The toolkit · For teens · For parents · For providers & educators
The words that make doctors listen. 3 parts: the terms that counter provider bias, the clinical words for what you feel, and the conditions that keep getting called stress. Tap a term to open it.
Use these terms when a healthcare provider suggests physical symptoms are purely psychological or attributes medical concerns strictly to stress or anxiety.
When a doctor attributes all physical symptoms to a pre-existing psychiatric label (like anxiety) without investigating other causes.
How to use it: "I want to ensure we aren't experiencing diagnostic overshadowing due to anxiety in my chart. What physical causes have we ruled out?"
A form of psychological manipulation where a patient's valid physical experiences are denied or blamed on their mental state.
How to use it: Use this term with parents or therapists to process healthcare trauma. Use "diagnostic overshadowing" when speaking directly to doctors.
The medical "why" behind a doctor's decision to perform or withhold care.
How to use it: "I understand you don't believe a scan is necessary today. Could you provide the clinical justification for why we are choosing to wait and document that in my chart?"
The list of other possible conditions a doctor should consider before settling on "stress."
How to use it: "What is our differential diagnosis today if we look beyond stress or emotional factors?"
A way to ask for a treatment or test that is supported by existing medical research.
How to use it: "Based on the evidence-based guidelines for Dysautonomia, I would like to request a tilt-table test."
A request for the doctor to look at the whole body rather than just one symptom in isolation.
How to use it: "I would like to move toward a holistic assessment. My GI issues, joint pain, and heart rate are likely connected rather than three separate problems."
The technical way to describe what makes a symptom better or worse.
How to use it: "I've documented the aggravating factors, specifically heat and standing, which trigger these episodes."
Your "normal" daily state versus a severe flare-up.
How to use it: "My baseline is a pain level of 3; today I am at an 8, which prevents me from attending school."
A collaborative model where the patient or family and the doctor work together as a team.
How to use it: "I value your expertise, and I want to engage in shared decision-making to find a path forward that addresses my quality of life."
The typical diagnostic path or treatment that is medically recommended for a specific set of symptoms.
How to use it: "Is this evaluation step considered the standard of care for chronic fatigue and orthostatic intolerance in adolescent patients?"
When speaking with your doctor, use these specific medical terms to describe physical sensations accurately and clearly.
The feeling of lightheadedness or "pre-syncope" that happens specifically when you stand up or sit still for too long.
Why it matters: Distinguishes positional dizziness from general anxiety or panic.
A heart rate that feels like it's racing (usually over 100 beats per minute) while resting or doing minimal activity.
Why it matters: Provides concrete cardiac metrics rather than subjective descriptions of a "racing heart."
When blood vessels widen, often leading to "blood pooling" (purple or mottled skin) in legs or hands when standing.
Why it matters: Provides visible physical evidence of autonomic dysfunction.
Excessive, visible sweating unrelated to heat or heavy exercise.
Why it matters: Essential for accurately evaluating and describing Hyperhidrosis or autonomic flares.
A feeling of mental "cloudiness," difficulty finding words, or a lack of focus that isn't just "being tired."
Why it matters: Helps distinguish neurological impairment from lack of effort or academic disinterest.
The amount of mental effort being used in working memory. High cognitive load makes simple tasks feel exhausting.
Why it matters: Explains why schoolwork becomes overwhelming during physical symptom flares.
A perceptual disturbance (like flashing lights or zigzag lines) that often precedes a migraine.
Why it matters: Serves as a key diagnostic indicator for complex neurological conditions.
A sensation of "pins and needles," tingling, or numbness in limbs or face.
Why it matters: Often reported in neurological flares, migraines, or Fibromyalgia.
Overresponsive or overactive reflexes.
Why it matters: Identifies objective neurological signs during physical examinations.
Delayed gastric emptying causing early fullness after a few bites, nausea, or abdominal pain after eating.
Why it matters: Differentiates functional GI motility disorders from eating disorders or emotional nausea.
A lowered threshold for pain in internal organs, common in IBS and functional GI conditions.
Why it matters: Explains severe abdominal pain without obvious visible inflammation.
The feeling of needing to pass stools even though the bowels are already empty.
Why it matters: A specific GI symptom used to evaluate lower bowel dysfunction and IBS.
Abnormally heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding.
Why it matters: Crucial indicator for investigating Anemia, Endometriosis, or hormonal dysfunction.
A worsening of symptoms following minor physical or mental exertion.
Why it matters: A key diagnostic hallmark of Dysautonomia, ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and Fibromyalgia.
A general feeling of discomfort, illness, or lack of well-being that signifies something is "off" or wrong.
Why it matters: Helps frame generalized systemic illness beyond standard "fatigue."
Labored or difficult breathing; "air hunger."
Why it matters: Identifies respiratory or hematological symptoms (such as Anemia).
Frequent waking during the night specifically to use the bathroom.
Why it matters: Distinguishes sleep disruption from urological issues; can be a sign of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
A joint that partially slips or feels out of place.
Why it matters: Key indicator when evaluating connective tissue disorders like hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).
An overview of conditions disproportionately underdiagnosed or misattributed to stress in adolescent females.
An umbrella term for malfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System, which controls involuntary body functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.
Often mistaken for: Psychosomatic stress, somatic symptom disorder, or school avoidance.
A form of dysautonomia where heart rate increases significantly upon standing.
Often mistaken for: Panic attacks or primary anxiety.
A persistent mood disorder causing sadness, loss of interest, and mental exhaustion; often occurs secondary to living with chronic undiagnosed pain.
Often mistaken for: The primary cause of physical exhaustion and body pain, ignoring the underlying chronic illness driving the mood changes.
A neurological and mental health condition involving uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions).
Often mistaken for: Physical fatigue and exhaustion caused by high cognitive load are often dismissed as general teenage laziness or avoidance behavior.
Tissue similar to uterine lining growing outside the uterus, causing severe chronic pain.
Often mistaken for: "Normal bad cramps" or low pain tolerance.
The medical term for severe, painful menstrual cramps; can be "primary" (normal cramping) or "secondary" (caused by underlying conditions like endometriosis).
Often mistaken for: "Normal teenage cramps," dramatic behavior, or low pain tolerance rather than investigated for an underlying cause.
A connective tissue disorder causing joint hypermobility, skin extensibility, and tissue fragility.
Often mistaken for: "Growing pains," clumsy behavior, or anxiety.
A disorder characterized by abnormally excessive, visible sweating that is not related to heat or physical exertion.
Often mistaken for: Social anxiety, nervousness, or poor hygiene rather than evaluated as an autonomic or endocrine disorder.
Immune system mast cells overreacting, causing multi-system allergic and inflammatory symptoms.
Often mistaken for: Idiopathic anxiety, recurring minor allergies, or stress hives.
Widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues.
Often mistaken for: Psychosomatic chronic pain or depression.
An autoimmune reaction to gluten causing small intestine damage and systemic symptoms.
Often mistaken for: Stress-induced IBS or a functional stomach ache.
Lack of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin leading to reduced oxygen flow and symptoms like fatigue, cold hands, and shortness of breath.
Often mistaken for: General teenage laziness, poor diet, or burnout.
A complex neurological condition involving throbbing pain, light and sound sensitivity, and sensory auras (visual disturbances).
Often mistaken for: Regular tension headaches or stress.
Gastrointestinal disorders affecting stomach emptying and large intestine function. Symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea or constipation.
Often mistaken for: Anxiety-induced nausea or eating disorders.
Breathing repeatedly stopping and starting during sleep due to airway blockages.
Often mistaken for: Teenage laziness, poor sleep hygiene, or depression.
A severe, disabling extension of PMS causing intense emotional and physical symptoms before periods.
Often mistaken for: Emotional instability or standard teenage hormonal fluctuations.
Differentiating mood disorders from physical conditions (like POTS or MCAS) that cause physiological symptoms like adrenaline surges.
Often mistaken for: Physical symptoms are assumed to originate in the mind rather than the body.
Nothing matches that. Try a symptom, like "standing," or a condition, like "POTS."