Addiction

What is Medical Gaslighting?

“According to the CPTSD Foundation, medical gaslighting occurs when a doctor or medical professional dismisses or trivializes a person’s health concerns based on the assumption they are mentally ill. They may tell the person their symptoms are “in their head,” for example.”

And in Australia, it’s a lot more common than people might think. In fact, due to participation in several Australian chronic pain advocacy Facebook Groups in recent times, I’ve become acutely aware of so many people who have told their stories truthfully regarding their medical condition, & as a result:

1. They have been disbelieved by the medical professional examining them, or unfairly judged as having a minor or temporary “non-specific” issue [Perhaps this is due to time constraints experienced by Doctors…nonetheless it is a serious issue];

2. They have been denied a diagnostic procedure or scan which was absolutely necessary, & have even incorrectly been advised “your injury has healed”, when this has later proven to be far from the truth [This situation has happened at least twice to me!]. In my opinion, this can often result in harm due to inappropriate physio or other treatments being given;

3. Prevailing medical “theories” in vogue regarding the perception or reality of pain have been explained poorly to patients, such as: “the pain is all in your head” etc].

NOTE: There may be certain “neuroplastic” pain conditions where this is true, yet many people are incorrectly labelled, when in fact they do have an actual nociceptive or neuropathic condition that has just NOT been properly diagnosed as yet. [Again, this was my experience during several years of misdiagnosis & treatment dead-ends];

4. They have been denied appropriate pain-killers, leading to loss of mobility & an inability to socialise, work, or contribute meaningfully to society, which leads to increased pain, de-conditioning, depression, anxiety & other negative effects.

Worse still, & this trend I have noticed in the last 12 months or more since the Federal TGA Opioid Prescribing guidelines were introduced on 1-6-20, many chronic pain patients whose mobility & quality of life would benefit from low dose opioid therapy [as part of an overall pain management plan], are being categorically denied this option.

WHY? Because many GP’s & Pain Specialists have clearly misread or misunderstood these Prescribing Guidelines, which actually say: “Opioids CAN be used as part of the management of chronic non-cancer pain in circumstances where other pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment strategies have not been effective, and the impact of poorly controlled pain has been considered.”

Furthermore, the mandatory requirement [since 1-6-20] for patients to have a 2nd Doctor review the appropriateness or necessity of their opioid pharmaceutical treatment every 12 months, has again resulted in many longstanding or “legacy” chronic pain patients, who have been happy, mobile & stable on their opioid dose for many years [without ANY observable addiction behaviours or negative issues to report], being coerced or, in some cases, forcibly tapered from their much-needed pain killers.

WHY? I strongly believe, after talking to so many people who have been impacted, that Doctors & Pain Specialists have become inflexible & ardent disciples of the new 100% “bio-psycho-social” approach currently being promoted for ALL chronic pain patients with chronic non-cancer pain, despite their previous history & proven stability on these pain medications.

Ive been contacted by many desperate people on Facebook & elsewhere in recent times, many of whom live in rural areas, & they just can’t find a Doctor at their local surgery to do this 2nd Review, & then have to travel many hours into a major town or city to get this approval process finalised. And as we all know, it sometimes takes months to get a referral to see a Pain Specialist, & in the meantime I am hearing about unfortunate people who have run out of their regular opioid medication [OR the Pain Specialist conducting this 2nd Review will NOT approve the continuation of opioids], leading to abandonment, dangerous & life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, & a complete loss of quality of life.

Read the full story here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/medical-gaslighting-australia-kevin-james

Blurb: What if you start thinking of pain as a tool to heal? See it. Feel it. What does it have to teach you?

Ideally, you feel your feelings. From anger to disgust. Joy to jealousy.

But what happens when you’ve been told you shouldn’t feel the way you feel?

What happens when you’ve been taught not to trust your emotions?

You stop listening to how you feel.

All that energy you should be letting go of gets stuck in your body as held pain—pain that ends up running the show. For example,

That time in middle school when your mom read your diary aloud to your friends?

If you haven’t processed those emotions, you’re still carrying that trauma. That’s why you get triggered all over the place. You don’t realize your current trust issues have everything to do with the pain you experienced back then.

But, you can use your pain to heal.

What?!

That’s a thing?

Yes! ????

The truth is, feeling your feelings is how you heal.

Why the heck would you ever want to lean into your pain?

Because pain doesn’t go away if you ignore it.

Pain compounds in on itself throwing lessons back on you over and over again until you decide you’re ready to let go and heal. (Or until the fear of change doesn’t seem so scary by comparison.)

“But I don’t want to feel my feelings. Can’t I just bypass them and pretend everything’s great?”

You could try.

And you might even have some success pretending you “don’t get angry” or that “you are happy” (even though you can’t stop obsessing about the undone tasks on your to-do list, the number in your bank account, and how you’re going to plan the family reunion you won’t admit you don’t even want to go to).

But the thing about emotions and pain is that they show up in surprising ways when you least expect them to.

The lingering back pain that won’t go away – no matter how many chiropractic adjustments and massages you pay for?

Often, my clients wonder why their chiropractic adjustments won’t hold.

Why?

Because they often carry psychic wounds or pain from the past that they’ve never dealt with. Those need to be brought into present time and shifted before the adjustment will hold. Same goes with past lives. They can hold things in muscle memory that keep your body from connecting with its optimal health and vibrancy.

The addiction you have to true-crime podcasts?

Maybe you didn’t feel safe growing up and you’re desperately trying to feel what you were raised to believe was reality.

The loneliness and pang in your heart that comes up every time you read a romance novel?

Likely, it’s telling you you’re hungry to love yourself even more fully. Or maybe you’re co-dependently leaning on others, creating some fantasy that doesn’t exist, hoping they can give you something only you can give yourself. ????

If you haven’t faced your past, you can’t release the physical, mental, and emotional pain you’re dealing with today.

Trying to get yourself to change can feel impossible. No wonder. You’ve spent your whole life avoiding, pretending, and denying you have these emotions.

How the heck are you supposed to see that you’re walking on eggshells around others when you don’t know you’re doing it? You don’t realize you were taught that a woman isn’t supposed to be happy unless her spouse, children, boss, neighbors, and OBGYN are happy first.

By using your pain!

Any time pain comes up, it’s showing you what’s up for you to heal.

Next time pain comes up for you, don’t run away. Lean in.

Follow these 6 steps and see if it doesn’t make a real difference in your life.

Send your judgments packing.

Read the full story here: www.ritahenry.com/got-pain-use-these-6-steps-to-heal

Adrienne is passionate about helping people recover and heal from addiction. She is so passionate about it, that she created a recovery residence community for people just out of treatment for addiction. She believes in community, support, and continuity of care. Listen to today's podcast episode on how Adrienne helps people to stay sober and heal from addiction.

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