The Divided Mind

"A brilliant history of psychiatric ideas which suggests we are on the cusp of a transformation in our understanding of severe mental illness." The Guardian For centuries, mental and physical health have been divided, and disorders of the mind and body have been treated as if they were poles apart. But what if this mind/body split is not only outdated - but dangerously misleading? In this groundbreaking book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Edward Bullmore confronts one of medicine's most enduring assumptions. Through the lens of schizophrenia - perhaps the most misunderstood of all psychiatric disorders - he lifts the lid on psychiatry's dark past. He highlights how the horror of the Nazi eugenics programme magnified a split between brain and mind theories which persists to this day. Illuminated by his personal experiences and the latest scientific research, The Divided Mind builds the case for a radical rethink of how we understand, and treat, so-called "mental" illness in the 21st century. And he expertly introduces some of the new science that is building the case for a radical rethink of how we understand - and treat - so-called mental illness in the 21st century. The Divided Mind shows us why and how we can now change our minds about the origins of one of the most mysterious and stigmatised disorders in medicine. It challenges us all to escape from our history to a more joined-up future for mental and physical health.