Anyone who has been gaslit knows it feels like hell on earth. We might as well be soldiers in a foreign war. When we return from the war of gaslighting, we deal with PTSD. Eventually, we feel the healing of the wounds.

I am one of thousands of victims of gaslighting in Colorado. All victims have unique stories. In pursuing justice for many of these victims, I’ve learned that lawyers, judges, and psychiatrists cause as much complex PTSD as any foreign war can cause. I’ll provide my brief history before explaining the dynamics.

My wife and I have been married for decades, and our adult children are now grown. With my business partner, we built a large primary care geriatrics practice. I didn’t want to sell the practice but my partner did, and we sold the practice in 2010. Until 2013, I managed the practice after we sold to a national company. I was employed by other practices until July 2021, when our state government took my license and ability to practice and teach.

Even though my wife and I were going through a difficult separation, no one ever complained about my care. I saw nursing home patients throughout the state via telehealth and in person during the most trying years of COVID. I feared divorce was inevitable but managed to get my notes done and work well with the staff and the NPs and PAs helping me with patient care. I was getting by on two to three hours of sleep a night.

In retrospect, I can say that my wife and I made the mistake of going to marriage counseling. That’s when we began the journey down the rabbit hole. My wife apologized in December 2021 and I returned home. My family and I had a great holiday vacation that Christmas.

I never imagined that a government could be so heartless and cruel to an innocent victim. I now work with other victims of gaslighting in my state. Their stories are heartbreaking. I’m confident that we’ll win our class action suit in the coming year. I’ll get back to practicing and teaching when we have a new Governor in 2027.

Here is what I’ve learned about this dysfunctional system. I’ll note it happens in every state, not just in Colorado.

Most victims come from corrupt family courts. Consider a hypothetical couple, Mary and Joe. Assume they’ve been divorced three years but continue to fight over money and custody of their children. Mary can make up false allegations about her ex-husband and submit these anonymous complaints to the Board of Medicine. Assume Joe is a good, hard-working physician assistant who has no mental health issues, other than the stress of divorce. By law, Joe has to report to psychiatrists or psychologists.

With confirmation bias built into almost all clinicians, the psyche team assumes that Joe does indeed have issues with anger, other personality problems, drugs, and alcohol, the false claims made by Mary. If Joe plays the part of having a mental illness, he has a good chance of resuming practice after months of “therapy.” If he doesn’t play the part of having a mental illness or dementia, he will lose his license.

In the corrupt courts, victims are denied due process. Lawyers and judges make much money and get promotions for ignoring the injustices of institutionalized gaslighting.

In Colorado, we hope to pass a simple law in 2027. It would be an amendment to the Medical Practice Act that states any victim of false allegations must have access to a fair investigation. These can be done by professionals trained to investigate, for example, police departments, law firms, or public defenders.

Donald J. Murphy is a geriatrician.