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The Quiet Harm of Being Unseen in a Room Full of Doctors
There’s something deeply frustrating about sitting in front of a doctor and realizing they’ve already stopped listening. I’ve felt that. A lot of us have. Especially when you’re a woman. Especially when you’re brown. Especially when your pain doesn’t fit the profile.
Sometimes it’s not even about your insurance or income — though, of course, that matters too. Sometimes it’s about whether the person across from you actually sees you as a person worth figuring out.
“I saw different kinds of doctors… but none of them cared to try and fix my issues.”
I remember going to appointment after appointment for the same chronic pain and being told to “drink more water” or “get more rest.” No tests. No deeper questions. Just a quick dismissal. It felt like I was being treated as a bother, not a patient.
And when you’re Latina, when you speak with an accent or bring in a family member who does most of the talking, the attention shifts even more. They assume things. That you’re uneducated. That you won’t follow through. That your pain isn’t real.
And if you dare question the system — or worse, ask for someone else’s opinion — you’re marked as difficult.
“Even when they didn’t know how to help… they didn’t bother to direct me to someone…
