What is Medical Gaslighting?
“I constantly still think about how any run I went on quite literally could’ve been my last”, Mrs. Rishe remarked to The New York Times when sharing her experience with medical gaslighting after her condition that required heart surgery was overlooked. Studies indicate that diagnostic mistakes occur in approximately 1 out of every 7 medical consultations, often due to a physician’s insufficient knowledge and women are disproportionately affected, facing misdiagnoses more frequently than men in many clinical scenarios (Moyer, 2022).
Furthermore, women are 33% more likely than men to see a doctor but are 29% longer waiting in the emergency room when presenting with chest pain (Plante, 2023). Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women in the United States experience pregnancy-related mortality rates more than three times higher than those of non-Hispanic White women (Hill et al., 2022). Similarly, women living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas face a 120% higher risk of maternal death compared to those in the most affluent areas, with Black women overall facing 2.4 times the maternal mortality risk of White women (Singh, 2020).
These alarming disparities underscore a broader issue in healthcare known as medical gaslighting. This occurs when healthcare providers dismiss or overlook a patient’s concerns. This can lead to misdiagnoses, delays in treatment, and negative (sometimes deadly) health outcomes. It may also diminish trust in the medical system, making individuals less inclined to seek medical help in the future (Godman, 2024).
It Disproportionately Affects Women
Sebring (2021) argues that medical gaslighting is not only a matter of individual clinicians dismissing patients’ experiences, but is rooted in structural ideologies within Western medicine that routinely undermine the credibility of patients (especially women and other marginalized groups such as trans, intersex, queer, and racialized individuals) through institutionalized dismissal and epistemic injustice. The latter occurs when valuable knowledge that should inform collective decisions is overlooked or dismissed, causing harm to marginalized or disadvantaged groups (Dryzek, 2025).
In her 2024 book Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine, physician Uché Blackstock reflects on the racism and sexism she has faced in medicine, showing how these systemic inequities affect both healthcare providers and patients. Her work offers a clear, first-hand account of how historical and structural discrimination continues to shape modern healthcare. These factors reflect broader systemic ideologies that question the credibility of people whose bodies or identities fall outside the “norm” (Sebring, 2021). As a result, many women experience:
- Longer diagnostic delays and more provider visits before getting a correct diagnosis. For example, recent evidence shows that a diagnosis of endometriosis is often significantly delayed, with the time from first symptom onset to confirmed diagnosis typically ranging from 5 to 12 years, and some cases stretching even longer (De Corte, 2025).
- Increased psychological distress, as repeated invalidation fosters self‑doubt, internalised shame, and symptoms of trauma.
- Higher likelihood of avoiding further care because of mistrust, reinforcing worse health outcomes over time.
How to Self‑Advocate
One powerful form of self-advocacy is understanding and clearly communicating the kind of knowledge you bring into a medical encounter. Philosopher Elizabeth Barnes (2022) explains that patients typically offer three types of testimony: what they are experiencing (such as pain or fatigue), how that suffering affects their life, and what they believe is causing it. While physicians may have more knowledge in identifying medical causes, patients are the experts of their own experiences: their expert testimony deserves to be taken seriously.
When you say: “This pain is disrupting my life,” you are offering crucial information that should guide medical decision-making. Frame your conjectures about potential causes as informed observations. For example: “I’ve noticed this gets worse after I eat” or “I think it could be hormonal because x,y, z,” can also help maintain a collaborative tone. Knowing which kind of claim you’re making such as experience, impact, or cause can strengthen your voice in the room and push back against patterns of dismissal (Barnes, 2022).
Here is a list to keep in mind when self-advocating for your specific concerns:
- Track symptoms & bring records
- Ask specific questions
- Request tests
- Bring a support person
- Be assertive (but calm) in calling out dismissal
- Seek second opinions
By actively tracking our symptoms, asking questions, and insisting on being heard, we reclaim authority over our own bodies. We affirm that our experiences and knowledge of our pain are valid and essential to our care. Every time we do this, we gain power over our health and push back against a system that too often dismisses us.
Self-Reflection
- When have I felt that my symptoms or concerns were dismissed or minimized by a healthcare provider?
- Do I keep track of my symptoms and health changes in a way that helps me clearly communicate with my doctors?
- How comfortable am I asking questions and requesting additional tests or second opinions when I feel something isn’t right?
- When and where have I noticed my race, gender, or background may have influenced how seriously my health concerns were taken?
