By: Chloe Xiao

These days, more people are getting misdiagnosed or having their symptoms brushed off in their doctor’s office. Once you read this article, you will be able to spot medical gaslighting and know how to stop it.

Women and minority groups are typically gaslighted more and have their pain overlooked or misdiagnosed, with around half of some recorded misdiagnoses being deadly to the patient. Some African American patients have “Agitated” and “Noncompliant” written in their health records more often than white patients, sometimes causing a severe inconsistency in health records.

Many people all over commented on forums, and other groups talking about how their health providers completely dismissed that they had long covid. Others talked about how their health providers refused to do in-depth testing or checking, leading to detrimental consequences that might have been prevented with a simple pill in the beginning.

Around 12 million people suffer from medical gaslighting. Many have decided that seeking a second, third, and, occasionally, fourth opinion is a good way to make sure that they are getting accurate information, and that they are also getting the best care possible. While there may not be a doctor available at the instant you need one, a great way to find them is to tell your doctor that their advice is good, but you would like a second opinion on this matter as this feels extremely important to you.

One such sufferer of medical gaslighting, Tami Burdick, who had been suffering from a rare chronic breast inflammatory disease, had chosen to look towards support groups when her concerns were dismissed by her doctor. She later on went to write a self-published book about her whole experience with finding out about her disease to getting it diagnosed after pushing for a gene sequencing test.