Dr Tamsin Lewis

Dr Lewis has been appointed Medical Director of Integrative Health at the Marion Gluck Clinic in central London - a centre of excellence for pioneering personalised bio-similar hormone therapy.

"Shifting Perspectives In Mental Health"

Dr Tamsin Lewis has overcome a series of health problems and childhood adversity to perform at the top level in endurance sport. The journey has not been a smooth one - and there were very dark times. Pulling through a severe head injury/coma in 2004 in her final year of medical school had lasting implications on her physical and mental health. She was on the verge of suicide back in 2005.

Medicine

In 2004 I qualified as a medical doctor at Kings College London, UK (MBBS HONS LON) and completed a BSc in Neuroscience and Anatomy as the brain was always fascinated me - and this was prior to me learning or indeed being taught (as its only now that research is supporting what many medical thought leaders have known for decades - that the brain and body are inextricably interwoven - and focusing on one without addressing the other is inevitably fruitless.

Triathlon

My triathlon journey began in 2007 at Blenheim Triathlon, inspired by a friend. The London Triathlon 2008 was my first Olympic distance and I came 7th in the sub 2.30 wave and was picked for the Herbalife Triathlon Academy run by Bill Black. This started an exploration of alternative healing and interest in the power of nutrition/nutraceutials and lifestyle to impart lasting changes to health and wellbeing.

Encouraged by some a friend and staff members I wrote to the CEO of The Priory explaining my amateur success as a triathlete (I had just won the World Age-Group Championships) and would they consider supporting me to take time out of work as a doctor to pursue life as a professional athlete.

Ironman UK in July 2014, was a day I will never forget - filled with so much emotion and elation - years of frustration culminating in a performance that I could be proud of.

Winning Ironman UK has opened doors for me that perhaps I never would have known existed. But above all the journey has taught me that we are capable of far more than we ever thought possible and as a consequence I have developed a deep resilience and sense of purpose.

Always in Sports

I was in the pool from month 1 of my life & was on a bike (and a horse) as soon as I could walk. Always pushing the limits on what I was allowed to do. I swam competitively from the age of 6 to a National level.

My teens were a bleak time – when they could have been full of sport, enjoyment and socialising. I developed anorexia and bulimia and fought these until my early twenties.

"In those days - doctors were heroes - I took every word they said as gospel. It took me many years and many disillusioning experiences to realise that often they just didn't have a clue - or were so immersed in their pharmaceutical model of disease - that they were not willing to consider that there were other things at play."

Eating disorders/dysfunction are incredibly common in sport, and I have no shame in talking about them and increasing awareness wherever possible. It is the perfectionist, high achievers who are usually the ones who succumb.

Inadequate Medical Care

The Junior doctors years, were a massive learning curve, as responsibility levels shot up and suddenly we were accountable for all our actions. I worked for two years, in a haze of night shifts, high drama, death, new life, sorrow, joy and delirium - all the time whilst trying to recover from a head injury without any adequate medical guidance - as my scans were normal and therefore I was discharged and told to “get on with it.”

This lead me to apply for psychiatric training and after 3 years of working in psychiatry in 2008 I passed my membership exams to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

At this time I was working at The Priory – The NHS contracts doctors out to the private sector sometimes, and I ended up with a fascinating post on the addictions ward in Roehampton, London.