153. We’re Not Getting Sicker — We’re Overdiagnosed

Suzanne O'Sullivan is a neurologist who sees many patients with psychosomatic disorders. Their symptoms may be psychological in origin, but their pain is real and physical — and the way we practice medicine, she argues, is making those and other health problems worse. SOURCES: Suzanne O'Sullivan , neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker. RESOURCES: The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker , by Suzanne O'Sullivan (2025). " Associations of Depression, Anxiety, Worry, Perceived Stress, and Loneliness Prior to Infection With Risk of Post-COVID-19 Conditions, " by Siwen Wang, Luwei Quan, Jorge Chavarro, Natalie Slopen, Laura Kubzansky, Karestan Koenen, Jae Hee Kang, Marc G. Weisskopf, Westyn Branch-Elliman, and Andrea Roberts (JAMA Psychiatry, 2022). " How beliefs about coronavirus disease (COVID) influence COVID-like symptoms? – A longitudinal study. " by Liron Rozenkrantz, Tobias Kube, Michael H Bernstein, and John D.E. Gabrieli (Health Psychology, 2022). " Risk factors for worsening of somatic symptom burden in a prospective cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic, " by Petra Engelmann…