"Have you tried just relaxing?" "It might be stress-related." "Your tests came back normal, so..." "Have you considered that this could be anxiety?"

If any of these sound familiar, you've likely experienced what researchers and patients increasingly call medical gaslighting: the dismissal, minimization, or psychologization of legitimate physical symptoms by healthcare providers. And if you're living with a pelvic health condition, the data suggests you're far more likely to encounter it than patients with other types of chronic pain.

What the Research Shows

A 2025 study led by Dr. Chailee Moss at George Washington University surveyed 447 women with vulvovaginal and pelvic pain conditions. The findings were striking: 45% of participants had been told their symptoms were "all in their head." Many reported being advised to "just have a glass of wine" or "try to relax more" instead of receiving medical evaluation. An estimated 20% were referred to psychiatry without any medical treatment being offered first [Moss et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2025].

A January 2025 report from the National Academies of Sciences found that research on diseases disproportionately affecting women has been systematically underfunded compared to diseases disproportionately affecting men. This funding gap directly contributes to the knowledge gaps that make dismissal more likely. When doctors don't have robust evidence-based frameworks for a condition, they're more prone to attributing symptoms to psychological causes.

Medical gaslighting is not new. It is rooted in centuries of gender bias in medicine, where women's pain has historically been attributed to hysteria, emotional instability, or psychological fragility. The consequences extend beyond hurt feelings. Delayed diagnosis, undertreated conditions, and a breakdown of trust that can make patients avoid healthcare entirely are a few of the extremely dangerous consequences medical gaslighting can have.

How It Shows Up

Medical gaslighting isn't always dramatic. It can be a subtle tone shift, a dismissive nod, a doctor who orders no tests and offers no referral. Common patterns include attributing physical symptoms to mental health without investigation, suggesting weight loss as a treatment for complex pain, prescribing anxiety medication or antidepressants as a first-line response to pain complaints, normalizing clearly abnormal symptoms ("some women just have sensitive bladders"), and failing to document patient-reported symptoms in medical records.

Over time, repeated dismissal can erode your confidence in your own perception of your body. You may start questioning whether the pain is as bad as you think. Whether you're overreacting. Whether maybe everyone deals with this and you're just not coping well enough. This self-doubt is a predictable psychological consequence of chronic invalidation and not evidence that anything is wrong with your perception.

What You Can Do

Document everything. Keep a written record of your symptoms, their frequency and severity, and how they affect your daily functioning. When you present organized data, it's harder for a provider to wave it away.

Ask for documentation. If a doctor declines to order a test or pursue a referral, ask them to note that in your char, along with their reasoning. This creates accountability and can shift the dynamic in the conversation.

Seek specialist care. If your primary provider isn't taking your symptoms seriously, a pelvic pain specialist, urogynecologist, or pelvic floor physical therapist may be better equipped both diagnostically and in terms of willingness to listen. You shouldn't have to convince your doctor that you're in pain.

Know your rights. You can request copies of your medical records. You can seek second opinions. You can bring someone with you to appointments as an advocate. None of these actions make you a difficult patient, they make you an informed one.

The Psychological Toll Is Real

Medical gaslighting doesn't just delay physical treatment, it affects mental health independently. Research has linked repeated medical dismissal to increased rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, and avoidance of healthcare [Khan et al., 2024]. If you notice yourself spiraling into self-doubt after appointments, or avoiding medical care because of past negative experiences, consider working with a therapist who understands chronic illness dynamics.

Your pain is real. Your experience is valid. And you deserve a provider who treats both as the starting point, not the thing that needs to be proven.

Sources

Moss, C., et al. "Medical Gaslighting in Patients with Vulvovaginal Pain." The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2025.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Report on Gender Disparities in Health Research Funding, January 2025.

Khan, S., et al. "Psychological Impact of Medical Gaslighting on Women: A Systematic Review." ResearchGate, 2024.

Hintz, E. & Berke, M. "When Doctors Don't Believe Their Patients' Pain." The Conversation, 2025.