IS YOUR DOCTOR GASLIGHTING YOU?

Research shows that health-care professionals routinely dismiss, downplay or question women's health concerns. We talked to experts to find out why-and what you can do to ensure you get the care you deserve

- STACEY COLINO

You've probably heard of, and maybe experienced, gaslighting in a personal or professional relationship. But you may not recognize the extent to which this kind of behavior can happen in health care. In what's often called "medical gaslighting," health professionals essentially dismiss patients' concerns. Research shows that women are more likely to experience this than men are. And it happens across an array of health conditions, particularly with pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and reproductive health problems, experts say.

"Women are more at risk because we've been socialized to be people pleasers, so if our symptoms are dismissed, we're less likely to push back," says Jennifer Wider, M.D., editor of the book The Savvy Woman Patient. "Women have had a long history of having medical problems dismissed and attributed to an emotional state."