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"Suzanne O'Sullivan's It's All in Your Head wins Wellcome Book Prize 2016"

sarah darwins

Senior Member
Messages
2,508
Location
Cornwall, UK
Worth noting that the panel of judges includes one actual scientist out of five judges:

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2015/WTP059843.htm

The panel includes "Damian Barr [who] is a writer, columnist and salonnière. He’s all about stories—true and just-maybe-true."

So this was right up his street.

And no, I don't know what a salonnière is, either.
 

Marky90

Science breeds knowledge, opinion breeds ignorance
Messages
1,253
"We don`t know what causes disease X. Disease X must be psychological"

"Subjective measures are reliable when trying to get results with CBT and GET. User surveys are biased and unreliable.

"The rituximab-study does not show anything as the primary endpoint was not met. The PACE-trial is great, you are all just looking hard for tiny inaccuracies."

They`re like a cult, of complete idiots.
 
Messages
3,263
I'm shocked and saddened to hear this news today. This is not just about ME, this is also about all those other groups with "functional" illnesses that have no voice, because they are divided by differing diagnoses, or are too ill to fight, or are just too few in number to be heard.

This problem is bigger than the BPS model, and bigger than issues surrounding insurance and disability. Why is it that we, as a species, simply can't help speculating on things we don't understand? Medicine abhors a vacuum. We must have immediate certainty about all things. And isn't a bizarre psychodynamic account so much more interesting than boring old immune dysfunction or some other dull biological disorder? These doctors have no knowledge of the harm they cause by peddling these unsubstantiated hypotheses. On the contrary, Dr. O'Sullivan is being feted for her compassionate, caring attitude!

Maybe, like the Nigel Speight travesty, this will somehow draw attention to this issue in a way that will ultimately be good? I'm trying to be positive here....
 

alkt

Senior Member
Messages
339
Location
uk
the concept of the mind has always been an artificial construct. the brain is an organ of the body why can't these psuedo intellectuals actually grasp a simple fact. the bigotry of the so called fathers of phsychiatry middle classes distain for ordinary workers stands out a mile . in many quotes.
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
Ugh, this is so irritating (not only on all of the levels that have already been mentioned which I will not re-hash) but b/c science is now able to identify several auto-antibodies that can affect the brain such as one that attacks the NMDA receptors.

How many of her patients, just as an example, have had an auto-antibody of some type (like I do for a different one) and she could not see or diagnose it b/c she did not even know that it existed? Or how many had POTS or some form of dysautonomia?

I know near zilch about science and I could probably provide a more thorough differential diagnosis to a patient than she could b/c I am willing to look and investigate. Just because she closes her eyes, does not make something go away. Truly sickening.

upload_2016-4-25_22-52-46.png
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Cheshire

Senior Member
Messages
1,129
In the Guardian now, with a good first comment that deserves some likes

http://www.theguardian.com/books/20...llness-suzanne-osullivan-its-all-in-your-head

Bakewell in the Guardian said:
She says the body responds to emotions – we cry, for example, over something sad. And so of course the body responds to other kinds of distress …

This argument keeps being repeated by these psychosomatic believers and it just doesn't hold. Blushing, crying, having butterflies... are temporary reactions and are clearly linked to a stressful event. How could that explain long term illnesses?


Bakewell in the Guardian said:
She says that sometimes people who are told they have a psychosomatic illness think they are to blame, and she says it’s not correct to have that view.

Yeah, and that's why she called her book "All in the mind, true stories of imaginary illnesses", that really helps to feel less guilty...


Bakewell in the Guardian said:
She makes it absolutely uncomplicated, with a very easy and relaxed style … it’s very clear. And that’s hard to do.

I'd say simplistic... and relaxed, yes and even dilettante.


Bakewell in the Guardian said:
She’s devoted to her patients and that tenderness comes through too. She’s admirable.

Yes, I'm pretty sure there were doctors that very compassionately tried to cure their patients of their homosexuality in the 1950's.
 

sarah darwins

Senior Member
Messages
2,508
Location
Cornwall, UK
In the end, she's just a canny individual who has cashed in on a vogue for 'power of the mind' stuff, written a readable book about it, full of voyeuristic case histories that readers can feel good about (thank heavens I'm not like that), has done the rounds of interviews with print and broadcast media on several continents promoting her book and has now reaped the reward with a prize awarded by 5 judges, 4 of whom are non-science broadcasters and writers.

It should be a trivial event. But the book will now be in the shop window of every Waterstones and will continue to get fawned over by media luvvies who think prattling on about somatization and placebos makes them Carl Jung. :vomit: