They glance up from their clipboard, offer to write you a prescription, and then say, “These symptoms are normal, and most people experience them at some point in their lives.” The participants read medical scenarios where a healthcare provider described the symptoms as “normal” or not. “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,” study author Seyi Lawal explained in a statement. When doctors describe symptoms as “normal,” they typically mean it’s statistically common. Advertisement“Doctors shouldn’t stop reassuring patients,” study author On Amir said.