Medical gaslighting, in which a healthcare provider rejects or invalidates a patient’s symptoms or concerns without appropriately examining them, reveals a systemic breakdown in trust between patients and doctors, says Jennifer Miles-Thomas, MD, a urologist at Northwestern Medicine Urology in Chicago, who was not involved in the study.
“When clinicians aren’t familiar with certain symptoms or lack data to guide them, some may minimize what they don’t understand. That can leave patients feeling unheard, discouraged from speaking up, and hesitant to seek care in the future,” says Dr. Miles-Thomas.
Nearly 2 in 5 Women With Vaginal Pain Said They Were Made to Feel Crazy
Because experts don’t know what causes vulvodynia, getting the right diagnosis and treatment can be especially challenging — and often lead to gaslighting.
To explore this topic, researchers surveyed 447 women before their first appointment at a vulvovaginal disorder clinic between August 2023 and February 2024. On average, the women had seen five providers for their pain prior to completing the questionnaire.
Although 43 percent of participants said past providers were supportive, 27 percent said providers were belittling, and 21 percent said their providers didn’t believe them.
Other key findings:
- 39 percent said they were made to feel crazy
- 42 percent were told they “just needed to relax”
- 21 percent were encouraged to drink alcohol as a solution
- 21 percent were referred to psychiatry without medical treatment
- 17 percent said they felt unsafe during a medical visit
A majority of the patients (53 percent) were told their physical examination findings were normal — despite substantial pain during their exam.
The findings show that medical gaslighting in these situations is common — and highly upsetting, says lead author Chailee Moss, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Centers for Vulvovaginal Disorders in Washington, DC.
“The most important thing is to honor patient experience,” says Dr. Moss. “If patients express severe pain and are then told their exam is ‘normal,’ it’s understandably distressing.”
Women Commonly Experience Medical Gaslighting
Although the study findings are disappointing, they aren’t very surprising, says Kim Templeton, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Dr. Templeton was not involved in this research, but she has coauthored research on medical gaslighting.
“We know that gaslighting is an issue, especially for women, and especially for women presenting with chronic pain,” says Templeton.
Medical gaslighting is unfortunately more prevalent in women’s health, in part due to historic disparities in research, says Miles-Thomas.
Until the early 1990s, the federal government didn’t demand that researchers include women or minorities in studies as a requirement for funding, or that they analyze data on sex-specific differences in health outcomes, she says.
“Without robust clinical evidence, some clinicians may dismiss unfamiliar symptoms,” says Miles-Thomas.
Moss believes that medical gaslighting likely happens due to a “confluence of lack of knowledge generally in medicine about treating pain, and lack of time and training.”
Women Reported Frustrating Responses From Their Healthcare Providers
The survey also included open-ended questions that invited participants to share their personal experiences with medical gaslighting.
“Having the patient comments included in the study was important, because I think physicians need to see how this is impacting women on a very practical level,” says Templeton.
Some of the responses:
- “I would not wish this journey on even my worst enemy. It has felt hopeless for so many years, and I dread each new interaction because my history reads like a novel. Friends ask me why I go to such expensive doctors, and I have to tell them because the ones who take my insurance think I’m crazy.”
- “I believe the second you tell a doctor you have anxiety, your quality of care immediately drops.”
- “Providers who say things like ‘Intercourse is overrated anyway’ negate the fact that it’s important to me and to my partner. Providers that say, ‘It’s just part of aging’ don’t address why it’s not ‘part of aging’ for my peers and even friends who are significantly older.”
- “One doctor told me that ‘It’s probably all in your head,’ and just to ‘Increase sexual activity with your husband and it will get better.’”
- “I did give up, and it’s cost me my whole adult life. Very little intimacy, so no boyfriends, no husband, no kids. I have a comfortable life but it’s not the one I wanted and it’s very lonely.”
Gaslighting May Keep Women From Seeking Life-Saving Care Down The Road
A single medical encounter can erode a patient’s confidence in the healthcare system, says Miles-Thomas. “That experience may teach women that their concerns may not be valid, and in the future, they may be more reticent to speak up. When people feel unheard or belittled, they delay or avoid seeking care altogether.”
Medical gaslighting isn’t just about bedside manner, it’s about health equity, outcomes, and trust, she says.
Templeton agrees that it’s a major concern that these experiences may keep women from getting the care they need.
“If they’re having chronic pelvic pain and aren’t being taken seriously, and they stop seeking a diagnosis or treatment, that’s a huge issue. But what if these experiences lead them to not seek care for other symptoms — for example, chest pain due to a heart attack. That could potentially be life-threatening,” she says.
What to Do in the Face of Medical Gaslighting
Experts agree that responsibility for improving or ending medical gaslighting shouldn’t lie with the patient — but until things improve, there are a few things you can do if you experience it.
If you need to visit a doctor for chronic gynecological pain or other issues, Miles-Thomas suggests you:
- Feel empowered to ask questions
- Seek second opinions if you don’t get answers or feel dismissed
- Track your symptoms so that you can give as much information as possible
“Keep reminding yourself that your symptoms are real. This is not in your head and you deserve care,” says Thomas.