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Medical gaslighting is real - and here’s how to fight it 

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Dena Gassner, who lives in Long Island, NY, has a history of being dismissed by doctors. Before her autism diagnosis in 1998, Gassner was misdiagnosed as bipolar, leading to years of mistreatment and medical trauma.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
"I was just a disaster," Gassner says, describing the 5-year period of her life when she was switched from one antidepressant to the next. These experiences slowly eroded Gassner's trust in the medical system and had a ripple effect on every other aspect of her life.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
"It really negatively impacted my relationship with my daughter," she says. "She was in middle school at this time, and can you imagine anything worse than your mom being that emotionally unpredictable while you're so heightened to social needs?"&nbsp;

<h4 style="text-align: center;">Google searches for the term "gaslighting"</h4>
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="3965e363_fada_4083_a316_f86044dbf40d_954d0bee00" src="https://wmnhealthpublicfiles.blob.core.windows.net/publicfiles/MediaLibrary/3965e363_fada_4083_a316_f86044dbf40d_954d0bee00" alt="3965e363_fada_4083_a316_f86044dbf40d_954d0bee00" width="400" />
Data source: Google Trends

Experts say this experience of having one's symptoms dismissed by a healthcare professional, also known as "medical gaslighting," is quite common. For example,&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08475-9">research</a>&nbsp;suggests that it takes women longer than men to receive a diagnosis. And, the risk of misdiagnosis increases further for conditions that predominantly affect the female body or&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1656-z">present differently in females</a>, such as autism.
"If it's not something life-threatening that needs to be addressed immediately, women are told it's just something they're supposed to live with," says Kathryn Schubert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the&nbsp;<a href="https://swhr.org/">Society of Women's Health Research</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
According to Schubert, the roots of medical gaslighting run deep and can be traced back to the&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-008-9100-z">history of gender bias in medicine</a>. The female body has been historically excluded from research, so much so that despite the women's health movement in the 1960s, many aspects of women's mental and physical health remain shrouded in mystery even today. These disparities widen with race, income, disability, sexual orientation, and other factors.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
&ldquo;If it&rsquo;s not something life-threatening that needs to be addressed immediately, women are told it&rsquo;s just something they&rsquo;re supposed to live with.&rdquo; &mdash;Kathryn Schubert, president &amp; CEO, Society of Women&rsquo;s Health Research&nbsp;
</blockquote>

Dismantling this painful legacy requires further research on women's health conditions and training clinicians on implicit bias. In the meantime, empowering women to advocate for themselves in clinical settings can help. For starters, this could mean:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Writing down your symptoms before your appointment&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Taking notes during your visit&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Asking your provider questions&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">Bringing along a friend or family member for support&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">Getting a second opinion, if possible, or switching providers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Joining a community or support group where you can openly discuss your experiences with others&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">Understanding your family medical history&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
It's about time women's experiences are believed and given the attention they deserve. So let's stand up against medical gaslighting in 2023 and continue advocating for our health during pain, doubt, and vulnerability moments. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Help us learn more about how discrimination influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by taking the <a href="https://discrimination.wmnhealth.org/#studies">Discrimination and Mental Health in Our Community</a> study.

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