The phrase "it's normal" is meant to reassure patients, but sometimes it can be misinterpreted. A person might think that if a symptom is considered normal, treatment is not necessary, reports infohub.kz.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, conducted a series of 14 online experiments involving 9,371 participants. Participants were presented with various medical scenarios related to menopause, migraines, toothache, seasonal allergies, elevated blood glucose levels, and other conditions.
In some scenarios, the doctor said that the described symptom was normal or typical for the condition; in others, no such wording was used. Afterward, researchers assessed how willing participants were to seek treatment.
The same result repeated across experiments: after a symptom was labeled "normal," people were less likely to report an intention to seek help. Interestingly, the healthcare workers who participated in separate experiments expected the opposite. They assumed that normalizing the symptom would either increase patients' willingness to seek treatment or have no effect at all.
The authors believe the reason may lie in how people interpret the word "normal." A doctor might mean that many people experience this and there is nothing unusual about it. A patient, on the other hand, might conclude that if it's normal, then it doesn't need treatment.
The researchers separately tested how people react to information about the prevalence of a symptom. It turned out that the statement "such symptoms occur in many people" and the phrase "it's normal" can be perceived differently. According to the authors, the word "normal" may convey not only information about prevalence but also an additional signal about how a person should act. That is, a patient might decide that seeking help is unnecessary in such a situation. For example, the phrase "hot flashes are a normal part of menopause" may be perceived differently than "hot flashes are very common during menopause."
The effect of the words "it's normal" weakened when the doctor additionally explained that the prevalence of a symptom does not mean it must be endured. Another option is to directly tell the patient that treatment is necessary if the symptom interferes with daily life. For instance, a doctor might say: "Such symptoms are common in menopause. But if they interfere with your life, it doesn't mean you just have to put up with them." This way, the patient receives two pieces of information at once: their condition is not necessarily unusual or dangerous, but it may still require help.
The study has an important limitation. All experiments were conducted online, and researchers mainly assessed participants' intention to seek treatment, not actual medical visits. Therefore, the results do not mean that any patient who hears "it's normal" will necessarily forgo treatment. Rather, the study highlights the importance of medical communication. It can influence not only a patient's anxiety but also their decision to seek help.