Abstract
Healthy Body Healthy Mind is a bumper sticker that reminds us of the importance of physical health in our patients. The slogan makes me wonder about what a mind is. Isn’t it more of a philosophical concept than a bodily organ? I can’t help but think that this vagueness defines our speciality to some extent. How can you mend a broken mind when you don’t even know what a healthy mind looks like? How many more centuries are we going to blame René Descartes for substance dualism? Like Sam Seaborn, we are still looking for a mind at work. While this might make an interesting critical essay question, we will not find a mind by pondering about it. Recently, Firth and colleague proposed a blueprint to improve the physical health of people with mental disorders. 1 Despite this massive progress, on a micro-level, as a psychiatrist standing in front of a patient, we are often uncertain how we might be able to help our patients’ physical health. This is where this newest addition to our beloved Maudsley series comes in handy. 2
The book covers a wide range of physical conditions in its 89 chapters making up 15 parts in just over 700 pages. We have the usual suspects like diabetes mellitus and delirium. We also have something a little less familiar, like gastrointestinal bleeding and sexually transmitted infection. Each chapter is around five pages. Most chapters have specific points on what a psychiatrist may be able to do, and when a psychiatrist should step out and let others take over. Specifically designed for a professional group that tends to overpromise and underdeliver, this book inherently appreciates this tendency and is clear on the boundaries of expected capability. So, arm yourself with a copy of The Maudsley Practice Guidelines for Physical Health Conditions in Psychiatry. Carry it around with you and look it up every time you face a physical health condition you are unsure what to do with. Because we know it is difficult to maintain a healthy body when the mind is suffering. We also know that even in psychiatry, it is sometimes easier to work on getting the body better before diving too deep into the mind.
