G E N E R A L H E A LT H ▲ 'I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS EIGHTMINUTE APPOINTMENT IDEA AND WORK ON INCREASING THE NUMBER OF GPS AND AVAILABILITY. WHY CAN'T YOU WHATSAPP YOUR GP? DOCTORS COULD WHIZZ THROUGH THEIR WAITING LIST!' MIND over matter? According to research, physical symptoms that don't respond to treatment - including headaches, digestive disorders and chronic pain - can be signs of depression. The mind-body connection is very real, and mental health issues can cause physical illness and vice versa. 'It has been a fundamental problem that the brain and mind have been seen as somehow separate entities, and that physical and mental healthcare are separate,' said Belinda Lennox, associate professor and clinical senior lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Oxford. 'It denied psychological factors that play a vital part in all medical disorders, just as much as it has denied the importance of the biological factors in mental illness.' FEBRUARY 2018 | 061