1 “If a Doctor Said This to You, You Were Gaslit”

Most women are not misdiagnosed…

"They are dismissed."

If a doctor ever told you:

"Your tests are normal."

"You're just stressed."

"It's probably anxiety."

"Have you tried losing weight?"

"Maybe you're being too sensitive."

…and you still felt sick, exhausted, in pain, or not yourself…

You weren't crazy.

You weren't dramatic.

You were gaslit.

And today, I'm going to show you the exact phrases doctors use when they don't know what's wrong — but don't want to admit it.

By the end of this video, you'll be able to hear a doctor speak and immediately know whether you're being helped…

or quietly dismissed.

You'll learn the red flags.

You'll understand the patterns.

And most importantly — you'll never doubt yourself again.

1: What Is Medical Gaslighting?

Medical gaslighting happens when a healthcare provider makes you doubt your own body.

They don't have to be rude.

They don't have to yell.

They don't have to be outwardly cruel.

They simply minimize, explain away, or ignore your symptoms until you start questioning yourself.

You walk into that appointment saying:

"I don't feel right. Something is wrong."

You leave thinking:

"Maybe I'm just weak. Maybe I'm imagining things. Maybe I'm the problem."

That's not care.

That's psychological damage.

And women experience this far more than men — especially women of color, plus-size women, and women with chronic conditions.

Studies show that women wait an average of four years longer than men to receive an accurate diagnosis for the same disease. Four years of suffering. Four years of being told it's in your head.

Not because our symptoms aren't real…

But because medicine was never built to listen to us.

Medical textbooks, diagnostic criteria, drug trials — most were based on male bodies. The "standard patient" in medical training was historically a 70-kilogram man. Women's pain has been systematically undertreated, under-researched, and under-believed for generations.

This isn't conspiracy.

This is documented medical history.

And it's still happening today.

2: The Most Dangerous Phrase

"Your labs are normal."

This is the most dangerous sentence in women's healthcare.

Because normal labs do not mean a healthy body.

Let me explain why.

Most "normal" lab ranges were created using:

young men in their twenties

military recruits

hospital patients

populations that excluded cycling women entirely

So when a woman walks in saying:

"I'm exhausted every single day, no matter how much I sleep."

"I'm gaining weight even though I'm eating less."

"I'm depressed for no reason."

"I'm losing hair in clumps."

"I'm bloated constantly."

"I'm anxious all the time."

And the doctor runs basic bloodwork and says:

"Your labs are normal."

What they're really saying is:

"We don't know how to interpret women's bodies — so we're going to use a reference range that wasn't designed for you."

Here's what they're not telling you:

Many hormone problems show up long before they're "abnormal" on standard tests. Your thyroid could be struggling at a TSH of 3.5, but many labs don't flag it until it's over 4.5 or even 5. You could have insulin resistance without diabetes. You could have progesterone deficiency that doesn't show up on a basic hormone panel. You could have cortisol dysregulation that a single morning test won't catch.

Your body can be struggling, suffering, screaming for help — long before numbers cross an arbitrary line on a lab report created decades ago.

Functional medicine practitioners know this.

Integrative doctors know this.

Endocrinologists who specialize in women's health know this.

But your average primary care doctor? They were trained to treat the lab report, not the person in front of them.

 3: The Anxiety Trap

"It's just anxiety."

This one ends lives.

Because anxiety is what doctors call symptoms they don't want to investigate.

Heart racing at 120 beats per minute while you're sitting still?

Anxiety.

Dizziness every time you stand up?

Anxiety.

Shortness of breath climbing one flight of stairs?

Anxiety.

Chest pain that radiates down your arm?

Anxiety.

Hands shaking uncontrollably?

Anxiety.

But here's what actually happened to women who were told "it's just anxiety":

Sarah was told she had anxiety for two years. She actually had a heart arrhythmia that required surgery.

Jennifer was given antidepressants for her "panic attacks." She had a thyroid condition that was destroying her metabolism.

Maria was sent to therapy for her racing heart and tremors. She had Graves' disease — an autoimmune disorder attacking her thyroid.

Lisa was told to meditate and reduce stress. She had anemia so severe she needed a blood transfusion.

Thousands of women have been told their heart palpitations, their crushing fatigue, their brain fog were "just anxiety" — only to discover later they had Lyme disease, pots, lupus, MS, or other serious conditions.

Your nervous system doesn't just panic for no reason.

Anxiety can absolutely be real and valid. But when physical symptoms are involved — especially cardiovascular, neurological, or hormonal symptoms — anxiety is often a signal, not a diagnosis.

It's your body's alarm system saying: "Something is wrong. Pay attention."

And when a doctor shuts that alarm off without investigating why it's ringing?

That's medical negligence dressed up as mental health awareness.

 4: The Normalization Of Suffering

"That's just part of being a woman."

No.

No.

Absolutely not.

Crippling periods that make you vomit and miss work.

Constant fatigue that makes you feel 80 years old at 30.

Hormonal migraines that leave you bedridden for days.

Brain fog so thick you forget what you were saying mid-sentence.

Mood swings that make you feel like a stranger to yourself.

Pain during sex that makes intimacy impossible.

Bleeding through super-plus tampons every hour.

Cramps so severe you can't stand up straight.

None of that is "normal."

None of that is required.

None of that should be tolerated.

It's common — because millions of women are under-treated, under-diagnosed, and told to just deal with it.

But suffering is not a requirement for womanhood.

This phrase exists to make women tolerate symptoms instead of demanding care. It's a medical shortcut that saves doctors time but costs women years of their lives.

Endometriosis takes an average of 7-10 years to diagnose. PCOS is often dismissed as "just bad periods." Adenomyosis is called "normal cramping." PMDD is labeled "mood swings."

These are real, diagnosable, treatable conditions.

And when doctors say "that's just being a woman," what they mean is: "I don't want to investigate this further."

You deserve better.

5: The Weight Deflection

"Just lose weight."

This one hides real disease.

Women with:

• PCOS — where insulin resistance causes weight gain

• Hypothyroidism — where a slow metabolism causes weight gain

• Insulin resistance — where hormonal dysfunction causes weight gain

• Cushing's syndrome — where excess cortisol causes weight gain

• Lipedema — where abnormal fat distribution isn't responsive to diet

• Medication side effects — where prescriptions cause weight gain

are told to lose weight…

when their illness is literally causing the weight gain.

It's backwards.

It's circular logic.

It's lazy medicine.

"You have knee pain because you're overweight."

Maybe. Or maybe you have knee pain because you have an autoimmune condition that's also causing inflammation and weight gain.

"You're tired because you're carrying extra weight."

Or maybe you're carrying extra weight because hypothyroidism has crashed your metabolism and you're sleeping 12 hours a day and still exhausted.

Weight gain is often a symptom — not the cause.

And when doctors refuse to look past your BMI, they miss:

Tumors

Hormonal disorders

Heart conditions

Autoimmune disease

Metabolic dysfunction

There are documented cases of women being told to lose weight who actually had ovarian tumors weighing 30+ pounds. Their "weight problem" was literally cancer.

Your weight does not disqualify you from thorough medical care.

6: How To Know You're Being Gaslit

You are being gaslit if:

You feel WORSE after appointments, not better

You stop bringing up symptoms because "there's no point"

You're told "everything looks fine" but you don't feel fine at all

You leave appointments confused instead of empowered

Your concerns are met with sighs, eye rolls, or dismissive body language

You're prescribed antidepressants without any mental health assessment

You're told to "give it time" without any follow-up plan

Your pain is rated lower than what you reported

You're asked "are you sure?" when you describe symptoms

You feel like you have to convince them you're actually sick

A good doctor doesn't just read numbers.

They listen to people.

They ask follow-up questions.

They validate your experience.

They create a plan, even if it's "let's monitor this and retest in 6 weeks."

You should leave medical appointments feeling heard, even if you don't have all the answers yet.

If you're leaving feeling crazy, you're not the problem.

7: What To Say Next Time

Here's what to say when you're being dismissed:

"I understand the labs look normal to you, but I am not functioning normally. What else could explain these symptoms?"

"Can we run more specific testing? I'd like a full thyroid panel, not just TSH. I'd like inflammatory markers checked. I'd like hormone levels tested at specific points in my cycle."

"I hear that you think this is anxiety, but I've never had these physical symptoms before. Can we rule out other causes first?"

"Can you document in my chart that I reported these symptoms and that you refused further investigation? I'd like that in writing."

Watch how fast the conversation changes when you ask for documentation.

Also try:

"What would you do if this were your daughter/wife/sister experiencing these symptoms?"

"I'd like a referral to a specialist."

"I'm going to get a second opinion. Can you send my records?"

You are allowed to advocate for yourself.

You are allowed to ask questions.

You are allowed to say "this doesn't feel right."

And if a doctor makes you feel bad for doing any of those things?

Find a new doctor.

 8: You Were Never Crazy

You were never crazy.

Your body has been talking to you the whole time.

It's not broken.

It's not dramatic.

It's not "just stress."

It was ignored.

And I need you to know: the medical system failing you does not mean you failed.

It means the system needs to change.

And it starts with women refusing to be silenced.

If this video made you feel seen, share it with another woman who's been told "everything is normal" while falling apart inside.

Because silence keeps women sick.

And awareness changes everything.

You deserve to be heard.

You deserve to be believed.

You deserve real care.

Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.