Defining Medical Gaslighting-To Extinguish It.

Abstract

The term medical gaslighting is increasingly recognised in the academic literature on chronic or contested illnesses, grounded in experiences of dismissal, invalidation, and inadequate care. Medical gaslighting has also gained prominence in public discourse, particularly on social media. However, the term has at times become conflated with other negative healthcare experiences, such as communication breakdowns or unmet patient expectations. Consequently, it remains unclear whether the phenomenon is consistently understood across contexts. Sensationalisation may have limited meaningful engagement, leaving insufficient empirical and clinical work to guide practice. This perspective piece critically engages with existing discourse and advances a clear, theoretically grounded definition to inform research, clinical practice, and public understanding. The authors advocate a psychological and sociological framing that foregrounds the systemic inequities and power dynamics shaping Western medicine, thereby distinguishing medical gaslighting from related concepts. Within this framing, they define medical gaslighting as the repeated dismissal and invalidation of an individual's health concerns by medical professionals, healthcare organisations, or the broader medical system, leading the individual to question or doubt the legitimacy of their concerns. This definition should continue to evolve as the field progresses. Ultimately, Western medicine must turn its diagnostic gaze towards medical gaslighting and work to extinguish the systemic inequities that sustain it.