Three Minutes to Clarity and Connection
At a recent campus event, community members learned how to practice the 3-Minute Mental Makeover, a quick writing exercise designed to reduce stress and improve communication and connection with others.
Well-being
On September 26, about two dozen members of the Lewis & Clark community—students, faculty, and staff—gathered to learn about and practice the 3-Minute Mental Makeover (3-MMM), a simple yet powerful writing exercise that’s designed to foster gratitude, reflection, and connection. The program, which was sponsored by L&C’s Center for Community and Global Health, was led by David Thoele, MD, creator of the 3-MMM and a pediatric cardiologist. He codirects the narrative medicine program at Advocate Children’s Hospital/Advocate Aurora Health in Illinois.
The 3-MMM is grounded in the principles of narrative medicine, an approach that encourages health care providers to listen with empathy, welcome patient stories in all their individual complexity, reflect on their own emotional responses, and build trusting relationships between patients and caregivers.
“3-MMM, like all narrative medicine practice, is a tool for us to discover how story can help to heal across the physical, social, and systemic,” says Rehrmann. “Narrative medicine is an emerging field, taught in some form at roughly 80 percent of medical schools in the U.S. I am excited to be bringing narrative medicine to our campus. Our liberal arts education is uniquely positioned to contribute to the field and to educate empathic and impactful healthcare professionals who will care for communities across the Northwest.”
A Unique Writing Experience
At its heart, the 3-Minute Mental Makeover is a reflective writing exercise based on three prompts. Participants are guided to jot down three things they are grateful for, write the story of their life in six words, and express three personal wishes. They then take turns sharing their responses to these prompts. This simple format encourages introspection, helping individuals clarify their thoughts, reduce stress, and improve communication.
The 3MM has been used successfully in medical settings between health care providers and patients/families to reduce stress and improve communication. In addition to the mental health benefits, scientific studies have shown that expressive writing can reduce symptoms of asthma and arthritis, lower blood pressure, and improve immune function in patients with conditions like HIV.
In addition, the technique has been studied in an educational setting—specifically, a high school health class in Chicago. Researchers have noted positive effects on student stress and connection to their teacher, which bodes well for other educational settings, like Lewis & Clark.
Thoele’s own studies found that participants in narrative medicine programs reported decreased stress and increased emotional resilience. “Even I’ve been surprised by how well it works,” he says.
At the L&C event, attendees had the opportunity to practice the 3-MMM with a partner and trained facilitator. Said one participant, “I appreciated that it was an authentic, real-time experience … I was also surprised to see the many areas of my life where 3-MMM training could be useful in the future.” Another added “[I was surprised by] How something with so much structure and so scripted can feel so real, authentic, and connective. It gives a safe-clear-feeling framework for the heart to be expressed.”
The 3-Minute Mental Makeover
Write down:
- Three things you are grateful for; be specific
- The story of your life (or day, or week) in six words
- Three wishes (plausible or implausible)
How to incorporate 3-MMM in your life:
- Use a notebook to practice writing, ideally daily; try using the 3-MMM in different ways to see what works for you.
- Try using 3-MMM during times of stress as well as during good times; notice how it affects you and your life.
- If something comes up that brings up strong feelings, or you discover something you want to work on, write it in your notebook in whatever way helps you: poetry, sentence fragments, music lyrics, a letter to someone or yourself, drawings, scribbles, etc.
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Reach of 3-MMM
The Center for Community and Global Health is looking forward to expanding the reach of the 3-MMM program across campus. Plans are already underway to pilot the program with various campus communities—classrooms, clubs, residence hall floors, and other student groups—next spring. These pilots will allow L&C to assess the program’s impact and determine how best to integrate it into student life.
As Lewis & Clark continues to prioritize mental health and well-being, the 3-MMM program is poised to play a supportive role in fostering a more empathetic and connected campus community.
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