Look beyond the pills and find a better way of living

Lifestyle –  Judy Murphy meets Mark Rowe, doctor and creator of the show A Prescription for Happiness

It’s one of the great ironies of modern life that people in the western world have never been so wealthy, yet there has never been so much discontent and depression.

And when it comes to treating illness, both physical and mental, we are obsessed by the idea that there is ‘a pill for every ill’.

Mark Rowe, a practising medical doctor, isn’t out to dismiss western medicine – it plays a hugely valuable role, he says. However, it tends to focus on illness, while he favours a different approach – one that strengthens the foundations of health in all its guises.

“Physical, mental and emotional health are all part of the same thing,” he observes. “We can change how we think through mindfulness, awareness and setting goals.”

Mark is spreading that message via his show, A Prescription for Happiness, which comes to the Town Hall Theatre this Friday, October 2, and will do exactly what it says on the tin. Among other elements, it will include 10 guidelines which, if followed, will give people a toolkit to help them live happier, healthier lives, he says.

Put simply, it’s about making choices about how we live.  Mark points out that his approach is grounded in science and statistics, and that everything he proposes is evidence-based.

He explains this approach by phone while lunching in a café at Waterford Health Park – where he is owner and medical director. This primary healthcare centre, based on the site of a former Presentation Convent designed by Pugin – of Big Ben and Houses of Parliament fame –  has been redesigned to provide the maximum healthcare experience for patients and staff. It was shortlisted as World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival of 2010.

To select his ‘10 commitments’ for happiness, Mark read widely and deeply, drawing from philosophers, Western and Eastern including Socrates, and Aristotle. He has also used evidence-based positive psychology and combined all these elements with his 20 years’ experience working as a GP.

Mark first performed A Prescription for Happiness in Waterford’s Garter Lane in 2013 for Mental Health Day, having presented an earlier version of it at a medical facilities conference in Chicago.

He worked with Waterford theatre director Jim Nolan (Red Kettle) to create a show that was both informative and entertaining, based on anecdotes and using some props – the dreaded PowerPoint didn’t and doesn’t feature.

Garter Lane sold out and Mark reprised the show a number of times, both in Waterford and Dublin where it was also a sell-out.

“I try to engage with the audience in a way that’s meaningful for them,” he says of its success. “It has evolved, so now there is a Question and Answer session at the end. I love doing it and the feedback is usually positive.”

Mark first became interested in this holistic approach to wellness when he was developing Waterford Health Park in 2008. He read an article in a British GP journal by an architect Dr Wayne Ruga, an expert on designing environments that enhance people’s health.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.