A review by clarkf87
Doing Harm: The Truth about How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is an infuriating but important read on how the medical field gaslights women into believing their health issues do not exist and projects its own patriarchal views to keep women sicker for longer than men. How many times have we been told to go home, suck up your pain, take the anxiety/depression medications, drink a glass of wine to relax, and/or please your partner because it will do both your bodies good? 

Through research and testimonials, this book explains how little women’s health issues have been studied in the past and how many of the ailments were classified to be “hysteria.” For decades, scientists even used only male animals for their medical research. Health issues like heart attacks and multiple sclerosis are still misdiagnosed in women today.

Women are NOT hysterical, hypochondriacs. We are untapped resources of information for women’s health. Our symptoms are real and our health matters. Women have been left behind in medical science and untrusted with our own bodies for too long. 

PS I’m never calling myself a hypochondriac again. My symptoms are and were always REAL!