Overcoming Medical Trauma: Empowering Your Healthcare Journey

Have you ever left your doctor’s office feeling unheard, dismissed, or even foolish for voicing your concerns? You know something is not right and your body is not feeling well but your symptoms are brushed off. You try to explain it to your medical provider in a few different ways but are met with interruptions, condescension, and minimization. You are assured that everything is fine but now you feel worse, like a fool wasting your doctor’s precious time. Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone.

Countless individuals experience medical dismissal at some point in their lives. It can lead to a prolonged, disheartening, and frustrating search for answers. Individuals go from appointment to appointment and to one medical provider to another and then another and so on. It can easily take months or even years before an accurate diagnosis is made and the appropriate treatment is provided.

Who Is Most Affected by Medical Dismissal?

While no one is immune to dismissive treatment by their provider, medical dismissal affects certain groups disproportionately due to systemic biases, gaps in medical research, or social stereotypes.

Women

Women frequently report having their symptoms downplayed or attributed to being “emotional” or “dramatic”. Most medical research has been focused on male bodies, leaving significant gaps in understanding women’s health beyond their reproductive system. A stereotypical view of women can delay critical diagnoses and treatment.

Elderly or disabled individuals

For elderly or disabled individuals, physical complaints are often chalked up to age, existing disabilities, or known conditions. Both groups of people can have challenges advocating for themselves and often need support for their concerns to be taken seriously.

Many of these individuals have Medicaid insurance, which can actually be a barrier to receiving healthcare as many medical providers do not accept this insurance because of low reimbursement rates. Also, the administrative burden placed on practices accepting Medicaid is another deterrent. Several Medicaid recipients do not have their own transportation and must rely either on public transportation or medical transport services, which have been reported to be unreliable and causing patients to miss their appointments.

Individuals with chronic or unexplained conditions

People with chronic health or unexplained conditions often struggle with conveying the severity of their symptoms. Providers may misinterpret their reports as “frequent complaining” or even malingering, especially if the condition is complex or lacks a clear diagnosis. For individuals with health anxiety, their concerns may be dismissed as purely psychological, despite the possibility of legitimate physical issues.

Individuals with mental health conditions

A mental health diagnosis can shift the focus away from physical symptoms, with providers assuming complaints are related to their mental health condition rather than investigating it further. Typically, people with a mental health diagnosis are perceived as not being very credible, leaving patients feeling invalidated and hesitant to seek care.

Individuals with current or past substance use disorders

Perhaps the most stigmatized group, individuals with substance use disorders often face assumptions that their symptoms are related to substance use even when unrelated. Providers may ask inappropriate questions, like “How’s the drinking going?” despite long-term sobriety or assume medication-seeking behavior when they person is just looking for some relief.

The Impact of Medical Dismissal

            Being dismissed by a healthcare provider can be more than frustrating – it can be traumatic. Repeated invalidation may lead to avoiding medical care altogether, worsening health outcomes. Many turn to unreliable Internet searches (i.e. “Dr. Google”), which can provide incomplete or misleading information. Over time, this cycle of dismissal and self-doubt can erode trust in the healthcare system and take a toll on mental health.

Empowering Yourself: Effective Strategies for Self-Advocacy

You deserve to be heard and to live well, it is crucial to receive the care you need. Here are actionable steps to navigate medical dismissal and ensure that you and your concerns are taken seriously:

Track Your Symptoms: Keep a detailed log of your symptoms, including frequency, severity, and anything that causes relief or exacerbation of your symptoms. Objective data strengthens your case and provides your provider with critical information to guide diagnosis and treatment.

Keep Your Medical Records: Save after-visit summaries, educational materials, and your own notes from appointments. This documentation helps you stay informed and track medical advice over time.

Prepare for Appointments: Before your visit, take a moment to think about what you want to communicate to your provider and what your desired outcome is – whether it is a medication adjustment, a specialist referral, or a specific test. Write down questions and concerns to stay focused and don’t hesitate to politely restate your needs if you feel unheard.

Research Wisely: Educate yourself using reputable, evidenced-based sources to better understand your symptoms. Avoid self-diagnosing as this can lead to misidentification of symptoms, delays in proper treatment, and worsened health conditions.

Bring Support: A trusted friend or family member can offer moral support and help advocate for you. This will help communicate your concerns clearly.

Seek a Second Opinion: If your provider continues to dismiss your concerns, considering getting a second opinion from another medical provider for a fresh perspective.

Healing From Medical Trauma

            Experiencing medical dismissal can leaving lasting emotional scars causing distrust and anxiety about future healthcare interactions. These experiences can be overwhelming, distressing, or traumatic but professional support has many benefits. Trauma-informed therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can provide you the tools to process and cope with challenges and empower you to reclaim control over your healthcare.

At Be Heard Live Well, we’re here to support you in navigating the emotional impact of medical dismissal while equipping you with strategies to advocate for your health. Let’s work together to foster healing and ensure you receive the care you deserve.

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