Who Decided Your Body and Soul Were Separate — And Why Should You Care
Jul 07, 2026
Have you ever wondered why your doctor asks about your blood pressure…
…but rarely asks what gives your life meaning?
Or why medicine has become so good at treating the body, yet often struggles to address the deeper questions of suffering, purpose, and healing?
In this week's episode of Master Stress with Dr S, we explore a question that completely changed the way I see healthcare:
Who decided that the body and soul should be treated as separate—and why are we still practising medicine that way?
The answer takes us back almost 400 years.
To a philosopher named René Descartes.
His ideas helped shape modern medicine and led to extraordinary scientific advances. But they also created a divide that still influences healthcare today.
In this episode, we explore:
• how this historical split came about
• why spirituality disappeared from clinical practice
• the fascinating science that now challenges that separation
• and what it might mean for the future of medicine—and for your own wellbeing
This isn't about rejecting science.
It's about recognising that science has continued to evolve.
Research in neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, and mind-body medicine increasingly points toward something ancient healing traditions understood long ago:
We are not simply a collection of organs.
We are whole human beings.
Listen Here
Perhaps the future of healthcare isn't choosing between science and soul.
Perhaps it's finally allowing them to work together.
With care,
Dr. Safia
Coach | Breathwork Facilitator | Doctor | Speaker
Bsc MBBS DCH DRCOG MRCGP MPH DipOccMed
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