Is This Why You Feel Awful? (Even Though Your GP Can't Find Anything Wrong?)

Neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan talks to Anna Moore about the power of the mind to produce very real symptoms, even though we’re healthy

- Anna Moore

When Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan chose to specialise in neurology, she expected to look after people who had diseases of the brain, nerves and muscles; people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, migraine and epilepsy. She could not have predicted how many of her patients would have no underlying condition at all – their symptoms originated in the mind. Now an expert in the field at London’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Dr O’Sullivan’s award-winning book It’s All in Your Head illustrates just how complex the effect on the mind is on the way we feel.

Q What is a psychosomatic illness?

A It’s when a person gets real physical symptoms that can’t be explained by examination or medical tests – and are thought to have a psychological cause.

Q What sort of symptoms are you talking about?

A This isn’t an illness defined by its symptoms. ‘Pain’ and ‘fatigue’ are the most prevalent because they are the most common symptoms in medicine in general. But it could be in the form of a loss of sight, loss of hearing, loss of movement, or even memory loss – every single specialist clinic will see someone whose symptoms are psychosomatic. In my first consultancy post for people with epilepsy, 70% of my referrals didn’t have epilepsy. Their seizures were brought on for psychological reasons.

Q How is this different to hypochondria?

A With hypochondria, the thing that is disabling you is the anxiety – the symptoms could be almost nothing. You felt a twinge and you’re convinced you have a brain tumour. With psychosomatic illness, the patients may be anxious, but what’s disabling them are the very real physical symptoms.