Medical Gaslighting

By Dr Hazel Batten, Integrative GP at Remede Wellness Medicine

What is medical gaslighting? And how can you avoid it?

Medical gaslighting is a terminology used to describe the feeling that a patient might have when their concerns and expectations have not been properly heard of addressed in a consultation. It is a type of psychological manipulation which can invalidate your understanding or reasoning and make you question your beliefs and even sanity.
Many doctors are very structured in their approach to treatment. They often must be due to time constraints. They follow the most up-to-date guidelines and treat patient within the scope of their knowledge and practice. This helps to ensure that patient care is safe. However, this comes with limitations. Healthcare treatments are rapidly developing and now that patients have access to the internet and treatments, most patients are well informed and can be frustrated by the system if their concerns aren’t being met.

Ways that we avoid medical gaslighting at Remede:

– We offer long appointments to enable you to feel heard and not rushed
– We encourage you to write things down – please come with a list to keep the consult structured and ensure that all your concerns are addressed
– Bring an advocate; a friend, partner or spouse etc. to help support you through the consult
– We are open minded – please feel free to discuss any concerns that you have no matter how extreme you feel they are. You will always be heard.
– If we feel we’re unable to address your concerns, we may advise a second opinion. This second opinion may be in house with one of our other team members, or we may need to refer to an external specialist

Here is a case example of a condition where a patient may have experienced ‘gaslighting’:

Many patients in today’s world are struggling with chronic fatigue. This is usually a result of a virus such as Epstein Barr or Covid etc. They may have been told that their condition is psychological or been given psychological treatments to help. Here at Remede, we understand the mechanism behind chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue is complex, but usually a virus has disrupted the way that our mitochondria (energy components of the cell) are working, which can lead to pain, fatigue, mood changes etc. Patients are usually well versed in their condition as most have done their own research. Most are taking supplements but feel unable to tell their doctor about these as they would be dismissed and told that these treatments have “no evidence”. This is gaslighting. The amazing team of practitioners here at Remede can support in so many ways. Our doctors and naturopaths can use pharmaceuticals, herbs and nutrients. Our nutritionist can help to support muscle strength and energy needs. Our osteopath can help to work with your biomechanics and help to eliminate some of the pain sensitisation, dizziness and headaches that can exist. Acupuncture and kinesiology can help to support pain, psychological stress and fatigue and then you can start to work on the psychological component, which is usually a result of the condition and not the cause. Many of these patients will have experienced trauma either prior to their condition or as a result of having a condition which has been dismissed. This can be a complex process to overcome.

One thing we never want you to feel here at Remede, is unheard or dismissed. Our practitioners are ready to take on most problems. Please book in this year if you feel like you want an open minded and supportive approach to your health.

Due to the specialist and popular nature of integrative medicine, there is often a lack of availability of appointments. Therefore, Dr Hazel requires you to maintain a relationship with your regular GP for urgent and acute health needs. Should you wish to book a consult with Dr Hazel, we encourage you to book a Collaborative Care Consult which includes Dr Hazel as your Integrative GP and an experienced Naturopathic Medicine Practitioner. Please contact the Clinic on 9286 1166 to book this appointment.