This remarkable book by neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan, shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome prize, explores psychosomatic disorders: “physical symptoms that mask emotional distress”. Through anonymised case histories, O’Sullivan shows how the mind is capable of reproducing practically any physical symptom, from palpitations to blindness or paralysis. Up to a third of people attending a neurology clinic have symptoms that can’t be explained and which may have an emotional cause. In the US, the cost of treating psychosomatic disorders is nearly double that of diabetes, some $256bn a year. O’Sullivan admits to being “astounded” by the degree of disability the condition creates. The case histories she describes offer a remarkable insight into the terrible suffering of these patients, as well as into the power of the mind over the body. Every week she has to tell someone their disability has a psychological cause, a diagnosis that is often angrily rejected: “In the 21st century, psychosomatic illness is a socially unacceptable disorder.” Her purpose in writing this important book is to raise public awareness of a much misunderstood condition, but it should also be on the reading list of every medical student.
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