*Content Warning: Medical gaslighting
Dr. A?
I’m so tired
all the time.
Please help.
Exercise cures fatigue.
Exercise more and you’ll be fine.
Exercise.
You’re fine.
Exercise makes it worse!
You’re just out of shape.
Exercise more
and you’ll be fine.
Exercise more and
you’ll be fine.
Exercise.
Exercise.
Exercise.
I’m worried
about post-exertional malaise.
Exercise makes me more tired
than it should.
Post-exertional malaise
just means you’re out of shape.
It’ll go away
if you just exercise more.
Exercise more.
Exercise more.
Just exercise more
and you’ll be fine.
I’ve heard
that post-exertional malaise
can be dangerous.
Dangerous?!
I’ve never heard that.
Post-exertional malaise
is just something you have to push through.
There are no people
who do not benefit from exercise.
Are you sure?
Any other doctor
would tell you the same thing.
You just have to exercise.
If you want to be healthy,
you have to exercise.
Exercise is the cure.
Exercise.
Dr. B?
I’d like some help
with my fatigue.
You just have to
exercise.
I can write you a referral
for physical therapy
to help with your
reduced exercise tolerance.
I’m not sure my problem
is reduced exercise tolerance.
I need ten to twelve hours of sleep
even on days when I don’t exercise.
Graded exercise therapy
is my only recommendation.
But graded exercise therapy
is no longer recommended
as a treatment for chronic fatigue.
I have a printout
from the National Institutes of Health . . .
Exercise.
Exercise cures fatigue.
Exercise more and you’ll be fine.
Exercise.
You’re fine.
Dr. C?
Can I trust you?
I’ve heard that you listen,
that you’re thorough.
I’m scared to try again,
but can you help?
I’ll try.
Really?
Really.
Let’s do a blood draw.
Oh wow.
Your blood test results
say you’ve had a very unusual infection
for nearly five months,
maybe longer.
You have chronic fatigue,
and you need to go to a specialty clinic.
There are times when exercise helps,
but you need antivirals for this.
No wonder you’re so tired.
It’s not your fault.
I’m sorry my colleagues
didn’t notice.
Linnea Peterson (they/them) is a queer, disabled writer from Minnesota. Their creative writing has appeared in A Truth Universally Acknowledged: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a previous issue of FLARE Magazine, Five Minutes, and other outlets. Their debut novel, The Girls Will Be Okay, is forthcoming.
Bluesky: @lpetersonwrites.bsky.social
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Website: linneapeterson.com.