Patch Adams > Quotes

“When I was a girl I would look out my bedroom window at the caterpillars; I envied them so much. No matter what they were before, no matter what happened to them, they could just hide away and turn into these beautiful creatures that could fly away completely untouched.”
― Patch Adams

“Remember laughing? Laughter enhances the blood flow to the body’s extremities and improves cardiovascular function. Laughter releases endorphins and other natural mood elevating and pain-killing chemicals, improves the transfer of oxygen and nutrients to internal organs.
Laughter boosts the immune system and helps the body fight off disease, cancer cells as well as viral, bacterial and other infections. Being happy is the best cure of all diseases!”
― Patch Adams

“The purpose of a doctor or any human in general should not be to simply delay the death of the patient, but to increase the person's quality of life. ”
― Patch Adams

“The most radical act anyone can commit is to be happy.”
― Patch Adams

“Death is not the enemy sir, Indifference is!
You treat a disease, you win, you lose.
You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome. Is this interesting?”
― Patch Adams, Patch Adams

“Excellence in health means devoting your life to ending poverty.”
― Patch Adams

“Everyone has creative potential. Creativity involves using your imagination and inventiveness. Your unique expression of yourself is your creativity...Creativity can be magic when visiting people who are ill.”
― Patch Adams, House Calls: How We Can All Heal the World One Visit at a Time

“At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into a endless sea of gratitude from which I've never emerged.”
― Patch Adams MD

“Define success as something achievable. For myself I define success like this: Did I try? Did I give my time? Did I never give up? All of which are very easy to do. Do not put success in things or outcomes.”
― Patch Adams, Gesundheit! Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy

“How do I change the name on my Delta ticket?

To change a passenger's name or to correct Name on a Delta Airlines Flight Ticket, reach out to Delta Airlines customer support, Call +”
― Patch Adams

“I believe passion and persistence are incompatible with, in fact dramatically damaged by, cynicism, apathy, discouragement, and whining (cynicism and whining probably being my two biggest pet peeves). If you are going to be a social crusader, you must eliminate these things from your vocabulary and behavior. They are pernicious. They all kill the spirit of effort. When you use the language of these qualities, it results in an inertia so strong that it creates a strangling atmosphere of powerlessness.”
― Patch Adams, Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy

“Ve lo que los demás no ven. Lo que los demás deciden no ver, por temor, conformismo o pereza. Ver el mundo de forma nueva cada día.”
― Patch Adams

“La muerte no es enemigo, señores. Si vamos a luchar contra alguna enfermedad hagámoslo contra la peor de todas: La indiferencia.”
― Patch Adams

“Research has shown that laughter increases the secretion of the natural chemicals, catecholamines and endorphins, that make people feel so peppy and good. It also decreases cortisol secretion and lowers the sedimentation rate, which implies a stimulated immune response. Oxygenation of the blood increases, and residual air in the lungs decreases. Heart rate initially speeds up and blood pressure rises; then the arteries relax, causing heart rate and blood pressure to lower. Skin temperature rises as a result of increased peripheral circulation. Thus, laughter appears to have a positive effect on many cardiovascular and respiratory problems. In addition, laughter has superb muscle relaxant qualities. Muscle physiologists have shown that anxiety and muscle relaxation cannot occur at the same time and that the relaxation response after a hearty laugh can last up to forty-five minutes.”
― Patch Adams, Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy

“La salud mental va unida a la perdida de la vida tribal, la desconexión de la naturaleza y de las artes.”
― Patch Adams

“Service is an action word, a perfect antidote to boredom, loneliness, alienation, and fear. Service can impart the gift of inner peace. Service is the physical expression of thanks to the world, an apt way to appreciate the miracle of life.”
― Patch Adams, Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy

“At what point in history did a doctor become something more than a trusted and learned friend who visited and treated the ill?”
― Patch Adams