Medical gaslighting can result in medical trauma. Medical trauma is experienced as psychological and/or physical responses to pain, injury, or serious illness. Medical trauma can also result from medical procedures that have been painful, feel demeaning, or are frightening. See our section specific to Medical Trauma to read more.

Some Signs You Have Experienced Medical Gaslighting Include:

1.) You are frequently interrupted and are not given a chance to explain what you are experiencing.

2.) Your provider will not discuss your symptoms or concerns with you and/or minimizes them when you do bring them up.

3.) You leave appointments feeling scared or worried because you feel your provider doesn't believe you or take your concerns seriously.

4.) When sharing your symptoms or concerns, the provider tells you that what you are describing is impossible or something you are imagining or dramatizing.

5.) Your concerns and symptoms are blamed on a mental illness, without meeting the diagnostic criteria or properly screening.

6.) You feel you are being talked down to during appointments, belittled, or disrespected.

7.) You feel you must plan extensively for medical appointments.

8.) You do not feel comfortable or safe enough to go to a medical appointment alone.

9.) Before a medical appointment, you mentally go through all of the worst things the doctor, nurse, or other staff may say or do, and you think a lot about how you should respond.

10.) You shut down in medical appointments.

11.) You become emotionally numb or mentally exhausted after medical appointments.

12.) You question yourself and the validity of your pain, wondering if your symptoms are really “bad enough” to get treatment. (“Maybe that provider is right, maybe it is all in my head and I am over-exaggerating.”)

13.) You avoid social media, TV, films, books, and environments or conversations that remind you of your past medical experiences.

14.) You feel physically ill and have increased anxiety before medical appointments.

Contributions made by: Dr. Melissa Geraghty, Psy.D., Clinical Health Psychologist; CEO of Phoenix Rising with Dr. G

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