Medical gaslighting is an occurrence where someone’s concerns are dismissed by a medical provider due to factors other than their health. It can happen to anyone.
When 39-year-old Christina from Portland, Maine fell off her bike and hurt her elbow, doctors blamed her body size. Even after weeks had passed since she had fallen off her bike, Christina’s elbow wouldn’t stop hurting.
“I went to my regular primary care doctor and she just sort of hand-waved it off as ‘Well, you’re overweight and it’s putting stress on your joints,’” she said.
After getting an x-ray at urgent care, Christina found she had chipped the bone in her elbow, causing it to continuously be in pain.
Gaslighting has been especially prominent lately, with women, people of color, geriatric patients, and L.G.B.T.Q. people all being affected by it. Women are misdiagnosed more often than men and have to wait longer for said diagnoses. Researchers have discovered that doctors use negative adjectives to describe people of color more often than they use them to describe white people.
Medical experts who gaslight usually refuse to let you elaborate on certain symptoms and occasionally downplay those symptoms and question your pain. They don’t provide lab work to prove or disprove a diagnosis, or they blame your symptoms on mental illness but don’t provide you with any mental health referral or screening.
“Gaslighting is real; it happens all the time. Patients — and especially women — need to be aware of it,” said Dr. Jennifer H. Mieres, a professor of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
It’s important to keep a record of your medications, lab results, and symptoms to avoid gaslighting, asking yourself questions like “What are your symptoms? When do you feel those symptoms? Do you notice any triggers? If you have pain, what does it feel like? Does it wax and wane, or is it constant? What days do you notice this pain?”
Bringing a “support person” to appointments to discuss treatment plans and difficult medical issues can help a patient voice their concerns even when ill.
“When people are ill, scared, or anxious, it can facilitate ‘brain freeze,’” Dr. Mieres said. “We stop thinking, we don’t hear adequately, we don’t process information. Speak with your support person to clarify their role and discuss your expectations. Do you want them to take notes and be a second set of ears? Or do you primarily need them here for emotional support?”
Because medical providers are often short on time, focusing on your most important issue or plotting out things you want to bring up beforehand makes talking to your doctor much more efficient.
If the ignorance and gaslighting continue, switching medical providers is the best option. However, if finding another specialist is difficult, trying to get a referral from your current doctor is an alternative, asking them for a second opinion from another specialist.
Appealing to a higher authority can also prevent further gaslighting occurrences. Contacting the patient advisory staff, the doctor’s supervisor, or even the Federation of State Medical Boards can stop the doctor from harming any future patient.
“Any instances of abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, delaying diagnoses — those are reportable events that providers need to know about,” said Keck School of Medicine gynecologist, Dr. Nicole Mitchell. “Doctors need to be held accountable.”
When 39-year-old Christina from Portland, Maine fell off her bike and hurt her elbow, doctors blamed her body size. Even after weeks had passed since she had fallen off her bike, Christina’s elbow wouldn’t stop hurting.
“I went to my regular primary care doctor and she just sort of hand-waved it off as ‘Well, you’re overweight and it’s putting stress on your joints,’” she said.
After getting an x-ray at urgent care, Christina found she had chipped the bone in her elbow, causing it to continuously be in pain.
Gaslighting has been especially prominent lately, with women, people of color, geriatric patients, and L.G.B.T.Q. people all being affected by it. Women are misdiagnosed more often than men and have to wait longer for said diagnoses. Researchers have discovered that doctors use negative adjectives to describe people of color more often than they use them to describe white people.
Medical experts who gaslight usually refuse to let you elaborate on certain symptoms and occasionally downplay those symptoms and question your pain. They don’t provide lab work to prove or disprove a diagnosis, or they blame your symptoms on mental illness but don’t provide you with any mental health referral or screening.
“Gaslighting is real; it happens all the time. Patients — and especially women — need to be aware of it,” said Dr. Jennifer H. Mieres, a professor of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
It’s important to keep a record of your medications, lab results, and symptoms to avoid gaslighting, asking yourself questions like “What are your symptoms? When do you feel those symptoms? Do you notice any triggers? If you have pain, what does it feel like? Does it wax and wane, or is it constant? What days do you notice this pain?”
Bringing a “support person” to appointments to discuss treatment plans and difficult medical issues can help a patient voice their concerns even when ill.
“When people are ill, scared, or anxious, it can facilitate ‘brain freeze,’” Dr. Mieres said. “We stop thinking, we don’t hear adequately, we don’t process information. Speak with your support person to clarify their role and discuss your expectations. Do you want them to take notes and be a second set of ears? Or do you primarily need them here for emotional support?”
Because medical providers are often short on time, focusing on your most important issue or plotting out things you want to bring up beforehand makes talking to your doctor much more efficient.
If the ignorance and gaslighting continue, switching medical providers is the best option. However, if finding another specialist is difficult, trying to get a referral from your current doctor is an alternative, asking them for a second opinion from another specialist.
Appealing to a higher authority can also prevent further gaslighting occurrences. Contacting the patient advisory staff, the doctor’s supervisor, or even the Federation of State Medical Boards can stop the doctor from harming any future patient.
“Any instances of abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, delaying diagnoses — those are reportable events that providers need to know about,” said Keck School of Medicine gynecologist, Dr. Nicole Mitchell. “Doctors need to be held accountable.”
