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My Imaginary Illness

A Journey into Uncertainty and Prejudice in Medical Diagnosis
by Chloë G.K. Atkins
My Imaginary Illness: A Journey into Uncertainty and Prejudice in Medical Diagnosis. ILR: Cornell Univ. Nov. 2010. c.248p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780801448874. $27.95. HEALTH
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From age 21 into her early thirties, Atkins (communication & culture, Univ. of Calgary, Alta.) lived the nightmare of having real physical symptoms, including intermittent paralysis, attributed to psychosomatic illness. This was partly because her likely myasthenia gravis failed to fit into a diagnostic cubbyhole based on standard tests. Subsequently, Canadian and U.S. physicians, nurses, and therapists, who first approached her sympathetically, rejected her when learning of previous hospitalizations suggesting psychogenesis. Open-minded medics were intimidated into falling in line by peers or the system. Amid the chaos, Atkins still managed to gain professional success and a happy personal life.
VERDICT Atkins's description of her struggle is a well-told cautionary tale for patients, their families, friends, and especially caregivers—whom clinical commentator Brian David Hodges (psychiatry, Univ. of Toronto) feels would benefit from what will be an uncomfortable read. The system Atkins encountered deals poorly with uncertainty, and Hodges suggests possible improvements to health-care provider education and communications skills.
Reviewed by Dick Maxwell, Porter Adventist Hosp. Lib., Denver , Nov 01, 2010
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