Why Dr Alex George Says It’s Time to Treat Mental and Physical Health as One
In a recent episode of the Men’s Health Podcast, Dr Alex George – A&E doctor, mental health advocate, and author of The Mind Manual: Mental Fitness Tools for Everyone –
shared a simple but powerful idea: that we stop viewing mental and physical health as two separate things. ‘We talk about them like they’re different, but they’re completely intertwined,’ he explained. ‘Your head is literally attached to your body, yet we act like they’re separate.’
It’s an idea that’s gaining traction in both the fitness and medical worlds: the realisation that taking care of your body isn’t just about muscle mass or endurance, but about building a strong foundation for mental resilience too.
Dr Alex recalls a moment in his early medical career that drove this home. A Sunday league footballer had come into A&E with a brutal leg fracture. ‘He was in agony, so we sorted pain relief, X-rayed him, got the cast on,’ he said. ‘I went back to check on him, expecting him to be relieved, but he was in tears. And I thought, oh no, have we not given him enough pain meds? But he said, “It’s not that – football is my life. It’s how I look after my head. What if I can’t play again?”’
It acted as a stark reminder that physical injuries don’t just damage the body – they hit the mind too. ‘That was the moment I really understood that you can’t separate mental and physical health. We focus on fixing the body, but what about the impact on the mind?’
The conversation turned to mental fitness – a concept Dr Alex is passionate about. ‘We talk about physical fitness like it’s something you work on, but we don’t do the same for mental health. We should be training our minds just like we train our bodies,’ he said.
He pointed out that just as a fit footballer recovers from an injury faster than someone who’s sedentary, a person with strong mental resilience can handle life’s challenges more effectively. ‘If you look after your mental fitness, you have a higher capacity for joy, for resilience, for being present. It’s not just about surviving the hard stuff – it’s about actually enjoying life.’
For those looking to strengthen both their mental and physical health, Dr Alex had some straightforward advice:
Move every day
Exercise isn’t just about aesthetics or even performance – it’s a direct investment in your mental well-being.
Pay attention to how injuries or setbacks affect your mind
If you’re sidelined, find other ways to keep your mental health strong. Forget perfect workouts and just aim to keep yourself moving in any way you can.
Stop treating mental health as an afterthought
Just like a workout plan, have a strategy for building mental resilience too; pay attention to how you can push your mind, as well as your body.
‘At the end of the day,’ Dr Alex said, ‘we need to stop acting like mental and physical health are separate things. They’re not. One affects the other. And when you take care of both, you’re unstoppable.’
For the full discussion, watch the episode above or tune into the Men’s Health UK podcast featuring Dr Alex George – on all good podcast platforms or via YouTube.
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