Unheard and Misdiagnosed: Healthcare Gaslighting in Women’s Lives
You walk into a clinic with real symptoms, real pain, and a real sense that something isn't right. But instead of answers, you're told it’s probably stress. Maybe it’s anxiety. Or hormones. Or worse, maybe it’s all in your head. Who decides what your pain experience is, if not you?
This isn’t a rare story. This is healthcare gaslighting, and it’s a deeply harmful pattern that disproportionately affects women.
What Is Healthcare Gaslighting?
Healthcare gaslighting happens when a patient’s concerns are downplayed, dismissed, or misattributed without proper assessment. For women, this often looks like:
Being told symptoms are "just stress" or "normal for women"
Having pain minimized or brushed off completely
Being misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression when physical illnesses have not been addressed
Waiting years for a correct diagnosis if at all
In short: it’s when providers don’t believe you or imply that you’re overreacting. This kind of interaction erodes trust, safety, and mental health over time.
The Stats Speak Volumes
A 2024 study found that women whom had their symptoms invalidated by healthcare providers were given anti-depressants “in an attempt to resolve their physiological concerns” (Khan et al.)
In at least two countries studied by Guzikevits et al. (2024), providers were shown to be more likely to doubt female reports of pain, and thus were prescribed less pain medication.
It takes the average woman with endometriosis 5 to 12 years to get a correct diagnosis (De Corte et al., 2024).
The disparity doesn’t stop at pain. Heart disease, the leading cause of death for women, is often missed or misdiagnosed because symptoms present differently in women than the “standard” male-based model taught in medicine.
The Impact on Mental Health
Being repeatedly dismissed not only delays care, it reinforces self-doubt and confidence in one’s own patient advocacy. Many women start to question themselves:
“Am I overreacting?”
“Maybe it’s just in my head.”
“I don’t want to come off as dramatic.”
This self-doubt can lead to or exacerbate untreated illness, cause increased anxiety, and worsen medical trauma. This experience creates a feedback loop that reinforces silence, and silence can be dangerous especially in a health context.
Why This Happens
Medical research and education have historically been modeled around male bodies and experiences. That means that symptoms expressed by women such as fatigue, hormonal imbalance, or atypical heart attack signs are often missed completely.
Add to that longstanding gender biases about women being "emotional" or "hysterical," and you have a system where women are more likely to be misdiagnosed or gaslit.
What We Can Do
At Floriss Rx, we believe women deserve to feel heard, understood, and taken seriously. Our approach is centered in whole-person evidence-based care, not compartmentalized trivialization of symptoms.
If you have ever been dismissed in a clinical setting, please know:
Your symptoms are real.
Your story matters.
You deserve individualized care that addresses your concerns.
We hope to continue to creating a space where women can express their concerns without hesitance, ask as many questions as needed, and receive the kind of care that listens.
Final Thoughts
Healthcare gaslighting is real and occurs more often than one might hope. As awareness increases, so does the need for change. Women aren’t just numbers in a chart. We are advocates, experts of our own experience, and individuals that deserve to be treated mindfully.
We’re proud to be part of that movement at Floriss Rx.
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Sources:
De Corte, P., Klinghardt, M., von Stockum, S., & Heinemann, K. (2025). Time to Diagnose Endometriosis: Current Status, Challenges and Regional Characteristics-A Systematic Literature Review. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 132(2), 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17973
Guzikevits, M., Gordon-Hecker, T., Rekhtman, D., Salameh, S., Israel, S., Shayo, M., Gozal, D., Perry, A., Gileles-Hillel, A., & Shoham Choshen-Hillel. (2024). Sex Bias in Pain Management Decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(33). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401331121
Khan, K., Tariq, N. ul S., & Majeed, S. (2024). Psychological Impact of Medical Gaslighting on Women: A Systematic Review. Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, 5(1), 110–125. https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v5i1.249
