5 key signs you're experiencing medical gaslighting

YOU know your body. You know when something isn’t right.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

TRUST your body. Speak up and demand to be heard.

(Pexels)

But what happens when your doctor doesn’t believe you and when you're told “it’s all in your head” or that “it’s just stress”?

That uneasy feeling of being dismissed, unheard or doubted has a name: medical gaslighting.

Let’s define what this experience means and why it matters.

Medical gaslighting occurs when a healthcare professional downplays or dismisses a patient’s symptoms, often causing them to question their own experiences.

The American Psychological Association defines gaslighting as “manipulating another person into doubting their perceptions or understanding of events.”

In medicine, this manipulation isn’t always deliberate, but its impact can be devastating.

According to a 2023 report by the nonprofit ECRI, the dismissal of patient concerns ranked among the top safety risks in healthcare, alongside AI misuse and medical misinformation.

Medical gaslighting often starts subtly. You describe your pain, fatigue, or persistent symptoms, and your doctor offers a vague reassurance instead of a real answer.

Perhaps you're told it’s anxiety, hormones, or “just getting older.” Over time, you start to question yourself.

This could be described as a “toxic power imbalance” between doctors and patients.

Medical gaslighting thrives in rushed consultations and hierarchical medical system spaces where patients feel small and doctors rarely have time to listen deeply.