You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here- A Psychiatrist’s Life by Benji Waterhouse

 

You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here- A Psychiatrist’s Life by Benji Waterhouse

This is a wonderful read for anyone interested in either medicine or the life of a Dr. Although aimed at anyone, a little knowledge of medicine or the NHS is useful for reading  this, if only to understand some of the gallows type humour (which is explained- it's a little like those at crime scenes - when faced with trauma day in and day out, humour often relieves the  stress). This tells of the life of a registrar in psychiatry, a doctor of the mind. As Benji explains, not an easy thing to do, as unlike broken limbs there  isn't always an obvious solution. There are umpteen stories about his patients and explanations as to the whys and wherefores of psychiatry which makes for a very interesting, entertaining read. Some are very sad stories but interspersed with humour. Sadly it's hard not to smile at some of the antics until the reader realises that these things do happen and people really do believe that the man living above them is trying to kill them through bugs in their electrical items for example, making this a difficult read in parts. I was once told “ never underestimate the power of the mind” and this book reinforced that. The blurb says “ Humane , hilarious and heart breaking” which covers this well. A very different read and an enlightening one. 

For more reviews please follow me on Twitter or Threads @nickisbookblog

--------------------