Let’s Be Taken Seriously

Why is it that so often symptoms are dismissed? I have heard countless stories through talking to my peers, as well as now in my survey of women not being taken seriously when speaking to a doctor. So many times symptoms are just dismissed as being symptoms of a period, or anxiety, or some emotional issue.

This may stem from the origins of hysteria, where women would be hospitalized for being “hysterical” for expressing any sort of opinion that was outspoken, or really for any excuse one could use to send them away. The origins of this idea of hysteria were based on the idea that a uterus was the reason that so many women had issues. Especially when talking about the health of women of color, women tend not to be taken seriously. Historically, women of color were chosen to be experimented on in the name of science or medicine.

Ignoring the medical history, there tends to be a trend of men in power assuming they know more than women, even when they are talking about their own personal experiences. This bias should not be something present within the healthcare system, but definitely still is. This tends to lead to women not being treated or being belittled and ignored.

Unfortunately the experience shown in this Tik Tok are too common. It has gotten to the point where I have been advised by multiple women in my life to specifically request certain treatments or tests, and to have them note in my chart if those requests were ignored. I have also had some women report in my survey that they have been given advice to overexaggerate their symptoms in order to be taken seriously.

The idea that women are given advice like this in order to navigate something as simple as a doctor’s visit is ridiculous. I have also heard an insane amount of stories of women having major health issues like tumors and cysts who had to live with them for longer than they would have if they had been taken seriously at their initial doctor’s appointment.