What is Medical Gaslighting? #medicalgaslighting

In the full episode of Spotlight On Migraine, Dr. Melissa Geraghty highlights examples of medical gaslighting and offers suggestions for dealing with this challenging issue.

TRANSCRIPT 👇
Medical gaslighting is when a healthcare professional dismisses your concerns to the point where you question your own beliefs, reality, judgment, memories. It's where people don't take your medical concerns seriously or blame your physical symptoms on something else, such as anxiety or needing to lose weight. And like you mentioned, you can also experience medical gaslighting from family members, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, bosses, and the general public. So a few examples of medical gaslighting is things like this. You're over exaggerating. No one can have that many symptoms and still talk and smile. Or you just need to exercise more or lose weight, and all your problems will go away. Or it's all in your head, go see a psychiatrist. Or this procedure typically isn't painful, so you shouldn't have had that response. Or I never had a patient with that diagnosis, so you don't have that. Or, my favorite, all your labs came back fine, so you're fine.

[Christinegardiner]

Sadly, so, SO true 😢I have had Elhers-Danlos Syndrome, PoTS, Sjogren’s, Hypothyroidism and Spondyloarthritis - the first syndrome, from birth. I’m 74 and was only formally diagnosed at 63! One of the major symptoms is pain and chronic migraine, since the age of 11. I’m totally and utterly exhausted. Thank you for this.

[sandramahadeo]

Hi thank you for this information I always go through hearing all of that I suffer from migraines sometimes very bad but I’ll get up smile do my household chores take medication and continue because I always hear from my family exactly what you are saying.