3 Simple Solutions to Complex Health Challenges

Many health and mental health problems defy easy solutions. But some quick fixes are so simple and effective that they can lead to amazing progress. In fact, they make me want to slap my forehead and shout, “D’oh! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Here are three huge steps toward remedying complicated health challenges, starting with the most brilliant one of all.

1. Call 988 to get help and referrals for psychological problems. Who was the genius who realized there could be a three-digit phone number, parallel to 911, to call for mental health referrals and crises? Whoever you are, thank you! Before 988, a helping professional, a concerned friend, or a troubled person had to memorize or look up a random 10-digit number or fumble around for a crisis helpline business card. But now, people can just call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and speak with a trained crisis counselor. The website states, “The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.”

Since 988 was rolled out in mid-2022, call volume has increased by 46%, texts by 1,135%, and chats by 141%, according to an April 2024 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). On the darker side, many Americans are still unaware of the new number, and some states have not adequately funded the program. Still, the increased volume of calls and contacts indicates that the 988 system is working.

Remember: 988 is the 911 of mental health.

2. Stick a label on toxic substances and reduce addictive behaviors. Labeling harmful substances, such as cigarettes and other tobacco products, has been a surprisingly effective way to curb smoking—the one habit with the greatest potential to cause death, disability, and disease. Since 1965, labels on cigarette packets have displayed this warning or a variation of it: Warning: Cigarette Smoking Is Hazardous to Your Health. In the U.S., in 1965, approximately 42% of adults were smokers (52% of men and 34% of women); in 2021, only 11.5% of U.S. adults were smokers. Providing information and raising awareness via labels was one reason for the steady drop over time.

Labels are now being considered for other harmful substances, too. Most people are aware that smoking causes cancer, but did you know that alcohol increases the risk of cancer, too? Only about one in three Americans are aware that drinking alcoholic beverages can increase their risk of cancer, according to this New York Times article. While some people do associate liver disease and liver cancer with alcohol, it is not widely known that alcohol has also been associated with other cancers, such as breast, colorectal, and oesophagal cancers.

In the U.S., labels on alcohol are small, vague, and on the back of the bottle. The U.S. does not currently require warning labels, calorie information, or nutrition labels on alcohol. If they did, usage would likely fall. For example, in a study from the Yukon Territory, “Sales of products carrying the (warning) labels … fell by around 7 percent during the intervention and several months that followed.”

Interestingly, labels can also work in the psychological domain. A series of studies by UCLA psychologist Matthew Lieberman showed the value of attaching labels to your own swirling thoughts and feelings. Study participants who inwardly named emotions like “anger” or “fear” had less activity in the amygdala, the fight-or-flight part of the brain, and more activity in the prefrontal cortex, the thinking part of the brain. In other words, labeling their feelings shifted them from an emotional state to a problem-solving state. (More here.)

3. Simple reminders can increase healthy behaviors. In this busy life, it’s easy for things you really want to do—like send a birthday card to your friend—to slide to the bottom of your to-do list, and then off of it altogether.

So it is with COVID vaccination boosters: Even people who want to get one might neglect to prioritize it. A recent study looked at whether offering free round-trip transportation to vaccination sites would increase the number of people getting boosters. Nope. The researchers discovered that offering a free ride had no effect on increasing vaccination rates.

What did work, however, were simple text reminders. As the research abstract puts it, “…behaviourally informed COVID-19 vaccination reminders…increased the 30-day COVID-19 booster uptake by 21% (1.05 percentage points) and spilled over to increase 30-day influenza vaccinations by 8% (0.34 percentage points) in our megastudy.” In other studies, simple reminders from healthcare providers also significantly raised booster rates.

What could be easier and more cost-effective than sending a text? Yet such a simple action can significantly reduce hospitalizations, disease, and deaths from COVID-19, flu, and other diseases.

A Simple Summary

1. Make the right thing to do the easy thing to do.
2. Labeling, whether products or thoughts, can raise awareness and reduce harmful and even addictive behaviors.
3. Simple reminders are often the best way to help people increase healthy and socially valuable behaviors.