Article: How having a disability became cool — The Telegraph

[Liie]

I had to look O'Sullivan up.

The forum have previously noted the work of this lady:

Thread 'Suzanne O’Sullivan’s new book ‘The Age of Diagnosis’ and her curious characterisation of Long Covid as a psychosomatic condition'

Apr 6, 2025

https://bjgplife.com/suzanne-osulli...n-of-long-covid-as-a-psychosomatic-condition/

by Dr Elke Hausmann (Bluesky)

Listening closely to the episode on Long Covid in her book presentation on BBC Radio 4 […] her language is a give-away. She talks about ‘patient activists’, rather than ‘advocates’. ‘Activists’ conjures up the image of agitators, disruptors that need to be brought back into line. ‘Advocates’ are simply people who stand up for people who have no voice.

She argues that ‘science must take...

• SNT Gatchaman
• suzanne o'sullivan
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Psychosomatic news - ME/CFS and Long Covid

• 

 

[NelliePledge]

we have this one started in 2018

R

Thread 'United Kingdom: Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan (BPS neurologist)'

Oct 20, 2018

Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan, author of It’s All In Your Head, is to appear on BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific on 6 November: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000112j

Detective of the mind Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan

Suzanne O'Sullivan has been described as “a detective of the mind”. She’s a neurologist who helps some patients with the strangest of symptoms, from so-called ‘Alice in Wonderland’ seizures to those suffering from temporary blindness or paralysis, and that turn out to originate in their subconscious minds.
By the time these people get to see Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan...

• Robert 1973
• adhd autism bbc book long covid neurologist psychosomatic suzanne o'sullivan united kingdom
• Replies: 236
• Forum: Psychosomatic news - ME/CFS and Long Covid

• 

 

[Sean]

It’s the Telegraph, they have an agenda and have shown they will push it regardless of evidence. I see no reason to give them any credibility or clicks.

This is complete trash. Imagine being gullible enough to believe this.

They neither believe nor disbelieve it.

What they do believe is that it is useful for their self-righteous ideological crusade.

You can never be too cynical about people like this.

 

[JellyBabyKid]

OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) report on: The rise in incapacity benefits after 2013-14 coincided with a rise in the state pension age.').

I mentioned this to someone I know who immediately told me that "Government statistics are all biased and fudged"

This is what happens when people in power are allowed to claim "alternative facts" and "fake news" when being held to account.

 

[hotblack]

I mentioned this to someone I know who immediately told me that "Government statistics are all biased and fudged"

This is what happens when people in power are allowed to claim "alternative facts" and "fake news" when being held to account.

Yes. As Ben (who I mentioned earlier) and others have reported it also coincides with changes to benefits following austerity which meant people basically had to claim some form of incapacity to get enough money to live on. Combined with changes in how some statistics are reported there has been massive distortions and the ability for some to pick and choose a narrative they want.

From what I understand there does look to have been a real increase for some younger NEETs but that seems to be a problem elsewhere and perhaps also policy based (it’s now more expensive for an individual to stay in education, less vocational colleges and places are available following local cuts but it is also more expensive to employ young people).

 

[Sid]

O'Sullivan's book on mass hysteria, which I read recently, has a chapter on POTS. In it, she tells the patient who was hooked up to a monitor that her BP didn't drop when she stood up, therefore she doesn't have POTS and just thinks she does. It's clear that O'Sullivan knows nothing about POTS. The whole issue is that HR is rising in the absence of a drop in BP. If BP were dropping, then tachycardia would be an appropriate physiological response to maintain perfusion. The whole chapter was a muddle of her muddled thoughts and half-baked anecdotes about a patient who was convinced she had absence seizures, i.e. epilepsy. It is true that some people in our community have beliefs that they have diseases they don't have but this is not the norm. BPS people like O'Sullivan use cases like this to make us all look bad, though.

 

[MrMagoo]

The real question is why it became cool to bash disabled people.