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Has a doctor ever told you, “It’s all in your head” or “There’s nothing wrong with you”? Have you ever had your legitimate symptoms dismissed by your physician as the result of stress, aging, or even your own exaggeration or imagination? If so, you may have experienced medical gaslighting.
While gaslighting can be a harmful feature of toxic relationships, it presents a serious level of threat within the medical profession. When a healthcare provider minimizes, ignores, or disbelieves you, they aren’t just questioning your perceptions, they’re endangering your health.
Thousands of patients who visit Amen Clinics say they’ve experienced this kind of treatment from other health care providers. And it’s only after years of medication failures and frustration that they finally turn to Amen Clinics as their “last hope.”
What is medical gaslighting? When a healthcare provider minimizes, ignores, or disbelieves you, they aren’t just questioning your perceptions, they’re endangering your health.
The term gaslighting was named Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year in 2022, but it was coined decades earlier, in a 1938 play called Gas Light. The word was originally defined as “psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories.”
By 2022, that definition had broadened to cover any act of intentionally misleading someone, especially to gain a personal advantage. In its Word of the Year coverage, Merriam-Webster listed the phrase “medical gaslighting” as an example of usage, citing a March 2022 article in The New York Times.
The article discussed patients who felt dismissed by doctors—a growing concern among both patients and the medical community. But many people remain unfamiliar with the term even though they may have experienced the issue firsthand.
A 2024 commentary in The American Journal of Medicine further defined medical gaslighting as “an act that invalidates a patient’s genuine clinical concern without proper medical evaluation, because of physician ignorance, implicit bias, or medical paternalism.”
However, authors emphasized that medical gaslighting is not motivated by intentional manipulation or willful deceit by doctors. They found that various issues could contribute to medical gaslighting, including:
Other experts point to systemic issues in today’s modern medical landscape that interfere with doctor-patient communication, potentially contributing to feelings of gaslighting. A 2023 editorial in the Journal of General Internal Medicine noted these numerous factors outside of a doctor’s control.
For example, physicians experience mounting pressures, like the push for maximum productivity and increasing administrative tasks. Therefore, they may spend less time on direct patient care. As a result, physicians and patients alike may lose confidence in the quality of healthcare provided.
The editorial pointed to a study in which more than two-thirds of primary care medical teams felt that lack of time with patients interfered with screening, diagnosis, or treatment. Meanwhile, patients receiving care from time-strapped providers were more likely to report lower levels of support—which can contribute to feeling gaslit.
Regardless of motive or intent, patients who have been subject to a doctor’s dismissal, misdiagnosis, ignorance, or bias can be left feeling unheard, misunderstood, frustrated, and powerless. And certain populations, such as women and minorities, may be more likely to experience medical gaslighting.
In a 2015 review published in the American Journal of Public Health, 14 of 15 studies found that healthcare professionals exhibited low to moderate levels of implicit racial or ethnic bias. Meanwhile, a survey of nearly 450 women with vulvovaginal disorders, published in 2025, reported that 26.6% of healthcare providers were belittling, and 20.5% did not believe the patient.
Overall, 52.8% of these respondents considered avoiding care because their concerns were not addressed (20.6% were suggested psychiatric help versus medical treatment). More disturbingly, 16.8% felt unsafe, and 39.4% said they were made to feel crazy.
If you’ve ever wondered why women aren’t believed in healthcare settings, this explains it. Lack of knowledge and dismissive behaviors from providers are recurring complaints.
Many individuals with chronic illness, including mental health conditions, know what it’s like to feel dismissed by doctors, ignored by healthcare providers, and misdiagnosed in the medical community.
For example, a 2023 study found that those with Lyme disease (notoriously difficult to detect) experienced medical gaslighting with “relative frequency.” In this study, patients reported in online surveys being told they were overreacting to symptoms, or that chronic Lyme disease does not exist.
Related: Does a Brain Scan Show Lyme Disease?
Other doctors believed that respondents’ Lyme disease symptoms resulted from normal aging, mental illness, or stress. Some healthcare professionals hinted that a patient’s symptoms were simply psychosomatic. In some cases, doctors did not believe their patients even after a Lyme-positive blood test.
Patients with mental health conditions can also be subject to gaslighting. Many physicians diagnose these “invisible” conditions according to symptom clusters alone rather than including biological data-driven tools like brain SPECT scans in the process.
Therefore, patients can encounter doctors who don’t understand their symptoms or want to simply prescribe psychiatric medications after a brief consultation.
In addition, those with mental health challenges can be taken less seriously by doctors, according to one study that surveyed hundreds of family physicians. Researchers found that patients with a prior history of depression were less likely to be believed about having a serious illness—even if they reported symptoms like severe headache and abdominal pains.
Related: Psychiatric Diagnoses are Scientifically Meaningless
Medical gaslighting can lead to a multitude of devastating effects. These can range from misdiagnosis and delayed treatment to emotional frustration and feelings of distrust in the medical system.
In fact, according to a 2021 article in Canadian Family Physician, some patients who have experienced medical gaslighting say that it “can be worse than physical abuse.” The author called it a “form of bullying” that can leave victims feeling disoriented, insignificant, and uneasy.
A study that focused on interactions between doctors and lupus patients found that gaslighting makes substantial impacts on patients’ psychological well-being, cognition, and healthcare-seeking habits. Negative medical interactions, both before and after diagnosis, were associated with a loss of self-confidence, as well as a loss of confidence and trust in the medical profession.
Moreover, the study found, once an individual’s faith in the medical community is shaken, it may not recover. Distrust was shown to persist even when future medical interactions were positive.
The result can be long-term insecurity, leading to an avoidance of healthcare practitioners altogether. Hesitance or unwillingness to report symptoms can greatly affect quality of life, as well as overall health outcomes and longevity.
And, because medical gaslighting often remains unreported, the patient is unlikely to receive proper support. This can be devastating among already marginalized populations, such as women, LGBTQ and BIPOC communities, and the elderly.
To help prevent medical gaslighting, take steps to protect your health—and mental well-being. For example, it can be helpful to write down questions and concerns before each appointment, then clearly and succinctly state your symptoms.
However, if you’re unhappy with the quality of service provided—or if you feel unheard or misdiagnosed—don’t be afraid to seek a second opinion. With your health and quality of life at stake, you should never hesitate to trust your instincts and advocate for yourself.
Medical gaslighting occurs when a healthcare provider dismisses or downplays your symptoms, making you feel like your concerns aren’t real or valid. This can lead to misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and emotional distress. It’s not always intentional—sometimes it stems from bias, time constraints, or lack of knowledge—but the impact on patients can be serious.
A second opinion is part of collaborative care and involves thoughtful communication—even if the diagnosis changes. Medical gaslighting, on the other hand, often feels invalidating. If your doctor cuts you off, dismisses your symptoms as “normal,” refuses testing without explanation, or blames your concerns on anxiety or stress without proper evaluation, those are red flags.
Start by documenting your symptoms in detail, including when they occur and how they affect your life. Bring a trusted friend or family member to your appointment for support. If you still feel dismissed, don’t hesitate to seek a second (or third) opinion from a provider who takes your concerns seriously. At Amen Clinics, we use brain-based diagnostics and whole-person evaluations to uncover the root causes of your symptoms.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we provide personalized, science-backed treatment plans designed to target the root causes of your symptoms. Our 360-approach includes brain SPECT imaging, clinical evaluations, innovative therapeutic techniques, medications (when necessary), and holistic lifestyle recommendations to promote the health of your brain, body, and mind. Speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
Merriam-Webster. Word of the Year 2022. https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year-2022
Medical Gaslighting: A New Colloquialism. Ng, Isaac KS et al. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 137, Issue 10, 920 – 922
Fuss A, Jagielski CH, Taft T. We didn’t start the fire…or did we?—a narrative review of medical gaslighting and introduction to medical invalidation. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Aug 26;9:73. doi: 10.21037/tgh-24-26. PMID: 39503036; PMCID: PMC11535807.
McDonald, Kathryn M. MM/MBA, PhD*; Rodriguez, Hector P. PhD, MPH†; Shortell, Stephen M. MBA, PhD, MPH‡. Organizational Influences on Time Pressure Stressors and Potential Patient Consequences in Primary Care. Medical Care 56(10):p 822-830, October 2018. | DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000974
William J. Hall, Mimi V. Chapman, Kent M. Lee, Yesenia M. Merino, Tainayah W. Thomas, B. Keith Payne, Eugenia Eng, Steven H. Day, and Tamera Coyne-Beasley: Implicit Racial/Ethnic Bias Among Health Care Professionals and Its Influence on Health Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Public Health 105, e60_e76, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302903
Moss CF, Chinna-Meyyappan A, Skovronsky G, et al. Experiences of Care and Gaslighting in Patients With Vulvovaginal Disorders. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(5):e259486. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.9486
Fagen JL, Shelton JA, Luché-Thayer J. Medical Gaslighting and Lyme Disease: The Patient Experience. Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Dec 29;12(1):78. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12010078. PMID: 38200984; PMCID: PMC10778834.
Melanie Sloan, Felix Naughton, Rupert Harwood, Elliott Lever, David D’Cruz, Stephen Sutton, Chanpreet Walia, Paul Howard, Caroline Gordon, Is it me? The impact of patient–physician interactions on lupus patients’ psychological well-being, cognition and health-care-seeking behaviour, Rheumatology Advances in Practice, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020, rkaa037, https://doi.org/10.1093/rap/rkaa037
Graber MA, Bergus G, Dawson JD, Wood GB, Levy BT, Levin I. Effect of a patient’s psychiatric history on physicians’ estimation of probability of disease. J Gen Intern Med. 2000 Mar;15(3):204-6. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2000.04399.x. PMID: 10718903; PMCID: PMC1495355.
Fraser S. The toxic power dynamics of gaslighting in medicine. Can Fam Physician. 2021 May;67(5):367-368. doi: 10.46747/cfp.6705367. PMID: 33980633; PMCID: PMC8115954.
