Chronic diseases misdiagnosed as psychosomatic can lead to long term damage to physical and mental wellbeing, study finds

A 'chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication' is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found. A study involving over 3,000 participants -- both patients and clinicians -- found that these misdiagnoses (sometimes termed 'in your head' by patients) were often associated with long term impacts on patients' physical health and wellbeing and damaged trust in healthcare services.