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The Age of Diagnosis

Are Medical Labels Doing Us More Harm Than Good? - THE MUST-READ SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

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The Age of Diagnosis

By: Suzanne O’Sullivan
Narrated by: Suzanne O’Sullivan
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About this listen

 THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, LONDON STANDARD, NEW STATESMAN AND IRISH TIMES

'Covers so many topics that have been troubling me but I hadn't been able to resolve myself - as a parent and a clinician. An absolutely absorbing read' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN

'A brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis' - GUARDIAN

'Compassionate and bracingly independent thinking' - THE TIMES

From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good?
The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn.

Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be 'normal'.

Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they're even born.

And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.

An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren't as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.

Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.

*As heard on Good Morning Britain, Sky News, Radio 4 Today and more.*©2025 Suzanne O’Sullivan Biological Sciences Brain & Nervous System Medicine & Health Care Industry Physical Illness & Disease Physician & Patient Science Health Mental Health Medicine

Critic Reviews

The Age of Diagnosis covers so many topics that have been troubling me but which I hadn't been able to resolve myself. It slices through the confusion and the contradictions that have tied me in knots - both as a parent and as a clinician - with grace, elegance and compassion. It is scholarly and human, but an absolutely absorbing read from start to finish. There are very few people who could write this so straightforwardly and yet with endless compassion. I really cannot say good enough things about it. (Chris van Tulleken, author of ULTRA-PROCESSED PEOPLE)
O'Sullivan is brave to take this subject on, and she hits the target... she is an excellent, fluid writer, and an eloquent speaker... In a world where medical misinformation and disinformation flourish, and people die as a result, it takes courage to counter them without pandering to stereotypes. But that is what The Age of Diagnosis does so well... Its overall message is clear: diagnosis is a tool to be wielded with the utmost caution, and tolerance for difference and for imperfection can go a long way in keeping us healthy. (Adam Rutherford)
'Exceptional... Chapter by brilliant chapter, [The Age of Diagnosis] raises fundamental questions we should all be asking when thinking about illness, be it cancer or genetic disorders, never shying away from difficult truths.' (Hannah Barnes)
'The neurologist takes eloquent aim at a medical culture that, although well intentioned, is too quick to assign clinical labels to aspects of the human condition... A brave and compassionate book.'
How does she carry off that high wire act, being so technical and expert and grounded in data, while telling stories in a way that makes them utterly addictive? I love the way she listens to people talking. It's a really important, intelligent, compassionate and brave book, and it speaks very eloquently to things happening in our ideas about ourselves. (Tessa Hadley)
A humane and thoughtful observer of the oddities of the human mind... full of intriguing case studies and wise observations. Her new book ranges widely, taking in the drawbacks of mass screening for illnesses as well as the perils of overextending mental health categories... We make people sicker by by the simple act of diagnosing them with a medical problem. A fascinating book. (Robbie Millen)
A brave and deeply compassionate book with a very important message. (Henry Marsh)
The neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan has written insightful books about psychosomatic conditions. Here she turns her attention to the perils of over-diagnosis - including autism, allergies, ADHD and long Covid. Be prepared for compassionate and bracingly independent thinking.
In my view the best science writer around - a true descendant of Oliver Sacks. (Sathnam Sanghera)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a very well written and researched book with theories backed with data and brought to life with patient histories
I’m a doctor - I thought it was brilliant and hope other doctors read it too .

All doctors and patients should read

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As a Special Ed teacher, I appreciated this eye-opening and empathetic take on the rise in diagnoses, possibly driven by a need for identity and validation, and its warning against trivialising these disorders for those who are genuinely impaired or disabled by them. Nicely read by the author.

Thoughtful and Compassionate

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Amazing and think everyone should listen to this in particular with more and more people searching for diagnoses when not that long ago was a state of being or personality.

Everything!

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Loved it. This is brave and needed. Thank you for bringing up a much needed discussion.

An important book

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I was a doctor (GP) for over 40 years and this book goes into many of the issues around overmedicalisation that were becoming increasingly prevalent and difficult to address as time went on. This book and her previous book “It’s all in your Head” about psychosomatic illness, should be required reading for medical students and doctors. Note that the chapter entitled lung Covid should be long Covid

Great in depth discussion of the dangers of modern medicine

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