Recovering from Medical Invalidation with Self-Compassion

If you have chronic illness, you are unfortunately probably all too familiar with the sinking feeling during a doctor’s appointment when they tell you they can’t figure out the cause of your symptoms and that it must be “in your head.” Medical invalidation is defined as having one’s experience dismissed, doubted, or minimized.¹ Being invalidated by doctors increases emotional distress and is even considered traumatic, as acknowledged by the recent term "clinician-associated traumatization."² Medical invalidation has harmful emotional, physical, and health consequences.³ Anxiety about attending appointments can intensify, exacerbating stress in the body, in turn worsening physical symptoms. This can lead to a general distrust of the medical system and (understandable) avoidance of medical appointments, ultimately delaying proper diagnosis and preventing access to necessary health care.