At BeauDazzled, we love to be inspired by amazing women, who embody the principles of our brand. Handan Frauenfelder-Erdogan M.D. has more than 20 years of experience – of which 10 years has been spent in private practice, specialising in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports Medicine, Manual Medicine, Ultrasound diagnostics and ultrasound guided injections. Based in Zurich, she is employed as the Chief Medical Officer of the Football Association of Liechtenstein, Counselor and Doctor of Swiss Juniors Rhythmic Gymnastics Group and Team Doctor of the Liechtenstein National Football team. Handan was a Member of the Swiss Sports Medicine Society for a period of ten years and the Team Doctor for the Swiss Cross Country National Team for nine years. She worked as a Member of a specialty group focused on providing Mental Health assessments and counselling for the Swiss Olympics Association for a period of almost five years between 2011-2015.

Q1. What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine? Was it always your dream to be a doctor?

I have always been interested in the amazing miracle of how the human body works, which is why I decided to study medicine. Becoming a doctor turned out to be the right thing, because now I’m more and more convinced that I’m working in the area where my passion lies.

Q2. What part of your work do you find the most satisfying?

Helping patients to find the reason for their problem and giving them advice concerning treatment, or implementing the treatment myself.

Q3. What is your number one piece of advice for young women who want to pursue a career in medicine?

Be open and aware of which field of medicine your interest and intuition leads you. This way you have the best chance of finding the place where your passion, and most often also your ability, lies.

Q4. You worked as a member of a specialty group focused on providing Mental Health assessments and counselling for the Swiss Olympics Association. How important is maintaining positive mental health for people who need to perform at the top of their game?

During the last 20 years, I realised more and more that the musculoskeletal system is not a construction of isolated parts to be studied only separately. It is an amazing system, that’s not only a physical network, but one that also interacts closely with our mind and emotions. To reach the best possible performance, in any area of life, your mind and emotions must be in a healthy state too.

Q5. What positive health and wellness habits would you recommend for people who are going through a stressful time or working in high pressure environments?

The analytic-rational working of the mind must be balanced with the intuitive-emotional side of the brain to stay happy and healthy. If your world is dominated by rationality and functioning you will feel restless, unbalanced and uncomfortable, until you can experience something more on the intuitive-emotional side to get rebalanced.

This is individual to each different person. For example, I rebalance myself by practicing yoga asanas, spending time with my horses, salsa dancing, singing… to name a few. Usually it’s something where you can empty your mind of all the stressing issues, keeping your focus on just one activity that you are passionate about.

Q6. If you could encourage women to do one thing to look after their health, what would it be?

I started my career being interested in the working of the human body – which means that I learned how to keep the body healthy. I now know, that is not enough. Humans need a homeostasis of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Keeping only your body fit with exercise and healthy food is not enough. A healthy body is just one part of body, mind and soul. If you neglect the other two, illness can happen anyway. So, my advice would be to become aware of yourself in all these parts and try to balance them well.

Thank you, Handan – your time and willingness to share is much appreciated!

The BeauDazzled team

To read more articles written by Handan Frauenfelder-Erdogan M.D., see our blog page. You may enjoy reading her article, How Important is a Good Night’s Sleep.

This interview was conducted by Kerrie-Anne Chinn. Kerrie-Anne Chinn is an Australian freelance writer, working with companies whose products or services are ethical, sustainable and environmentally-conscious. Her writing focuses primarily on issues such as environmental awareness, social justice, cultural diversity, gender equality, and positive mental health. You may also enjoy reading Why today’s women are making the switch to natural beauty products and Top 5 cruelty-free makeup brands.

You can read more of Kerrie-Anne’s articles on website or contact her by email at kerrieannechinn@gmail.com