The Age of Diagnosis
On sale
13th March 2025
Price: £22
‘Slices through the confusion and the contradictions with grace, elegance and compassion. I really cannot say good enough things about it.’ – CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN
From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good?
The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be ‘normal’. Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they’re even born. And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.
An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren’t as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.
Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.
From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good?
The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be ‘normal’. Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they’re even born. And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.
An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren’t as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.
Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.
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Reviews
The Age of Diagnosis slices through the confusion and the contradictions that have tied me in knots - both as a parent and as a clinician - with grace, elegance and compassion. It is scholarly, human but most importantly it's an absolutely absorbing read from start to finish. There are very few people who could write this so straightforwardly and yet with endless compassion. The book covers so many topics that have been troubling me but which I hadn't been able to resolve myself. I really cannot say good enough things about it.
O'Sullivan explodes conventional wisdom about medical diagnoses. She knows that having a diagnosis like austism, or ADHD, or depression, or Lyme disease, can give her patients relief at having an explanation. But she also invites us to wonder where these diagnoses came from. Are we overdiagnosing? Is this really the best strategy for helping people get better? With clarity of prose and reasoning, The Age of Diagnosis should make all of us think about whether we are more or less healthy when we receive a diagnostic label.
In my view the best science writer around - a true descendant of Oliver Sacks.
Slices through the confusion and the contradictions with grace, elegance and compassion. I really cannot say good enough things about it.
With clarity of prose and reasoning, The Age of Diagnosis should make all of us think about whether we are more or less healthy when we receive a diagnostic label.