Gaslighting?
I'm reading a book by Dr. Ramani Durvasula and I came across this:
"Typical gas- lighting statements include:
• "That never happened; I never did/said that."
• "Why are you always so angry?"
• "You are exaggerating; it wasn't that bad."
• "You have no right to feel that way."
• "It's all in your head."
• "Other people have it so much harder than you-stop being a victim."
Gaslighting is a gradual process. It requires you to have some level of trust or belief in the expertise of the gaslighter."
It struck me that many of these statements are so similar to what doctors tell women when they tell them about their chronic symptoms.
So many of my clients have been struggling for years with their health, but often their symptoms have no obvious explanation…things like they’re always tired and achy, or their brain feels foggy, or they keep getting sick…not horribly sick, but enough to keep them feeling icky.
These clients usually look fine and get done the things they need to get done, so to an outside observer they seem okay, but they are pushing hard to make it through each day. They don’t have any energy left at the end of the day. They have given up lots of things they love to do because they just don’t feel good enough.
When they go to their doctor and all their bloodwork is normal and there’s nothing to “diagnose” them with, they get told things like “It’s all in your head” or “there’s no reason for you to feel that way.” I’m not saying doctors are necessarily gaslighting them, but because they don’t know what to do, they cover it up by putting the responsibility on the patient. And often giving them anxiety medication (I do think this is gaslighting).
My protocol recognizes that there is a real problem. We find the problem and solve it. My clients learn to feel empowered in their intuition about their health and in how to regain in. Within a few months they report not only getting their energy back and doing things they love, but having confidence that they can improve and maintain their health.
