I'm not going to justify this appalling piece with a link. The woman is literally trying to claim that unexplained comas are psychosomatic with no evidence beyond her opinion, but there is a notion here I want to address:

O'Sullivan claims "I have seen what fear can do to our physical health. I have also seen the curative effect of hope."

I also have a bit of experience with hope and fear around chronic illness.

#NEISvoid

When you first become chronically ill, you are not afraid. You've been ill before. You know from that these things last a week or so and if it's anything more serious you just have to go to the doctor and they will treat what ails you.

In other words, the default is hope. Not just hope, but a highly confident certainty that this illness will follow the script.

The fear doesn't come until later. When the illness has gone on a little too long and you are just starting to realise that you're life is going to have to rearrange itself around a new reality. Plans and dreams that seemed a fait accomplis are suddenly in question.

Then comes a process of slowly letting go of the hope of recovery. And what it's so, so important to understand about this process, is that hope and fear are not opposites. You are not losing hope and giving in to fear.

Rather, in this scenario, hope is what feeds the fear. It's what impedes acceptance. It's what keeps you living in "what ifs" rather than fully experiencing your life as it actually exists. Hope keeps you alternating between false optimism and bitter disappointment.

You can't be who you are if remain perpetually afraid of properly embracing that person, clinging fruitlessly to what was.

This binary of hope and fear in relation to chronic illness is an abled concept that frames the reality of illness as unlivable. But the thing is, life actually does go on, and we are the ones who need to figure out how to live it.

Acceptance is a vital part of doing that in a psychologically healthy way, and it take a tonne of work to reach it. For many people, especially those with fluctuating conditions, acceptance is ongoing, lifelong work

So maybe don't frame hope as a magical cure all.

"The curative effect of hope" is a lie that able-bodied people tell themselves to avoid the terrifying notion that their ongoing good health is not actually within their control.

You are making *your* fear our problem.

(Apologies for grammatical missteps! Didn't proof. Can't be bothered fixing.)