The Age of Diagnosis

How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker

De: Suzanne O'Sullivan

Narrado por: Suzanne O'Sullivan

From a neurologist and the award-winning author of The Sleeping Beauties, a meticulous and compassionate exploration of how our culture of medical diagnosis can harm, rather than help, patients.

We live in an age of diagnosis. Conditions like ADHD and autism are on the rapid rise, while new categories like long Covid are being created. Medical terms are increasingly used to describe ordinary human experiences, and the advance of sophisticated genetic sequencing techniques means that even the healthiest of us may soon be screened for potential abnormalities. More people are labeled "sick" than ever before—but are these diagnoses improving their lives?

With scientific authority and compassionate storytelling, neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan argues that our obsession with diagnosis is harming more than helping. It is natural when we are suffering to want a clear label, understanding, and, of course, treatment. But our current approach to diagnosis too often pathologizes difference, increases our anxiety, and changes our experience of our bodies for the worse.

Through the moving stories of real people, O'Sullivan compares the impact of a medical label to the pain of not knowing. She explains the way the boundaries of a diagnosis can blur over time. Most importantly, she calls for us to find new and better vocabularies for suffering and to find ways to support people without medicalizing them.

©2025 Suzanne O'Sullivan (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“With grace, elegance, and compassion, The Age of Diagnosis slices through the confusion and the contradictions that have tied me in knots—both as a parent and as a clinician. Dr. O’Sullivan’s previous books made a big impression on me and influenced my clinical practice. This will do the same and more.”—Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People

“O’Sullivan explodes conventional wisdom about medical diagnoses. With clarity of prose and reasoning, The Age of Diagnosis should make all of us think about whether we are more or less healthy when we receive a diagnostic label.”—Elizabeth Loftus, distinguished professor, University of California, Irvine

“A brave and deeply empathetic book with a very important message.”—Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm

Diagnosed to Death

One of the questions that goes unanswered here is why our most educated communities of physicians and scientists literally just aren’t doing the math. Is it that they don’t know how or they don’t care? If the math is too demanding just the common sense in this book would go a long way to mitigating the disaster that has turned most of us into chronic healthcare consumers if not disability recipients. The book is chock full of evidence, data and anecdotes I did not need because I am surrounded by examples in my own circles. As AI comes on the scene to screen for and find even smaller (likely benign) anomalies O'Sullivan's well timed concerns should be amplified. The healthiest prescription for everyone would be to please, read this book and buy some for your doctors.

Interesting though ableist

As a family medicine physician with a chronic medical conditions I was very curious when I saw this book at a local bookstore. Though I absolutely agree there is over diagnosis rampant in the medical field, I was disappointed in the ableist mindset view of a young person having a chronic medical condition/s. I received my first chronic condition diagnosis when I was in late elementary school with symptoms going on since I was 4 years old. I never felt my diagnosis held me back beyond contact sports. I appreciate the push for autonomy and giving patients “permission to say no” when it comes to testing. This book will absolutely impact questions I will bring up with patients in my practice, but hope the author’s perspective will grow because my chronic medical conditions aren’t just in my head.