medicalizing

Medicalization is the process by which non-medical problems are defined and treated as medical conditions. It expands the jurisdiction of medicine to areas of life traditionally addressed by social, psychological, or moral frameworks, such as birth, aging, sexuality, behavior, and social problems. The shift is driven by advances in biomedicine, professional authority, patient expectations, and reimbursement incentives, which together frame certain experiences as medical issues in need of diagnosis and treatment.

Historically associated with sociologists Peter Conrad and Irving Zola in the late 20th century, the concept also overlaps with broader ideas of biomedicalization, including the use of technology, surveillance, and pharmaceuticals to extend medical control. Philosophers such as Foucault's medical gaze influence discussions about power and normalization in medicine. Demedicalization is the counter-process, seeking to restore social, cultural, or political dimensions to problems previously medicalized.

Examples include framing pregnancy and childbirth as medical events requiring interventions, turning aging or menopause into conditions treated with therapies, and diagnosing behavioral or emotional states such as ADHD or depression that may be understood through social contexts as well as biology. Obesity, sexuality, addiction, and pain management are common arenas for medicalization, especially as pharmaceutical and diagnostic criteria expand.

Critiques focus on over-diagnosis, medical harm through unnecessary treatment, stigmatization of normal variation, medicalization of personal and moral issues, and rising costs. Proponents argue that medicalization can reduce suffering by validating experiences, improving access to care, and enabling evidence-based interventions. The balance between beneficial medicalization and overreach remains a central debate in health policy and sociology. Related concepts include demedicalization, pharmaceuticalization, and pathologization.