When a doctor tells you that a symptom you describe is "normal" it can feel reassuring. But what your healthcare provider means by normal may be quite different and, recent research shows, can have an unintended effect.

A provider who labels a result or symptom as normal is likely trying to encourage patients to feel less anxious, but the patient often comes away thinking that treatment is unnecessary.

Patients often interpret "normal" differently from the way healthcare providers intend, a study from the University of California's San Diego Rady School of Management found. Doctors may use the word to mean that a symptom is common or well understood. Patients may hear it as meaning that the symptom is acceptable, harmless or simply something they have to live with.

Doctors thought they were being reassuring, but patients felt dismissed.

The research involved 14 experiments and over 9,300 members of the public and healthcare providers. The experiments covered a range of health conditions, including menopause, migraines, dental pain, seasonal allergies and elevated blood glucose levels.

Participants read realistic medical scenarios in which healthcare providers either described symptoms as "normal" or did not. Researchers then measured participants' willingness to pursue treatment and compared their responses with what providers expected patients would do.

The idea for the research grew from first author Seyi Lawal's interest in communication surrounding menopause. When women described disruptive menopause or perimenopause symptoms to their doctors, they often reported feeling dismissed as they were told their symptoms were a normal part of aging.

Lawal and her colleagues suspected doctors and patients might be interpreting the same conversations differently, and their findings suggested they were: Doctors thought they were being reassuring, but patients felt dismissed.

“Providers expected that normalizing a patient's symptoms would increase their treatment likelihood, or at worst have no impact, but patients actually reacted in the opposite way,” Lawal, a doctoral student at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management, said in a press release.

The researchers tested two ways of closing the communication gap. One was to make sure normalizing language was paired with an explicit recommendation for treatment. The other was to explain that "normal" was being used in a statistical sense, meaning that the symptom was common, not as a judgment that it was acceptable or did not require treatment. Both approaches helped reduce misunderstanding.

Some patients described their experience with doctors as “gaslighting” — making them question their own perceptions. This study suggests that such experiences can arise even when a doctor is genuinely trying to reassure a patient.

For patients, one simple question can prevent that misunderstanding: "When you say this is normal, do you mean it's common, or do you mean I don't need treatment?"

For patients, the researchers offer a straightforward lesson: If your doctor says a symptom is "normal" and you aren't sure what that means for your care, ask. Don't automatically assume that treatment isn't recommended and that you simply have to live with the symptom.

Common symptoms can still deserve attention and be eased by treatment. Doctors shouldn't stop reassuring patients, the researchers say. Instead, they should make their meaning clear. Saying that a symptom or test result is normal may be intended to ease anxiety, but without additional explanation, patients may interpret as advice not to seek treatment.

For patients, one simple question can prevent that misunderstanding: "When you say this is normal, do you mean it's common, or do you mean I don't need treatment?" That clarification could turn what patients hear as blanket reassurance into what doctors intended it to be — useful information that helps patients understand their symptoms and what to do about them.

The study is published in Nature Human Behavior.