Suzanne O'Sullivan
Doctor Suzanne O'Sullivan is a British neurologist and author.
Contents
Book - It's All In Your Head[edit | edit source]
Doctor Sullivan published her book, It's All In Your Head, in 2015. It is a book about medically unexplained symptoms and psychosomatic illness and includes a chapter on ME/CFS despite widespread agreement that it is not a psychosomatic illness.
Criticism[edit | edit source]
The ME Association published a letter by Lady Countess of Mar.[1] The association also wrote its own letter of complaint to the British Times newspaper in response to its review of the book that incorrectly referred to ME/CFS as a psychosomatic illness.[2]
British charity Invest in ME also criticized the book which they describe as "stigmatising".[3]
British charity Action for ME also wrote to the Times to criticise coverage of the book.[4]
Professor James Coyne has written critically of the book describing it as a "dreadful book".[5][6]
Patient and author Nasim Marie Jafry has criticised the book, accusing it of "recycling nonsense".[7]
Geoffrey Jones published a blog referring to the book author's "ignorant meanderings about ME".[8]
Wellcome Book Prize[edit | edit source]
In April 2016 the book was awarded the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize, and the author a £30,000 prize (around US $45,000).[9]
Notable studies[edit | edit source]
Doctor Sullivan has published no studies on ME/CFS.
Clinic location[edit | edit source]
The Royal London Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Articles[edit | edit source]
- 16 May 2015, 'You think I'm mad?' – the truth about psychosomatic illness The Guardian by Suzanne O'Sullivan
Talks and interviews[edit | edit source]
Suzanne O'Sullivan is quoted in a PVFS article in ELLE Magazine Mind Games[10]
Online presence[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
- University College London Hospitals - Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan
- Amazon.co.uk - It's All In Your Head
- Amazon.com - It's All In Your Head
- GoodReads - It's All In Your Head
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ ‘It’s All in Your Head’ psychosomatic book storm | Countess of Mar challenges author to change her mind about ME/CFS]
- ↑ Failure to keep up with the research on ME/CFS is ‘inexcusable’
- ↑ INVEST IN ME Letter to The TIMES on David Aaronovitch Book review “It’s All in Your Head: True Stories of Imaginary Illness by Suzanne O’Sullivan 6th June 2015
- ↑ Letter to The Times
- ↑ Guest blog reviewing Suzanne O’Sullivan’s It’s All in Your Head With an Introduction
- ↑ Experts weigh in on Suzanne O’Sullivan’s commentary on imaginary illness in The Lancet
- ↑ Wellcome Book Prize 2016 - ignorance rewarding ignorance
- ↑ Proud to be Ignorant?
- ↑ Suzanne O'Sullivan's It's All in Your Head wins Wellcome Book Prize 2016
- ↑ Mind Games - ELLE Magazine September 2016 - Phoenix Rising - ELLE Anecdotes used to promote O'Sullivan, complain she's being trolled
somatic symptom disorder - A psychiatric term to describe an alleged condition whereby a person's thoughts somehow cause physical symptoms. The actual existence of such a condition is highly controversial, due to a lack of scientific evidence. It is related to other psychiatric terms, such as "psychosomatic", "neurasthenia", and "hysteria". Older terms include "somatization", "somatoform disorder", and "conversion disorder". Such terms refer to a scientifically-unsupported theory that claims that a wide range of physical symptoms can be created by the human mind, a theory which has been criticized as "mind over matter" parapsychology, a pseudoscience. Although "Somatic Symptom Disorder" is the term used by DSM-5, the term "Bodily Distress Disorder" has been proposed for ICD-11. (Learn more: www.psychologytoday.com)
myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.
The information provided at this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any illness.
From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history.
