Selma Blair recently opened up about the gender bias she suffered from doctors before finally being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The actress said she had extensive medical trauma about doctors dismissing pain and other symptoms from childhood, mainly attributing them to menstruation.
Blair shared that she still has pain even in remission and said she used to fight pain with alcohol as a child.
Selma Blair Reveals She Faced Medical Gender Bias
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Blair opened up about the gender bias she experienced with many doctors before she finally received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018. The iconic actress has previously shared her mental health struggles, including wanting to kill herself over her health.
During a new interview with Kristen Welker, Blair shared some surprising things Doctors told her about dealing with her pain. The “Legally Blonde” star said a doctor suggested she get a boyfriend to help with the pain, which left Blair in tears because she “didn’t have the ability to process” the suggestion.
He added, per Daily Mail, “I know the real pain. I think it is. But I began to convince myself, ‘You are too sensitive. There is nothing wrong with you. Get it together, lazy, lazy whatever.’”
He Suffered Medical Trauma Since Childhood
Blair spoke with Welker about her years of medical trauma before her 2018 MS diagnosis.
She said some doctors took “the advantage of that time” or never really considered her symptoms, which was a trend that ran throughout her childhood.
The “Cruel Intentions” star said, “And it’s a gender bias, mostly, because there will be a boy in my grade who will have the same chronic headache and fever, and he’s having surgery and an MRI in a week.”
Blair recalled that despite complaining of headaches, fever, and balance problems, she never got an MRI. According to the actress, many doctors just said she was either being dramatic or attributed her symptoms to menstruation.
She stated, “I think especially when I was younger … they were all older male doctors who probably didn’t know the ins and outs of a girl and it wasn’t all to blame on menstruation.”
Selma Blair Uses Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism
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Blair also revealed that despite being in remission since 2021, she is still in pain “every day.”
He explained how it happened, saying, “I also have dystonia, which actually doesn’t always happen for the whole conversation, but it’s almost like someone who might stutter, or some kind of Tourette’s. So things come in and out.”
The “Hell Boy” actor talks about how he dealt with pain before his diagnosis and how it almost led to his destruction. In his memoirs, “Mean Baby,” Blair said she began sipping alcohol as a child to help cope with her anxiety and pain. He revealed that the first time he got drunk was at the age of seven, and he quickly became a child alcoholic.
At the time of the release of his book, he spoke People’s Magazine about how alcohol helped him. He said, “I don’t know if I would have survived a childhood without alcohol. That is why it is a problem for many people. It was really a great comfort, a great relief at first.”
It Affected Her Entry into Motherhood
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Blair has been very open about how MS has affected her journey into motherhood. The actress has a 12-year-old son, Arthur, with ex-boyfriend Jason Bleick.
During the November 2023 interview with Glamor Magazineshe revealed that MS turned things from a “blissful pregnancy to absolute devastation” when she gave birth.
She said, “The MS flared up very clearly, when I was in labor. My body started to suffer as much as a body can, and, of course, I didn’t know I had it. So, as soon as Arthur was born, I went from a pregnancy that happy this to severe destruction.
Blair explained that being a new mother and dealing with MS flare-ups is extremely difficult. She said, “So, even though I’m sociable and friendly, I’m alone for everything. And this child automatically became my greatest responsibility, my greatest love, but it was a very, very difficult adjustment for me. Very hard.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
