacle,” Oz said. “You’ve obviously succeeded and one of the challenges is dealing with failure.”
Oz also emphasized personal connections as key for college students, noting the importance of hardships in shaping humans to become stronger people.
“Every time you give people in your life something you didn’t have, you take away from them something you did have,” Oz said.
Finally, Oz emphasized the importance of having meaning in life and building meaningful connections.
“Your heart needs a reason to keep beating, which is I think the most important lesson I have learned from my patients,” Oz said.
The event took place in a full McCosh 50 on Thursday evening and was also simulcast in five other classrooms.
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