Medical Gaslighting: Definition, Examples, & How to Handle It

What Is Medical Gaslighting?

Medical gaslighting occurs when a provider diminishes or negates a patient’s mental or physical health symptoms. This behavior usually falls under unintentional gaslighting because most professionals care deeply about patient well-being.

A medical provider generally has a lot of influence over patients. Their years of schooling, experience, and access to medical information grant them “expert” status, meaning their opinion can determine patients’ treatment options and future care. When medically gaslit, patients may hide or downplay symptoms, grow avoidant of doctors, or refuse to attend necessary appointments. In turn, they may fail to receive and treat diagnoses, leading to further medical complications.

Medical Gaslighting Examples

Medical gaslighting can be subtle and hard to catch but often leaves patients confused, doubting themselves, isolated, uncomfortable, and sometimes scared. Patients may feel forced to comply with the doctor’s preferred treatments or that their doctor is not considering their concerns.

Common examples of medical gaslighting include:

• Downplaying or dismissing your symptoms
• Not engaging or listening to the conversation
• Not asking you follow-up questions about your medical concerns
• Refusing to discuss your symptoms with you
• Trying to convince you it’s all in your head/psychosomatic (psychological gaslighting)
• Blaming your symptoms on obesity, menstrual cycle, or stress
• Pushing past your concerns and proceeding with treatment
• Insisting you have no other treatment options besides the one they are suggesting

Who Is More Likely to Experience Medical Gaslighting?

Medical gaslighting can happen to anyone, but certain demographics and populations more often experience this behavior. Individuals who are overweight, struggle with mental or physical health conditions, identify as female, or belong to LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC (black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities may be more at risk for medical gaslighting.

The following groups of people are most likely to experience medical gaslighting:

BIPOC Communities

Sadly, racial bias and racism still exist in society, including the medical field. When a person of color attends a medical appointment, providers are more likely to use negative descriptors, such as “non-compliant” or “agitated,” than with white patients.¹ Some studies show BIPOC communities less commonly receive adequate pain medication, further indicating the increased likelihood of medical gaslighting.²

Women

Medical dismissal of women’s health is also alarmingly common. Medical gaslighting of women may have started with the development of the term “hysteria,” which means “of the uterus.” In earlier times, doctors believed that inappropriate emotional expression literally stemmed from the uterus, leading to the dismissal of physical health symptoms based on gender.³

In modern society, medical gaslighting still results in consequences for women seeking professional support. Research shows that women typically wait longer in emergency departments and for diagnoses.^4,5 Women also experience medical gaslighting during pregnancy, postpartum, or after a traumatic birth.⁶ Doctors may fail to treat pain adequately, minimize danger during a medical emergency, withhold communication, or dismiss the need for treatment.

Overweight Individuals

Overweight is a relative term in the medical world typically calculated using the Body Mass Index (BMI). Physicians created the BMI scale using European male measurements in 1832. Therefore, BMI scales do not consider genetic variations across race and gender, resulting in the avoidance of deeper and more costly metabolic health measurements.

Using such a limited tool to determine general health often leads to medical gaslighting in various ways. Medical providers may dismiss pain or symptoms based on weight without running further tests or asking questions. They may even deny approving procedures until a patient has lost weight.

LGBTQIA+ Community

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community experience discrimination in numerous societal settings, and medical offices are no exception. One report found that over 50% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual patients and 70% of transgender respondents experienced discrimination while seeking medical care.⁷

Signs of medical gaslighting in LGBTQIA+ populations often include inappropriate questions unrelated to reported symptoms, not using preferred names or pronouns, denying or dismissing experiences, and even outright refusal to treat a patient.

Senior Citizens

Bodies wear down over time and encounter functional issues. Although age is unavoidable, medical providers use aging to dismiss a patient’s symptoms. Professionals may assume that older patients are less compliant with treatment, leading to further dismissal, invalidation, and gaslighting.

Some research suggests that misdiagnosis in senior citizens is recurrent, occurring as under-diagnosing and over-diagnosing various conditions.⁸ These inaccuracies lead to inappropriate tests or treatment, increased psychological upset, and financial stress or strain.

People With Mental Health Disorders

Alarming bias and long-held beliefs about mental health disorders increase the likelihood of medical gaslighting. A particularly harmful long-standing idea is that mental health conditions indicate weakness, directly resulting in physical health symptoms. However, this is not typically the case.⁹

Some patients struggling with mental health conditions, hallucinations, or delusions may unreliably report symptoms, but this does not warrant medical gaslighting. Medical providers may chalk up an experience as a psychosomatic disorder, leading to inadequate evaluation of potential symptom causes.

People With Chronic Illnesses

People with rare and chronic illnesses, such as fibromyalgia, lupus, autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, and migraines, often encounter medical gaslighting. These individuals may pass through several providers, typically waiting nearly eight years for a proper diagnosis.¹⁰

Current medical knowledge does not have objective and authoritative diagnostic tests and treatment protocols encompassing the needs of these diagnoses.¹¹ Because of this, medical providers often run multiple tests to determine possible symptom causes but end up with inconclusive results, leaving patients feeling denied and dismissed. Sometimes medical providers wrongly point to psychosomatic issues as a root issue, which can be a form of medical gaslighting.

How to Prevent Medical Gaslighting

Medical gaslighting can be addressed and managed. The person being gaslit is never at fault but may benefit from the validation and corrective experience of helping providers recognize gaslighting. A deeper patient-provider trust builds if the behavior stops. On the other hand, the patient clearly sees the need for a new provider if the medical gaslighting persists.

Below are ways patients can help address medical gaslighting:

Check Your Expectations

Medical providers typically have the best intentions but often work in incredibly stressful situations (i.e., seeing an unsustainable amount of patients a day, appointments being too short, etc.). Because of these factors, providers may seek the root problem quickly to help you feel better. You can only discuss concerns briefly in a 15 to 20-minute appointment. Request more time with your provider before appointments if you cannot explain your symptoms in one standard meeting.

Prepare a List of Questions for the Doctor

Coming into an appointment with a list of questions, symptoms, and topics you would like to address increases the odds of having your needs heard. You can stay focused and undeterred by any rushed or false interpretations of your concerns.

Pause Before Responding to Feedback

Pausing before responding to suggestions or determinations can help ensure you do not abandon your wants and needs. Increase mindfulness during medical visits, remembering to voice and advocate for your treatment and preferences.

Keep Detailed Notes and Records

Taking notes during and immediately after appointments can help you identify patterns of medical gaslighting. Keep note of the concerns you shared, how the doctor addressed them, and how you felt after an appointment. This information aids in addressing communication issues with your provider.

Bring a Support Person With You

If you struggle to advocate for yourself, consider bringing a support person to appointments. Be sure to share your concerns and hopes for your appointment so your support person knows when and how to encourage you.

Follow-up If You Feel You Experienced Gaslighting

Follow up with your provider and outline your concerns if you encounter medical gaslighting. Most medical providers gaslight unintentionally and genuinely want to provide the best care possible. Having a conversation can ensure your doctor can understand where they missed you, hear your concerns, respond appropriately, and be better for you and other patients.

When to Switch Medical Providers

While wanting to switch medical providers after experiencing medical gaslighting is normal, allowing an opportunity for correction can be beneficial. However, consider switching medical providers if your current doctor continues to gaslight you despite clearly and directly communicating your concerns.

When you switch medical providers, be upfront about your experiences with previous providers and what you want from the new provider.  If you developed a fear of doctors, let your new provider know – they should be understanding. Extended exposure to gaslighting can be detrimental, and protecting your mental health is just as important as caring for your physical health.

When to Seek Professional Help

If medical gaslighting disrupts your functioning or you start avoiding necessary medical care,  professional therapeutic support may help. Working with a mental health professional specializing in gaslighting can help normalize and validate your experience, address self-doubt, and build confidence. When you are ready, you can find a therapist using an online therapist directory, or convenient online therapy options are available if you prefer at-home treatment.

In My Experience

In my experience as a mental health professional, medical gaslighting can often be as negatively impactful as any persistent medical diagnosis or traumatic event. Many medical providers unintentionally gaslight their patients, but this does not negate or excuse the harm caused. Working with a therapist can be incredibly healing if you have experienced medical gaslighting. It is absolutely possible to heal and make sense of the medical gaslighting you’ve experienced and continue tending to your physical well-being.