Medical Gaslighting and ADHD: 3 Key Insights
Whether you’re seeking an ADHD diagnosis or advocating for better treatment, these three webinar takeaways will help you respond effectively to a dismissive doctor.
“Medical gaslighting” means different things to different people, but the phrase is generally used to describe those uncomfortable, defeating situations when healthcare professionals dismiss, minimize, or invalidate patients’ concerns and experiences.
A staggering 78% of ADDitude readers say they’ve been gaslit by a provider, according to a poll of 194 respondents conducted during a February 2026 webinar with Jennifer Fraser, Ph.D., titled “Medical Gaslighting: When Willful Ignorance Causes Doctors to Dismiss Your ADHD Concerns.”
Is there a difference between gaslighting and provider ignorance? What makes people with ADHD susceptible to gaslighting? It is possible to resist gaslighting and heal from past experiences of self-doubt?
Fraser addressed these questions in her webinar and provided evidence-based strategies to protect from future gaslighting while healing from past dismissals. Whether you’re seeking an ADHD diagnosis or advocating for better treatment, these three takeaways will help you find your voice at the doctor’s office.
1. Whether It’s Gaslighting or Ineffectiveness, the Result Is the Same
One definition of gaslighting says it is a form of psychological or emotional abuse that involves lying, manipulation, and challenging a person’s reality to gain control over them. Another says it is the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one’s own advantage.
These definitions suggest that not every dismissive doctor is engaging in intentional gaslighting. Many physicians are unfamiliar with new ADHD research, including studies about how it presents in historically overlooked populations (e.g., women, people of color, older adults). Still, the damage may be done regardless of intent.
“Regardless of whether the gaslighting is intentional or you are being misdiagnosed… it still is going to make you feel off-kilter,” Fraser explained. “It’s going to make you question yourself, question your own reality.”
That said, a doctor who lacks knowledge but remains curious can become a partner in your care.
2. ADHD Creates Unique Vulnerabilities to Gaslighting
People with ADHD often arrive at a doctor’s office already questioning their reality. Negative messaging around their symptoms — often misinterpreted by others as character flaws — and pressure to adhere to neurotypical standards of functioning create deep self-doubt. When a doctor questions a patient’s story or suggests that what they believe to be ADHD symptoms are actually depression, anxiety, or something else, it compounds self-doubt.
Women may be especially susceptible to medical gaslighting, as science has historically focused on male bodies, leaving providers with significant knowledge gaps. Women also tend to mask symptoms, and are frequently told they can’t have ADHD because they weren’t diagnosed as children or they’re “too successful” to have it.
3. You Can Protect Yourself from Gaslighting
From sharpening your senses to learning to trust your gut, you can train your malleable brain to resist gaslighting through daily practice, Fraser said. To help you learn to trust your gut, for example, you can develop your emotional vocabulary, which will help you articulate your experiences with more precision.
To learn more about how to spot gaslighting, defend against it, and effectively advocate for yourself, watch the full webinar at additu.de/022426.
Medical Gaslighting and ADHD: Resources
- Free Download: How to Talk to Your Doctor About Medical Research
- Read: “Medical Gaslighting Convinced Me That I Didn’t Have ADHD”
- Read: A Clinicians’ Guide to Better Patient Communication
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