You’d think that all medical professionals have your best interests at heart and want to accurately diagnose you. While the world is full of talented, empathetic, and knowledgeable doctors, nurses, surgeons, and specialists, far from everyone is like that. It would be naive to think so. Unfortunately, there are some truly rotten apples in the bunch.
Medical gaslighting is what happens when your doctor dismisses your health concerns. And it’s a serious issue with real-life consequences. The Young Lung Cancer Initiative, a non-profit that empowers young adults in the fight against cancer, recently went viral on Facebook. It asked patients to share their real diagnoses, even though their doctors didn't take them seriously. These professionals attributed symptoms to anxiety, stress, or mental health.
Scroll down for these real-life stories. It’s a reminder to trust your gut and if something feels off, always get a second (or third!) opinion.
Bored Panda reached out to the team at the Young Lung Cancer Initiative, and they were kind enough to answer our questions. You'll find our interview with them below.
Image credits: Young Lung Cancer Initiative
#1
Hashimoto's. It took me 4 doctors in large hospitals until I found this doctor in a rural town that took one look at me and was like, "you have a severe thyroid issue. Let's get you some help". He has been a god send. The man is brilliant and he went toe to toe with my insurance for me to be treated properly. I know when his Cuban Spanish starts flowing, he has had enough.
Image credits: Brandy Anne
According to Bianca and Leah from the Young Lung Cancer Initiative, the Facebook post came from "what we see so often in the young lung cancer community (people diagnosed at 50 or younger)."
"Delayed diagnosis is a major issue. Most are diagnosed at stage 4, and many spend a year or more trying to get answers. For young patients without a smoking history, lung cancer is often the last thing considered. That is not the case for every disease, but in our community, it is a big reason people are diagnosed so late," the representatives explained to Bored Panda in an email.
They said that they wanted to highlight the reality, as well as to hear from other people. "Medical gaslighting happens in many conditions, not just lung cancer."
#2
Our pediatrician said my baby sister was making herself sick for attention… she had cancer.
Image credits: Jillian Caitlin
#3
When I was 14, my doctor diagnosed me with "child who has a parent abroad" syndrome. I had kidney failure lol.
Image credits: Cristina Balcan
The team said that medical gaslighting is "far too common." Especially for younger patients, women, and (with regards to lung cancer) individuals without a smoking history.
"It can happen when symptoms do not fit what a doctor expects or when early test results look normal. Time pressures and unconscious bias can make it worse," they said.
They shared some practical advice for what to do if you feel that you're being gaslit by medical professionals. "Write down your symptoms, when they started, how they have changed, and how they affect your life," they suggested.
"Ask direct questions like 'What else could this be?' and 'What is the next step if this does not improve?' Do not be afraid to get a second opinion. If a doctor says 'It is not cancer' or 'It is nothing to worry about,' but your symptoms are still there, you deserve a diagnosis. You deserve to know what is happening in your body and you know your body best."
They urged patients to trust themselves. "Many young lung cancer patients finally got answers because they kept pushing. That persistence can save your life."
#4
Multiple sclerosis. Told I had health anxiety and I replied 'I've anxiety because no one is f*****g listening to me!'
Image credits: Lynsey Mooney
#5
Almost died. I was in middle of having anaphylactic shock from a chemical in middle of iron infusion that I was allergic to. A nurse said it was just me having panic attack until I was throwing up all over and pooping and rash on body until they gave me allergy medicine. Scariest thing I ever went through. I was near death.
Image credits: Bee Joy
#6
Welp I just got told it's a brain tumor yesterday 😅 turns out they were kinda right when they said it was "all in my head."
Image credits: Brie Morrison
The question shared by the Young Lung Cancer Initiative instantly went viral. At the time of writing, the post has a whopping 3.6 million views, 11.2k comments, and 6.5k likes. It feels validating to know that you’re not alone if you’ve ever felt like your doctor has dismissed your genuine health concerns.
Medical gaslighting can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and delayed treatment. The result? Your physical and mental health suffer. And, in some cases, you can even lose your life! On top of that, this damages society’s trust in the healthcare system as a whole. It’s bad for everyone.
Broadly speaking, some medical ‘professionals’ attribute your symptoms to stress, anxiety, and mental health issues. The underlying assumption that they make is that the patient is overexaggerating their symptoms.
Some of the main signs that your doctor may be gaslighting you include behaviors like:
- Interrupting you
- Not listening to you
- Diminishing your symptoms
- Blaming your symptoms on your age, lifestyle, gender, sexual orientation, or weight
- Linking your symptoms to anxiety, depression, or stress
- Rushing you through the appointment
#7
The 4 times I was dismissed by doctors in one month in extreme pain they were all male. Wasn’t until I saw the first female doctor I finally taken seriously and it was stage 4 cancer!
Image credits: Jennifer Jaske
#8
Leukemia, I was "too young to be that sick " so I must be dr shopping.
Image credits: Justin Hart
#9
Bleeding every other week for 8 months: "that just happens sometimes." Eventually switched docs. One investigative ultrasound later and it turned out I have 2 uteruses. Tada.
Image credits: Lexy Yohey
To be perfectly fair, not all medical gaslighting is intentional. There are situations where it is purely accidental. “The health care provider might have poor communication skills, or have limited time to speak with a patient, or not be medically knowledgeable enough to know what to do,” Dr. Jonathan M. Marron, a physician and director of clinical ethics at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, told Harvard Business Review.
Furthermore, medical gaslighting can be rooted in the lack of medical knowledge. Some illnesses, diseases, and disorders still aren’t understood properly. It can be especially difficult if there’s no clear way to test for a diagnosis.
That being said, some medical gaslighting is the direct result of (un)conscious biases. “We know there is a significant amount of unconscious bias in the practice of medicine. Studies show that those from marginalized groups, especially women and people of color, are more likely to have their concerns or questions not taken seriously, which can be associated with worse health outcomes," Dr. Marron told HBR.
#10
I was heading into heart failure by the time they listened to me and my PCP who helped sent the first rheumatologist (a male) an envelope of glitter with my diagnosis and lab reports because he had told her I was an overweight female with mental health issues.
Image credits: Sarah Peacock
#11
Not anxiety, but gas... My apendix burst the next day...
Image credits: Ingrid Elin Jakobsen
#12
A 400lbs+ provider in the ED on Christmas day told me my abdominal pain and vomiting was because "you need to lay off the greesy food" I was 130lbs at most! 3 days later I had a positive pregnancy test... I now have an amazing almost 9yo son. I was unaware greesy food caused pregnancy. Who knew.
Image credits: Angel Strine
While it’s impossible to 100% avoid medical gaslighting, there are still things you can do to minimize the chances of this happening. Preparation is key here! As per HBR, when going to your doctor’s appointment, you should do the following:
- Bring a journal where you’ve been tracking your symptoms
- Briefly and precisely explain your medical concerns
- Have a short list of questions for your doctor
- Consider bringing a trusted friend or relative with you so they can support you, take notes, and observe how the doctor interacts with you
Dr. Marron suggests that if you don’t know what to ask, you could prompt your doctor for help with, “If you were in my shoes, what should I be asking right now?” At the end of the appointment, you need to understand two things: the big-picture plan and the next steps you’ll be taking.
#13
The wildest time they told me I had anxiety was when I went to the ER because I couldn't breathe and my hands were going numb and it was moving up my arms and legs. They literally treated me like an idiot and like they felt sorry for me because I was so ignorant.... It was Aniphilaxis... I have Alpha Gal (allergy to mammal products and by products) it's a miracle I'm still alive at this point. Also, the Dr tried to get me to lay down and go to sleep. He said "it will go away if you just go to sleep" I said, yeah cause I'll be dead... I laugh now but it wasn't so funny at the time.
Image credits: Carrie Gossage-Stearns
#14
Ulcerative colitis. Turns out, anxiety doesn’t make you s**t blood.
Image credits: Karah Stevenson
#15
Aplastic Anaemia (complete bone marrow failure) told I was probably stressed and running too much and to take a month off. Chemo, radio, and one bone marrow transplant later and the ‘anxiety’ has gone.
Image credits: Laura Baker
That being said, in some rare circumstances, the doctor is completely in the right, and the patient simply refuses to accept that they’re not sick. Hypochondria, aka illness anxiety disorder or health anxiety, means that a person is preoccupied with the idea that they’re ill, even when they have normal body sensations or minor issues.
According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the signs and symptoms of hypochondria include:
- Being easily alarmed about your health
- Not being reassured after visiting the doctor and getting negative test results
- Excessively worrying about specific medical conditions
- Being so distressed about falling ill that you can’t function properly
- Repeatedly checking for signs of disease
- Frequently making medical appointments out of fear
- Avoiding people, places, and activities
- Constantly talking about your health
- Frequently checking the internet for illness symptoms
With this in mind, if you’re worried about your health, you can and should go to a doctor’s appointment for tests. However, if your doctor believes that you may have hypochondria, they might refer you to a mental health professional.
So, you need to find a healthy balance between persistence and knowing when to actually trust experts.
#16
"Just a headache" and " hahahahahah you can't have a hole in your head, it's a solid bone".... come to find out, I had a 6 inch rotting draining tube in my skull (the bone had started to grow over it) that was left in there from when I was a baby and had surgery.
#17
My friend had anaphylactic shock episode and the paramedics tried to tell her it was a panic attack - she nearly died
Image credits: Nikki Tinsley
#18
Told me I couldn’t catch my breath and was having chest pains because I was having an anxiety attack (never had an anxiety attack in my life). Had a heart attack in the ER.
Image credits: Bridget VeVerka
Has a medical professional ever gaslit you, diminishing your symptoms even though you knew something was wrong? What happened, and what was your actual diagnosis?
If there are any doctors reading this today, how do you ensure that you don’t medically gaslight your patients? What do you do to accurately diagnose your patients?
Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this post.
#19
Graves disease. Oh yeah..and 7 weeks solid of heavy bleeding and pain to the point of passing out was also brushed off 4 times as just "normal perimenopausal changes" until they removed a massive pendiculated fibroid from my uterus.
And when I kept trying to get help for my (then) infant daughter they told me my daughter didn't have any problems and it was just me being an "over anxious first time mother" and actually wrote in hospital records that they thought I was potentially suffering from "paranoid delusions subsequent to post natal depression" because I told them I was sure she had a genetic disorder.. and gee..turned out it wasn't just anxiety or delusions.
..she has a rare genetic syndrome.. Kabuki syndrome.
Also was told I had reflux when. I had gallstones and inflamed pancreas..shall I go on? So many horror stories.
#20
You’re pregnant….after just telling him I’m a lesbian, turned out to be a tumour.
Image credits: Ruth Mortimer
#21
Pulmonary Hypertension & COPD at 23 (yay me!!) Turns out I wasn't just fat & lazy.
Image credits: JacobandLydia Jones
#22
SVT after being told it was just anxiety and even once after fainting in HS being told "well you know, 16 year old girls 'swoon' all the time."
Image credits: Kaitlin Baker
#23
A doctor once told me (and documented) he wouldn’t scan my knee because he “didn’t want to feed my delusions”. I left ED in agony, got a private scan and had entirely cracked in half the cartilage in my knee.
#24
I gotta lose weight to fix.... extra spinal fluid on my brain. Im sure that'll work.
Image credits: Rin Jones-Dawson
#25
My husband had 5 doctors say ‘well everything is coming back normal, so it must be anxiety’. We refused to accept that as his diagnosis and found out it was mold toxicity. In an instant, mold changed everything in our lives… never saw that on the bingo card for 2025.
Image credits: Krystle Burrows Scroggins
#26
The rarest form of Lung Fibrosis...
Doctors in the ICU scolded me, called me a lot of bad things and said it was anxiety, I was faking it and so on.
And last Monday morning paramedics didn't believe that I fell unconscious and had bad convulsions on my kitchen floor even though I bit my tongue and everything... Went to the hospital later and it turned out I DID have convulsions AND I actually also broke my back, sprained my tailbone and pressed at least 8 ribs from the fall.
So yeah.
Image credits: Christina Guddi Gudtmann
#27
My mother, after her ‘initial anxiety’ diagnosis. Brain tumour, 9th documented person in the world to have this particular tumour in that spot in her brain. But hey ‘good news it’s not dementia.’
Image credits: Morgan McDonald
#28
Hyper active, anxiety, and self neglect. Been a nurse 10 years and just needed a vacation blah blah blah. I'm T1D and 1 year diaversary is in Oct. That 900 BG through everyone for a loop.
Image credits: Shyanne Thornock
#29
My daughter: Dr said “POTS, Anxiety, Food allergies, In your head” Actually “Type 1 Diabetic”.
#30
Multiple Sclerosis-my original presentation was “just an anxiety attack.”
Image credits: Courtney Amanda
#31
Graves' disease.
A regular customer of mine told me while serving him martinis.
Took one look at me and knew.
He saved me.
Nina Aleeah Prince replied:
its insane that its almost never doctors that figure it out. My most serious issues were figured out by friends or myself. I just asked the right doctors for the right tests, or showed them tests they've already done and missed to get a diagnosis.
#32
Lupus, but it really was me being too stressed and not sleeping enough.
Image credits: Sarah Rae
#33
Breast Cancer...the shortness of breath and chest pain, just anxiety...oooookay!
#34
Diagnosed with Complex regional Pain Syndrome after I was told I’m “just dehydrated and need to suck it up.”
#35
Chiari malformation, said it was just hormonal headaches. No sir my brain is shoving out of my skull!
Image credits: Christina Schlueter Keith
#36
Gall bladder stones. They said I was imagining the pain. 😂 They said I was too young at the time to have gall bladder stones hence why they didn’t bother doing an ultrasound and just assumed I was imagining it.
Image credits: Selin Hankali
#37
Secondary bacterial pneumonia with an SpO2 of 88 but I just needed “to calm down and breathe.”
#38
Vitamin b6 toxicity! My nerves were literally frying. But I was told for weeks to just relax. 2 years later and I’m finally ok!
#39
Severe Mitral Stenosis & Regurgitation. I coded on the table twice after a crna told me I was having a panic attack... and she never gave me Versed so I remember ALL of it.
#40
I ended up with sepsis- went to the ED & the doctor barely looked at me and I was coughing up literal chunks of blood & had a super high fever. He sent me home, within hours I was nearly unresponsive & my mom begged the ER doctor to run more tests but they refused just saying I was being anxious & dramatic.
#41
Pulmonary embolisms, lung cancer. Because apparently if you're 30 those things don't happen...
#42
3 years to get a dx for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Given enough Ativan to choke a horse. That was 25 years ago.
Image credits: Angela Woods-Sweat
#43
Ankylosis Spondylitis, Fibromyalgia. But “I’m too young to be dealing with pain.”
#44
Got told I’m healthy and there is nothing wrong with me, like 3 months later, Lyme disease…2 different types plus found out of a genetic mutation that can cause me to end up in a wheelchair by the time I’m in my 30s…
#45
My first son…3 years old…”Constipation, give him MiraLAX.”
Took him to ER that night…Complete Intestinal Malrotation with obstruction. Two big surgeries later and he’s nearly 12.
#46
Ambulance crew said "you're just having an anxiety attack." Er Dr diagnosed it as a stroke. Quite a bit different really.
#47
Atrial Septal Defect and open heart surgery that week.
For years it was “🙄 She’s so dramatic when she has to run.”
Also telling the Dr I thought I had asthma because my lungs burned so bad. “Just because your friend has asthma doesn’t mean you do.”
