Study Exposes Medical Gaslighting of Women

More than 25 million American women are suffering at the hands of a healthcare and insurance system that routinely denies them the benefits they've paid for and rightly deserve—often dismissing their concerns and gaslighting them instead. Whether driven by ignorance or outright greed, this highly abusive mistreatment has gone on long enough and can no longer be tolerated.

A new meta-analysis of 151 studies reviewed 11,307 patient cases and uncovered a troubling pattern: when physicians lacked experience diagnosing certain conditions, they frequently responded by dismissing patients' concerns. Instead of investigating further, many defaulted to implying to the patients or their family that the person was crazy. Instead of honestly saying, "I’m sorry, I don't know what's causing your issue," and  referring the patient to a specialist. This was especially the case in immune illnesses that affect predominantly women.

The study impact statement noted: “In fact, health care interactions in which there is no known diagnosis is the fastest growing type of medical visit. This creates uncertainty for physicians who may respond by dismissing or minimizing patients’ symptoms… Findings suggest that invalidation confers a wide range of negative outcomes ranging from painful emotional states (e.g., shame, suicidality) and distress about health care visits (e.g., health care-related anxiety or trauma) to avoidance of health services and diagnostic delay.”

It further noted [bulletized list format and red highlight added for clarity and emphasis]: “The key diagnoses where people are getting gaslighted include:

• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome,
• endometriosis,
• fibromyalgia syndrome,
• Gulf War syndrome,
• irritable bowel syndrome,
• long COVID,
• multiple chemical sensitivity,
• myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome,
• postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome,
• systemic lupus erythematosus,
• and vulvodynia.”

More than 25 million American adults are affected by these conditions, and most struggle for years without proper diagnosis or treatment. The consequences are devastating—not only do patients endure untreated illness, but this meta-analysis reveals many are further harmed when physicians dismiss their symptoms, sometimes even convincing families that the patient is simply “crazy.”

Unfortunately, the mistreatment doesn’t end in the doctor’s office. Insurance companies often seize upon these dismissive medical reports to deny both disability and health insurance benefits to millions of severely ill individuals—leaving many without the financial support they need and, in far too many cases, forcing them into homelessness.

What unites these often-overlooked diagnoses is a disruption of immune function linked to autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Like many immune-related diseases—such as lupus or multiple sclerosis—these illnesses disproportionately affect women. This is partly because the X chromosome carries a significant portion of the genes responsible for regulating immunity.

Despite women now making up nearly half of practicing physicians, a long-standing bias in medicine persists: the outdated notion that women’s health complaints are merely “hysterical.” The word itself reflects this prejudice, originating from the Latin root “-hystero,” meaning uterus—a linguistic reminder of how deeply ingrained these dismissive attitudes remain.