Tag: medical gaslighting
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Where Do You Go When Your Body Becomes a Cage?
The author shares their journey of living with Addison’s disease, reflecting on feelings of grief, loneliness, and loss of identity. Despite being diagnosed after years of struggle and misunderstanding, they express resilience through writing. They acknowledge the isolation brought on by illness and emphasize that they are not alone in this experience.
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After the Name, Comes the Grief
The author reflects on the deep grief that follows medical validation. After years of struggle, the diagnosis feels paradoxical, bringing relief alongside sorrow for lost time, relationships, and self-identity. This complex emotional journey showcases the coexistence of gratitude for answers and the mourning of everything endured while seeking care.
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What Nearly Killed Me Wasn’t the Illness—It Was the System
The author reflects on their five-year struggle with chronic illness and inadequate medical care. Despite multiple specialists and difficult experiences, they emphasize the ongoing battle against the medical system, marked by negligence and lack of accountability. They seek compassionate, trauma-informed care and highlight the necessity for medical integrity and respect for patients’ suffering.
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Anxious Is the New Hysterical
Jessica Woodville reflects on the historical context of women’s emotions, equating past “hysteria” with today’s labeling of anxiety. She argues that these diagnoses often dismiss deeper issues, particularly when trauma is involved. Women are urged to be believed and listened to, advocating for acknowledgment beyond superficial labels of anxiety.
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We’re Not Broken – The System Is
“Healing isn’t just about surviving the past—it’s about building the future. And I refuse to let my past be the thing that steals my future away.” I am a trauma survivor, a mother, and an advocate. And like so many others carrying the weight of early adversity, I have spent years trying to heal in…
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This Is What It Cost Me: Five Years, One Body, and a System That Still Won’t Listen
I’ve written about this before—maybe two, three times now. Chronic illness. Storms. Parenting through it. The trauma it leaves behind. But the truth is, every time I write, I hold a piece back. Because reliving it costs energy I barely have. Because writing about being dismissed starts to feel like shouting into a void. But…
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Too Sick to Be Ignored, Too Complicated to Be Helped
After years of mysterious symptoms, trauma-informed insight, and medical dismissal — including at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country — I’m left wondering if there’s a place for people like me in modern medicine. This is what it’s like to be chronically ill, gaslit, and out of strength.
Jessica Woodville | Memoir & Musings 