This Story Addresses How Bias, Assumptions, and the Failure to Listen Can Make Patients Fear Judgment More Than Disease
Curator’s Note: The article, written by Dr Michael Broadly, who is a retired healthcare professional, discusses the detrimental effects of medical gaslighting, particularly on marginalized groups, highlighting how bias and assumptions can lead to patients feeling judged rather than cared for. It emphasizes the importance of trust in healthcare relationships, arguing that patients often prefer to be heard and validated rather than receive immediate diagnoses. The author reflects on personal experiences that underscore the need for empathy and effective communication in medical settings, suggesting that acknowledging patients’ concerns can foster trust. Ultimately, the piece advocates for a healthcare approach centered on listening and engagement, viewing it as essential for effective treatment and patient satisfaction.
In a World F@cked Up, Here’s What Medical Gaslighting Taught Me About Public Health
When a Patient Needs a Diagnosis but Gets a Lecture Instead
Over a flat in a Melbourne cafe, while wondering how a cup of coffee managed to become a luxury item, I found myself reading an insightful article by Dr. Mehmet Yildiz on medical gaslighting after a close elderly friend from the LGBTQ+ community shared a sad and concerning situation relevant to the key messages of his exceptional story.
The story that inspired me to write mine is titled “Why Gaslighting Matters in the Healthcare Sector & How to Deal with It Effectively: From awareness to action: An invitation to eliminate gaslighting in medicine, empowering patients, and empathizing with providers.”
As a retired public healthcare professional, I was immediately drawn to his discussion of cognitive bias, authority gradients, and the unintended ways in which healthcare systems can dismiss the very people they are designed to help.
Almost at the same moment, an international colleague contacted me about a friend navigating a complex health challenge. To protect that individual’s privacy, I will leave out identifying details and focus instead on the lessons the experience revealed.
The specifics of the diagnosis matter less than the pattern. What unfolded was a story about trust, vulnerability, communication, and the consequences when patients feel unheard.
As I listened, I found myself reflecting on how dramatically healthcare has changed during my lifetime. When I began my career, medicine was commonly described as both a science and an art.
The science involved evidence, diagnosis, and treatment. The art involved listening carefully enough to understand what the patient was trying to tell you.
We have made extraordinary advances in the scientific side of medicine. We can sequence genomes, use artificial intelligence to support decision-making, and perform procedures that would have seemed remarkable decades ago. Yet some patients still leave consultations feeling invisible.
That irony deserves our attention. The individual in this story sought help because symptoms were affecting daily life and creating understandable anxiety. Rather than leaving the consultation reassured and informed, the person left feeling judged as they sniffed amyl nitrate. That perception may or may not have reflected the clinician’s intention.
In healthcare, however, perception matters because it influences behavior. A patient who feels dismissed may postpone follow-up care. A patient who feels stigmatized may withhold information. A patient who loses trust may disengage from care altogether.
From a public health perspective, this is where the conversation becomes much larger than a single consultation.
The term medical gaslighting has gained visibility in recent years. While the phrase can sometimes be controversial, many discussions around it involve situations in which patients feel their symptoms, concerns, or experiences have been minimized, dismissed, or prematurely explained away.
Most healthcare professionals enter the field because they genuinely want to help people. They work under demanding conditions and carry significant responsibilities. Yet they are also human beings operating within systems that can be overstretched, under-resourced, and time-constrained.
Under such conditions, cognitive shortcuts become more likely. Sometimes those shortcuts help clinicians work efficiently. Sometimes they can lead to assumptions when curiosity might serve patients better.
One aspect of this discussion that particularly resonated with me came from Dr. Yildiz’s personal experience. As a university student, he experienced severe joint pain that was initially dismissed before a later evaluation revealed rheumatoid arthritis.
What struck me was not the diagnostic delay itself. Medicine involves uncertainty, and clinicians regularly work with incomplete information. What stood out was the emotional impact of feeling unheard during a period of vulnerability. The experience of Dr Yildiz illustrates a lesson that extends beyond any individual condition.
Patients can tolerate uncertainty surprisingly well when they feel respected, informed, and involved. What many find difficult is the perception that their concerns have been dismissed before they have been fully understood.
For members of marginalized communities, including many LGBTQ individuals, this issue can be particularly important. Research and patient experiences have documented disparities in healthcare interactions, communication, and trust.
When patients enter a healthcare setting already anticipating misunderstanding or judgment, the quality of communication may suffer before the consultation even begins.
When those concerns are reinforced, intentionally or unintentionally, trust can decline further, and engagement with care may become more difficult. As I reflected on this situation, a rather uncomfortable thought crossed my mind.
The world is a bit f@cked up when some people become more afraid of being judged than of the illness that brought them to the clinic in the first place. Unfortunately, many readers will recognize exactly what I mean.
Throughout my career, I observed that patients do not expect perfection from healthcare professionals. Most understand that medicine involves uncertainty, complexity, and difficult decisions.
What many hope for is something much simpler. They want to be heard. They want their concerns taken seriously. They want the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their health.
Above all, they want to feel that the person sitting across from them sees a human being rather than a stereotype, a demographic category, or a collection of assumptions.
One of the most valuable insights from Dr. Yildiz’s discussion is that trust sits at the center of effective healthcare. Trust encourages patients to disclose sensitive information. Trust supports communication. Trust strengthens therapeutic relationships and can contribute to better engagement with care.
From a public health perspective, trust functions much like preventive medicine. It encourages people to seek help earlier, disclose sensitive information more openly, participate in treatment decisions, and return for follow-up care when needed.
Once trust erodes, even excellent clinical advice may struggle to achieve its intended effect. The relationship itself becomes part of the intervention. Without trust, even the most technologically advanced healthcare systems encounter difficulties.
Another lesson worth remembering is that validation and agreement are not the same thing. A clinician can acknowledge a patient’s concerns, fears, and lived experiences without immediately confirming a diagnosis.
Patients generally understand that medicine involves uncertainty. What they seek first is recognition that their experiences matter and deserve thoughtful consideration. Validation builds trust. Trust creates cooperation. Cooperation improves communication and clinical decision-making.
The solution is not hostility between patients and clinicians. It is not assuming bad intentions. It is not suggesting that every disagreement, diagnostic delay, or difference of opinion constitutes gaslighting. The solution begins with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to listen.
Healthcare professionals can examine their assumptions and remain open to experiences different from their own. Patients can be encouraged to ask questions, advocate for themselves, and seek second opinions when appropriate.
Healthcare organizations can create environments that support thoughtful communication rather than relentless haste. After all, medicine involves more than the management of disease. It involves the care of human beings.
As a retired public health professional, I remain optimistic despite my frustrations. Healthcare has improved dramatically during my lifetime because clinicians, researchers, and patients have been willing to confront uncomfortable truths and learn from them.
Conversations about medical gaslighting belong within that tradition. Acknowledging these experiences does not weaken healthcare. It creates opportunities to strengthen it.
The lesson I took away from both Dr. Yildiz’s article and the conversation that followed was surprisingly simple. Sometimes the most powerful intervention is not a new medication, a sophisticated scan, or a cutting-edge technology.
Sometimes it is a clinician saying, “I hear you. Let’s figure this out together.” For a profession built on healing, that seems like a remarkably good place to start.
Here is another story from the F@cked Up World series.
The World Is F@cked Up and Here’s What We Can Do
How an Unlocked Front Door, a Cloned Identity, and a Spammed Platform Reveal What We Are Losing in the Digital Agemedium.com
Thanks for reading my story from Down Under. Have a lovely day.
If you are interested in sex, I have started a sex education series which might educate, inspire, or even entertain you. Here are the links to some sample stories:
The 8 Habits of Sexually Satisfied Couples With Any Sexual Orientation
Sexual Health Is a Natural Part of Healthy Aging
What Most People Were Never Taught About Female and Male Orgasm
The Neurobiology of Sexual Pleasure and Meaningful Human Connection.
Human Libido: What Most People Were Never Taught About Sexual Desire
What Most People Were Never Taught About Sexual Confidence
Neurocognitive and Affective Differences Between Erotic and Pornographic Stimuli in the Brain [Warning: This one is scholarly!]
What Science Reveals About Anal Pleasure and Orgasm for Both Women and Men [Free access via my community blogs]
Cheers, Mike!
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