While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there’s a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they take your pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts the medical care and treatment of chronic pain — and calls for health care professionals to check in with how they do their patient checkups.
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Susan Pitt
September 20, 2022 at 2:56 pm
The doctors here are NOT READY to hear about MY PAIN. I had one specialist thumping the table with his fist saying that he didn’t know how to help. The message was …’just go away and live with it’. Then he charged me $380! I’ve suffered chronic headaches for over 25 years. The medical establishment does nothing but blame the patients if their treatment regimes don’t work. I could weep. I just want a sensible, balanced approach with a soupcon of empathy.
TwoMeterTroll
September 20, 2022 at 3:13 pm
ah yes lets skip over all the conditioning that males get from the second we are born, but ok lets move on from that even when a source is determined and obvious pain treatment is spotty at best. and the huge number of people in medicine that dont believe in pain suppression by the sufferer and have no experience of actually working hurt. the very second some strata of society askes for pain treatment they are classed as drug seeking, if you are on long term treatment you are treated like a junky, urine tested and then accused if a reading is off or a lab hasn’t cleaned its equipment. there is a WHOLE lot more going on in pain treatment than an unconscious bias, the conscious ones need to be eradicated and they arent being touched, every time you look at any patient and the thought creeps in “don’t be such a baby its only a scratch” you need to excuse yourself from that treatment because you are unable to treat that patient. its called ethics folks they should be used for more than a place holder to keep you out of court.
Micah Wolfgang
September 20, 2022 at 3:16 pm
I’m crying because after 4 years or progressive, moderate to severe chronic pain and countless medical visits – It can make you feel like there is no point of living, esp when the people who are supposed to help you, don’t believe you or take you serious enough. you wonder where to go, what to do. I’ve never felt more seen than when other undiagnosed disabled people speak up. thank you for speaking about this, and bringing awareness. we need it.
Sihem Bouaoud
September 20, 2022 at 3:18 pm
I always have headaches but doctors couldn’t diagnostic the source of pain
obgfoster
September 20, 2022 at 3:19 pm
My doctor blew off my foot pain as diabetes, even though I was only pre-diabetic, and the other foot didn’t hurt and the pain wasn’t in my toes. My foot doctor agreed with me – it was referred pain. Falling on the ice onto my hip had bruised my piriformis muscle. This also turned out to be the source of my hip pain, bursitis (solved with steroids) and back pain (solved with a steroid shot despite the pain doctor claiming it would return as being due to my way of walking). We have to be advocates for ourselves!
listen2meokidoki
September 20, 2022 at 3:26 pm
There is good and bad BIAS.
Most bias is good bias. It starts with the first STARE a child makes.
Without our BIAS we would be colonised by the dreaded WOKE INDUSTRY.
Old Soldier
September 20, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Is there any excuse for a “pain management” specialist, after I describe exactly what I’m experiencing, to immediately answer, with no examination, “That’s physically impossible.”?
Socorro Medrano
September 20, 2022 at 3:51 pm
After a terrible episode of shingles 🙄I had a compulsive pain on my lower right quadrant, appendicitis diagnoses, surgery and promised the pain would go away, 11 days hospitalized, persistent pain, treatments, test, guess work, went home, 11 years later the pain with less intensity and frequency still with me. I’m 73 and told my family that no matter circumstances not to take me to a doctor, hospital or similar.
Justin Case
September 20, 2022 at 3:55 pm
The Golden Girls made most of these points decades ago with Dorothy’s chronic fatigue syndrome arc. It’s sad that we still have to fight this battle, and that many doctors still haven’t learned the lesson.
pnhnut
September 20, 2022 at 4:29 pm
This is so profound… I am grateful to have found this talk for the validation of the atrocities that I have endured through my Lupus journey and the dismissal that I have experienced at the hands of my so called doctors.
Steven Porter
September 20, 2022 at 4:55 pm
Not to be sexist: but it is quite common knowledge proven by science and biology, based on the human brain, women as a gender are generally more emotional. That said I have known quite a few women who were very rational, intelligent and logical.
Erin G
September 23, 2022 at 5:19 am
Sure, maybe I have some emotions and cry. But I’ve never had to punch a door.
Erin G
September 23, 2022 at 5:20 am
Aaaand what does that have to do with this? The pain is still real and needs to be treated, not ignored.
Kings Mom831
September 20, 2022 at 5:02 pm
Excellent presentation!
Thank you!🙏
State of Kait
September 20, 2022 at 6:13 pm
This made me cry, thank you Dr. DeCaria. I’ve spent 32 years sick and the past four years in severe pain. I have had to aggressively advocate for myself, I’ve had hip surgery, steroid injections, I’ve seen 12 physical therapists and at least 20 doctors in the last two years alone, and none of them could help, or even bothered to look at me holistically as a whole human. It wasn’t until I shared all of my symptoms on social media that women came together and found a diagnosis for me based on their own experiences with chronic pain and illness. It took a village of regular people to help me and it shouldn’t have to.
Ryan Shiff
September 20, 2022 at 11:14 pm
Can I ask what you ended up realizing your diagnosis was?
Ronald Bates
September 20, 2022 at 6:14 pm
Probably cuz “Ted Kaczynski Talks” suppressed Russell Targ’s talk….and Robert Becker, MD, Electric medicine…..
Stevie-Ray
September 20, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Well expressed!
This caught my attention because I live daily with chronic-pain which took years to receive an actual diagnosis because there was more than the one thing causing the pain (an old spinal-fracture, arthritis, & ME/CFS).
Despite being a white-male, I recognise that women & especially women of colour, are short-changed when receiving specialist-care (ironical as healthcare workers are predominantly women!), and the prejudices that exist desperately need to be addressed! As long as people within the profession continue to judge the value of their patients on gender, race, age, or socioeconomic-standing, then they can’t honestly swear that they’re doing no harm!
David Nelson
September 20, 2022 at 6:48 pm
The only problem with pain management is the federal and state government. A for profit non medically qualified government employee should not be dealing with medical patients. Period
Erin G
September 23, 2022 at 5:14 am
Ummmm… Pretty sure I’m having a lot of problems with pain management and it has nothing to do with government employees. It has everything to do with private and medically qualified doctors..
Sico Sico
September 20, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Bla bla blaaa
7:42 you prove that women are anatomically, emotionally and physiologically different from men. But you call doctors to deal with them in the same way !!
9:52 you mention the cause of your chronic pain which is stress and sleep deprivation . An uncommon hidden cause which hasnothing to do with the so called implicit bias and a condition which would be dealt with the same way regardless of gender
8:59 torture of slaves was not because he thought the can tolerate pain. Simply because they they didn’t care for their pain even if it was extreme and too painful.
Sico Sico
September 20, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Bla bla blaaa
7:42 you prove that women are anatomically, emotionally and physiologically different from men. But you call doctors to deal with them in the same way !!
9:52 you mention the cause of your chronic pain which is stress and sleep deprivation . An uncommon hidden cause which hasnothing to do with the so called implicit bias and a condition which would be dealt with the same way regardless of gender
8:59 torture of slaves was not because he thought they could tolerate pain. Simply because he didn’t care for their pain even if it was extreme and too painful or not.
Erin G
September 23, 2022 at 5:52 am
I don’t think you understood the topic correctly. Yes males and females are different and should be treated according to those organs. But they should not be treated differently according to other things. If a human comes in with abdominal pain, it should be tested for life threatening conditions, period. Regardless of gender. It’s not. That is a problem.
Her pain was caused by more than that. (Funny how people only hear what puffs up their own bias). It wasn’t treated at all for a while. That’s the problem. That doctors have a bias against pain. How do we prove this? By sharing stats on how females and males are treated differently. Males absolutely have the same problems with pain being ignored, but there is MORE of a bias that women are just wimps and their pain’s not real (apparently). This tells us that there is an issue here. It is a stat to point out that doctors are not empathetic towards patients. It’s not to say that only certain colors and shapes have this issue, it’s just a stat to point out there’s clearly an issue with patient validation from doctors.
Doctors don’t know how to treat pain. They know how to treat injuries. Different things.
I’m sure he tortured slaves because he’s a sadistic psycho, but his justification was to “prove” that they feel less pain. These “scientific” observations tainted our perception and unfortunately are still with us. Why he tortured them is really not relevant to the point that he played them as science experiments where the “findings” are still within our society.
Sico Sico
September 23, 2022 at 6:24 pm
@Erin G Cliches of the “after Trump” era = the media script to direct the dependent herd:
Women are always right and deserve everything regardless
Masculinity is toxic
Feminism is the belief and credo
Rainbow above thr normal straight
Diversity above qualfication
Any person of color is oppressed by default. Hire/promote him blindly ASAP
Religion is OK as long as it comforting with the above
Paul
September 20, 2022 at 6:57 pm
Pain is one of the medical issues like disability – you never really appreciate it until you personally own it.
harbor melody
September 20, 2022 at 7:05 pm
Successful people don’t become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance- wealth, a great career, purpose-is the result of hard work and hustle over time. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life..
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September 20, 2022 at 8:25 pm
8917
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September 20, 2022 at 8:39 pm
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September 20, 2022 at 8:39 pm
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September 20, 2022 at 8:47 pm
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Matilda Ryan
September 20, 2022 at 8:49 pm
Take it from one who has it and buy a house in Missouri and dream Wrangler with forex trade profits.
harshit singh
September 21, 2022 at 9:18 am
My retired uncle invested 1 year saving in 2000s …
He is a millionaire now.
Wealthiest in our community.
Though he worked as a clerk in court of law.
Bee
September 20, 2022 at 7:30 pm
We need more Drs like you. Thank you ❤️
insanity is orange
September 20, 2022 at 8:17 pm
Having lived with fibromyalgia for over ten years now this talk got to me. I’m female fat and over fifty therefore my pain is all imaginary according to certain doctors. I’d love to see some people function at the levels of pain I consider normal. And I’d give a limb for one day of no pain at all.
Erica Spearman
September 20, 2022 at 9:05 pm
It’s happening too me now I’m fighting I’ve had 🧠 disorder with permanent sides affects I feel most drs DNT care
Jacob Scanlon
September 20, 2022 at 9:40 pm
Your assuming that it’s based on skin colour and not how the different races express their pain to medical professionals, but I’d say there’s still alot of racial bias.
Also some of the differentials are real, for example if a female and a male have abdominal pain and a doctor assumes it’s more likely to be stress ECT for the female and for the male it’s more likely to be a abdominal rupture ECT then that’s accurate. But it’s important to test them for the same appropriate procedure and not just let assumptions be fact.
Gage
September 20, 2022 at 9:53 pm
I’m horrified by the current paradigm of opioid abuse. Opioid abuse is a completely different diagnosis than Pain. The concern is not valid as most people on pain and taking opioids are responsible and aware of the problem of abuse and are therefore very careful. Right now pain clinics that use to make money by prescribing opioids are making more money by “managing” the use of opioids. The are using the so called “opioid crisis” as a means to increase the number of visits required; the CDC recommends on visit every three months. These clinics are seeing/demanding people with real pain visit once or twice a month. It’s a scam and they get away with it because of the stigma attached to pain.
Sol
September 20, 2022 at 11:36 pm
To me God is my Doctor but is progressive I mean not easy because all is in our brain and our brain is more complex than the universe
My opinion
When the theory lose then come Jireh🌻
Ter
September 21, 2022 at 3:18 am
Chronic pain is a more obvious ailment in our current societies desire for youth and ‘perfection’. There’s the people who don’t have chronic health issues vs people who do have chronic health/pain issues. There is no such thing as perfection for chronic pain sufferers. We’re forgotten about because making our life more liveable isn’t the stuff of fairytales and romance movies. We just want to live a functional normal life. I didn’t realise all my symptoms made sense when I found out my grandmother had Scleroderma. A diagnosis helps but nothing will change the fact that every day is a struggle.
A G
September 21, 2022 at 3:46 am
I took me years to find a doctor that would give me the pain meds I needed for my chronic pain. One the most important thing I learned to get past doctor bias is knowing how to properly use the 1 thru 10 pain charts. You may feel like you are a ten, but believe me, never, ever, list your pain above 6. Anything above that sets off the “they are just seeking drugs” voice in a doctor’s head. Instead, verbally explain what you pain feels like and how it affects your day-to-day life. If you still feel you are not being heard, get a new doctor!
manfred schmalbach
September 21, 2022 at 3:57 am
“Feeling discriminated” is not having to mandatorily turn into reality when scientificly looked at.
Just as “feeling underpayed” does not express any real payment schemes whatsoever, as a lot of quality surveys did show over the decades, alongside the “Scandinavian Paradox” in choice of professions between genders.
So, inventing some kind of “feeling” (4:37) as an argument instead of rational scientific surveys does not really improve her speech I’m afraid. The “feeling discriminated” part might be a good start to look into differences. It keeps being unscientific and subjective without further thorough analysis, though.
It ain’t “the” reality, it is just everybody’s own reality.
I refuse being forced to live in another person’s reality and be called “biased” or the miso-thingy if I don’t scrap my own for theirs.
They don’t want to scrap their’s for mine either, do they?
Anxiety medication randomly given for unspecific pains instead of pain-medication is a problem of our society’s anxious relation with and ideologically rejecting of “addictive” substances alongside substances helping with self reflexion and a deeper understanding of our selves. It is a problem every success-oriented “meritocracy” will experience once it starts to denigrate and lastly kill every other aspect of “society”.
None of your Damn Business
September 21, 2022 at 6:52 am
*Indoctrinated doctors who treat the pain, but not the source of the pain. Since I stay away from doctors, I’m healthier.*
arya vijay kumar
September 21, 2022 at 1:09 pm
thank you all very much
Vijay Arya
September 21, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Thank you all very much
GoChaosGamer
September 22, 2022 at 2:09 am
I unsubscribed to Ted today because of the explicit racist and sexist remarks expressed in this video.
Everymomentisagift Pen
September 23, 2022 at 2:23 am
My heart goes out to all of you suffering. If the doctor you go and see has no empathy please go and see another doctor. You need to be validated for what you ate going through. Thank you for this very informative Ted Talk. 👏
Kong King
September 23, 2022 at 10:06 am
Brilliant. Something needs to be done.