Dichotomies and differences: challenges for mental health nursing [editorial]

I recently received an email from a mental health nurse who had completed our recent physical health survey and was pleased to see research being conducted in this area. This nurse felt frustrated that attempts to introduce physical health screening had not only been met with a total lack of enthusiasm, but had elicited comments like ‘that wouldn’t be at all consistent with a recovery framework’. This is not the first time I had heard such a statement, but it still leaves me dumfounded. Why are recovery and physical health placed in such a dichotomous position? What are we being asked to choose from here? Can we only focus on mental health and well-being or physical health, and not both? Where is it stated in the recovery literature that physical health is not important and should not be assessed?