Medical Gaslighting - Introduction to medical gaslighting

Introduction to medical gaslighting

01/09/23 • 13 min

Medical Gaslighting

Are you a woman? A person of color?

Chances are, you’ve experienced it. But it’s not limited to us – medical gaslighting is an equal opportunity destroyer.

I have experienced medical gaslighting. Repeatedly. At first, I thought it was just me. I didn’t share my stories because I was embarrassed. I thought I must’ve done something wrong. Boy did I ever! But through my Podcast, Hardy Mom, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to other patients. And the stories they tell!

And then I started, asking the people around me, my friends, my family. And I learned that it wasn’t just me, or just the guests on my podcast. This is an epidemic! The things that are happening to the most vulnerable in our population are atrocious, a nerving, unsettling, and unacceptable.

As a disability advocate, I knew there was something I had to do. But what? I can use my voice. And that is how this podcast got started. I am using my voice, and having others use theirs. It is time, the time is now. We must make this stop. Patients must get the care they need.

No more being a victim.

Has it happened to you?

Discover more when you listen to this episode, and go to medicalgaslighting.info.

Do you have your own story of medical gaslighting you'd like to share? Email me at [email protected] and we'll talk.

Thank you for listening. The most important thing you can do is share this podcast/episode with 5 people you know will benefit from it. Sharing is caring.

You're amazing - and you are loved,

Jen

Are you a woman? A person of color?

Chances are, you’ve experienced it. But it’s not limited to us – medical gaslighting is an equal opportunity destroyer.

No more being a victim.

Has it happened to you?

Discover more when you listen to this episode, and go to medicalgaslighting.info.

Do you have your own story of medical gaslighting you'd like to share? Email me at [email protected] and we'll talk.

Thank you for listening. The most important thing you can do is share this podcast/episode with 5 people you know will benefit from it. Sharing is caring.

You're amazing - and you are loved,

Jen

Previous Episode

Medical Gaslighting - The Trailer

Hi, it's Jen Hardy!

As host of the Hardy Mom podcast I have heard story after story of medically Gaslighting. It's time to help these patients by giving them a voice.

According to the CPTSD Foundation, medical gaslighting is when a medical professional dismisses a person’s health concerns as being the product of their imagination. They may tell the person their symptoms are “in their head” or label them a hypochondriac.

Unfortunately, patients that endure medical gaslighting can go months, years, and even decades without the medical care they need. Their symptoms are being brushed off, their sanity is being questioned, their lives are being ruined.

This podcast is to empower these patients, give them a platform to share their stories, and bring recognition to what is being done to the most vulnerable population in our society. We acknowledge that there are fabulous doctors, nurses, and medical providers and the point of this is not to take away anything from those professionals.

Unfortunately medical gaslighting has reached epidemic proportions it’s time to reveal the truth and make it stop.

Has it happened to you?

Discover more when you listen to this episode, and go to medicalgaslighting.info for more.

Do you have your own story of medical gaslighting you'd like to share? Email me at [email protected] and we'll talk.

Thank you for listening. The most important thing you can do is share this podcast/episode with 5 people you know will benefit from it. Sharing is caring.

You're amazing - and you are loved,

Jen

Next Episode

Muscle biopsy without pain management

This happened a few years ago. I have all the details because I wrote down everything in a letter to the hospital asking -

how could they charge me $15,000 for a muscle biopsy performed by a student without pain management?

Well, you might wonder why I would let a student perform surgery? Because I was lied to. I was told he was the doctor. But no, the doctor was sitting, leaning against me on the surgery bed. Leaning against my hips, telling me it didn't really hurt, and that it was all ok.

But no part of that was ok.

And what was I doing? Lying on the bed with the sheet up over my head like I was dead.

All the while, a resident was instructing the student. I heard things like, "oh, I would cut the opposite direction next time," and things along that line. It. Was. Horrifying.

Afterwards, Tylenol. My arm had been cut almost to the bone. And I was told it should have been painless.

And that wasn't the first thing that happened on that trip to a "specialty" center. Listen for the full story.

Discover more when you listen to this episode, and go to medicalgaslighting.info for more.

Do you have your own story of medical gaslighting you'd like to share? Email me at [email protected] and we'll talk.

Thank you for listening. The most important thing you can do is share this podcast/episode with 5 people you know will benefit from it. Sharing is caring.

You're amazing - and you are loved,

Jen