Medical Gaslighting and Lyme Disease: The Patient Experience
Medical Gaslighting and Lyme Disease: The Patient Experience
Before I introduce this newly released study, I’m going to share a few facts about Lyme Disease.
- According to the CDC, approximately 500,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme Disease each Year.
- The BMJ has concluded that more than 14% of the world’s population is infected with Lyme Disease.
- John Hopkins University reports that Lyme Disease exists in all 50 states.
- The EPA uses Lyme Disease statistics as a key climate change indicator.
These are just a few of the shocking statistics regarding the prevalence of Lyme Disease yet patients are still being marginalized and dismissed. This badly needed study details the types of gaslighting techniques that people with Lyme Disease are routinely subjected to. This happens even with the exact evidence the CDC requires for a “positive” result.
90% of the study participants were diagnosed with a blood test, however this information did not influence whether or not the patient was believed.
Many respondents reported presenting with a “bullseye” or erythema migrans rash only to be discounted and told that Chronic Lyme Disease simply does not exist.
Even with the CDC’s surveillance results Lyme Disease is still considered a “contested disease” opening the door for questioning of it’s very existence.
If you or a loved one have experienced medical gaslighting with Lyme Disease, you know how traumatic the dismissal, invalidation and marginalization can be. Please know you are not alone. There is a large community of practitioners, scientists, researchers, patient advocates, etc. who will never stop trying to change this systemic problem. A huge thank you to Dr. Todd Maderis for sharing this important study. Awareness is crucial.
