06/02/2026
How to Recognize and Combat Medical Gaslighting 😖
Have you ever walked into a doctor's office, voiced your concerns to a provider, and essentially been told that it's either in your head or just the result of stress when you know it's something more?
Well, there's a name for what you may have experienced—it's called medical gaslighting.
You may be familiar with romantic gaslighting, which refers to a form of psychological abuse, wherein someone manipulates their partner into questioning their own reality.
Medical gaslighting, on the other hand, occurs when medical professionals disregard their patients' feelings or reported symptoms, attributing their experiences to psychological causes (like stress) or denying their symptoms entirely.
It's all too common, and women are more at risk: research shows that one in five women report that a healthcare provider has ignored or dismissed their symptoms.
People of color may also be especially likely to experience the phenomenon, which could lead to harmful delays in diagnoses, or worse.
In fact, one out of every seven doctor-patient encounters results in diagnostic error—which includes missed, wrong, or delayed diagnoses—according to a study in The Medical Journal of Australia.
At least a portion of that diagnostic error can be attributed to what's known as medical gaslighting, says Vanna Health president Liz Kwo, MD.
Ahead, here's what you need to know about medical gaslighting—including why it happens and how to combat it.
Women's symptoms get dismissed by doctors all the time, thanks to a phenomenon known as medical gaslighting — especially Black women. Here's what to know.
