Many people are misdiagnosed or dismissed for years before finding clarity and being accurately diagnosed. These questions are here to help you check in with your own experience and learn to identify the ways in which your story isn’t believed by health providers.  Once you’ve been able to experience and identify trends or circumstances, it will easier to communicate to others.

1. Have you ever felt dismissed or misdiagnosed by a medical professional?
   What did you feel in your body when that happened? What part of you still remembers? Can you put it into words that others would understand?

2. What symptoms or experiences have you stopped bringing up because you didn’t feel heard?
   What would it feel like to name them now—on paper, in a journal, or with someone safe? What cultural or familial influences have led you to believe you should remain silent?

3. Do you believe your pain deserves attention and care, even when others don’t understand it?
   If not, what beliefs might be standing in the way?

4. What does self-advocacy look like for you right now?
   How can you start to trust your instincts again in both medical spaces and relationships? What would it require to change health providers?  Is that necessary to feel heard?

5. Who in your life truly listens to you without trying to fix or explain you?
   How can you lean into those spaces more, or create them if they’re missing? Who in your intimate circle of friends and family will be the most supportive and able to empower you when you need help?

It’s frustrating to know that your symptoms, especially pain, is not taken seriously. The intensity may change or you believe if you wait long enough to have it checked out it will go away. It’s normal to get irritated and stressed when all you want is to feel better.

It’s time to be your own best friend, your own best advocate. Think through these questions to see if they help identify how to communicate the magnitude of pain in your life and its impact. Keep seeking guidance until you believe you’ve found the right care provider to listen.