Exploring the cruelty, trauma, and psychological damage of gaslighting and medical gaslighting. What gaslighting does to the victim and why gaslighting is such a common problem in so many elements of society, such as the medical system and even healing and therapy industry.
So What Is Gaslighting?
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse used to manipulate someone’s sense of reality.
An aversive manipulation used to control what you think.
The type of manipulation that causes you to deny or question your reality.
A psychological tactic used to dismiss or invalidate your feelings or emotions.
Or a way to shift blame onto you, the victim.
Medical Gaslighting
Is when a person is dismissed, neglected, or not believed in relation to the physical experiences or symptoms they are suffering from.
This often leads to misdiagnosis, missed early treatment, and a decline in health.
Why People Gaslight Others
Gaslighting is such a common problem today because it can be both an unconscious and a conscious strategy
Used to leverage power and control over others and situations.
To avoid accountability for errors, bias, or weaknesses.
An easy way to exploit the trust dynamic.
An unconscious behaviour pattern to attempt to hold on to a role or identity.
Gaslighting In Society
It is one of the main reasons gaslighting is a common tactic used by media, politicians, and celebrities to manipulate perceptions.
It is rarely loud and not always obvious; it is subtle and often gradual, and that is what makes it far more dangerous.
We just need to look at the devastating long-term trauma that children suffer at the mercy of a narcissistic parent or parents.
Or the complete corrosion of a person’s identity, self-worth, and mental health from living with a highly narcissistic partner.
The Psychological Damage Of Gaslighting Is Costly
- It teaches you to doubt your own reality.
- It stops you from trusting your intuition
- It fractures your own sense of safety in your body and the world around you.
- It can create learned helplessness; fear of asking for help
- It erodes your self-worth and self-identity.
The Psychological Damage Of Medical Gaslighting
- It creates distrust and dissociation with your body’s signs and symptoms
- It teaches you to stop listening to what your body needs.
- It stops you from listening to your intuition.
- It creates a mental, emotional, and physical disconnect to survive.
- It can create hyperindependence and self-protection
- It can stop you from seeking the right medical help or support
Medical Gaslighting Doesn’t Just Dismiss Or Ignore Someone’s Symptoms
Medical gaslighting doesn’t just dismiss someone’s symptoms; it disconnects them from themself and their body.
When someone is told their pain is “nothing” or “all in their head,” that person stops trusting their own instincts and stops believing their own body.
Their nervous system goes into a complete survival response to protect them.
Over time, they stop trusting themself; they stop listening to their own body, and start questioning their own reality.
And the problem is, medical gaslighting is a highly prevalent, systemic, and even cultural issue, especially for women.
A form of abuse is not just in the medical system, but in the healing, health, and wellness sector.
Top Tips For Survivors Of Medical Gaslighting
Learn To Trust Your Symptoms Are Real
No matter what you are experiencing, it is important to know your physical symptoms are real. And that not all things like pain are just in your head.
Learn To Trust Your Intuition And Inner Guidance
Learn to trust your inner voice and know when something doesn’t feel right in your body. And when a certain diagnosis just doesn’t feel the right fit.
Bring A Supportive Friend Or Person To Your Appointments
Make sure you take the right person with you to those appointments. Someone who knows and understands what you are experiencing and who will help support and advocate for you, if needed.
Have A Clear Focus And List Of Your Symptoms
Make sure you are well prepared for each appointment with a clear list of symptoms in order of priority. And make sure you explain the impact it is actually having on your life. It is common for medical gaslighting sufferers to mask and downplay their symptoms to those around them.
Always For Clarification And Documentation
Always ask your clinician or health practitioner to write down and make a note of your symptoms. And ask for further clarification on any diagnosis or any refusal to do further testing.
Be Calm, Centred And Assertive
Do what you can to go into each appointment as calm and centred as you can. Use clear and assertive language to assert what you would like to gain from the appointment, such as further testing, deeper evaluation, or another opinion.
Know Your Rights As A Patient And Person
In any medical or healthcare situation, it is important to know and remember your rights as a patient or client. And to remember your sovereign rights as an individual. You are worthy of the right care and attention; it is important to know that. If you need help in this area, there are often patient advocacy support lines which can be very helpful.
Medical Gaslighting Is Real And Exhausting
As someone who has experienced all sorts of medical gaslighting in relation to my health for over 36 years.
I know how exhausting, overwhelming, and traumatising this type of gaslighting can be.
How soul-destroying it can feel…
But don’t ever give up;
Learn to trust your body and that inner voice that is there to guide you.
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