عصر التشخيص: كيف يجعلنا هوسنا بالتصنيفات الطبية أكثر مرضا

From a neurologist and award-winning author of Sleeping Beauties comes a book that meticulously and compassionately explores how the culture of medical diagnosis can harm patients rather than benefit them. We live in an era of diagnosis. Conditions such as ADHD and autism are on the rise rapidly, while new classifications such as “long Covid” are being created. Medical terminology is increasingly being used to describe normal human experiences, and advances in cutting-edge genetic sequencing technologies mean that even the healthiest of us may soon be screened for potential abnormalities. More people are being classified as 'sick' than ever before – but are these diagnoses improving their lives? With authoritative scientific style and compelling storytelling, neurologist Susan O'Sullivan argues that our obsession with diagnosis does more harm than good. It is normal when we are suffering to want a clear diagnosis, understanding, and of course treatment. But our current approach to diagnosis often pathologizes difference, increases our anxiety, and changes our experience of our bodies for the worse. Through poignant stories of real people, O'Sullivan contrasts the impact of a medical diagnosis with the pain of ignorance. She explains how the boundaries of diagnosis can blur over time. Most importantly, it calls on us to find new and better vocabulary to describe suffering, and to find ways to support people without turning their condition into a medical condition.