As the Leader in a full time/unlimited power exchange relationship, I am as responsible for my followers physical body as I want to be (or better said, as I’ve negotiated to be). In the case of dawn, that translates to avoiding injuring her (we do play in a BDSM space, so doing so in a way that causes yummy pain but not harm) or doing anything/allowing anything that may lead to harm. I am not an expert of physical bodies and dawn does a great job of paying attention to hers so in general I chose not to drive much here. I could (I have the right to) tell her to diet/eat more/sleep less/get up at 6am/walk daily or a variety of other things that I think would benefit her physically. But to be honest, a) she keeps her physical health as something she keeps in mind, b) I don’t know if that keto thing is really great or not great for her c) I don’t really want the job of being her physical trainer. If I see something clearly out of whack, I speak up.
But I am also responsible for her Mental Body. What this means to me is that she is taking care of the platform of her mental health. Now, to be clear, I am not responsible for dawn being happy (as much as I like to believe I am), but instead that she has what she needs to be in a place where happiness can flourish. And at the same time, a place where her sadness can be processed. Actions around this include telling her she can (or can not) go back to college because of the stress it would cause or (one I actually did) was prevent her from taking on some new project because she had, in my view, enough already.
With the physical body, often if something is off, we know it immediately - my foot hurts, my arm aches. With the mental, it can be more challenging to see. And sometimes we as either people hide or simply can’t see our own issues and challenges. I am no expert in mental health. The best command I gave her there was to call a counselor. Not set up eight sessions, not 'just get over' whatever was causing her discomfort (gods no), not trying to work out her issues via a scene. No. Instead, just being the solid foundation to get her to launch the work she needed to do. And, to be the person who can see her. Meaning, her own perception of herself was skewed by years of being told she was unworthy/unwanted. We talk about being the witness - just seeing what is, without attachment to it, and avoiding unskillful reactions. When dawn told me about some of the horrors she was put through, I heard her, loved her anyway, and said ‘Now go get me a cup of coffee, follower’, and that was just right.
Now, we have to understand, the language here is a bit imprecise. Does a chemical imbalance causing depression count as a Physical Body or Mental Body? Let's not get too attached to those words and instead get our followers (and our Leaders) what they need to be healthy in all aspects of their lives.
Dan