Wednesday 5 July 2017

IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD: True stories of imaginary illness.

Book Review.


This book came on my radar in October 2016 after it won the 2016 Royal Society of Biology book prize, in the general biology category. Interestingly, of all the shortlisted books on display prior to the winner being announced, it was the one I bookmarked to read.
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD,  was also the winner of the 2016 Wellcome book prize.

The author, Suzanne O'Sullivan shares a selection of case studies on psychosomatic disorders -  the term that describes illness without disease. It personally got me assessing my outlook on mental illness to better appreciate the various degrees of the condition.
Suzanne's experiences also sheds light on some of the challenges faced by medics in diagnosing patients and the inter disciplinary connections involved in tackling complex cases.  

The stories are fascinating and the author inter twines sympotoms presented with historical facts and studies on psychosomatic illness. It basically sums up the notion of 'mind over body' in a scientific and medical context. What is even more interesting is the conclusion on gender influence.

An intriguing and educative read. Grap your copy here

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