Why does heDS/HSD matter?

Undiagnosed hEDS/HSD Is Dangerous For Your Health Hypermobility-related conditions predispose a person to numerous health conditions. It is important to be aware of your risk factors so that you can catch any developing problems before they become severe and difficult to treat.

Undiagnosed hEDS/HSD Is Dangerous For Your Mental Health Over 31% of people with EDS attempt die by suicide, and most of these instances occur before a diagnosis. Living with pain and other health problems while not knowing what is wrong and not getting proper treatment is demoralizing. Many patients develop depression or anxiety.

This is ironic because many hypermobile patients are dismissed by their doctors because the symptoms caused by hypermobility often are not apparent on medical tests or imaging. Many patients are told that their illness is all in their head or is caused by anxiety and depression. This is not true, of course -- and this treatment has been termed "medical gaslighting" -- but the hurt that this treatment causes can result in anxiety and depression.

Is Self-Diagnosis OK? It is always preferable to find a doctor who understands hypermobility, and who will diagnose and treat you. However, at this point in time, there are few doctors educated and capable of this. The diagnostic criteria for hEDS are easy to understand and can be found in Hypermobile and Happy; no testing or imaging is necessary.

However, it is important to have your doctor exclude every other possibility. Many patients who have self-diagnosed themselves with hypermobility have already seen numerous doctors who didn't know what was wrong -- they ran all of the possible tests and got no conclusive results. Some of these patients self-diagnosed and then found a doctor who was educated in hypermobility or was willing to learn so that they could support their patient. Many of these doctors are happy to guide their patients as they try the natural treatments in Hypermobile and Happy.

Raise Awareness of EDS Millions of people around the world are suffering with hypermobility-related conditions. Help them out by following Shannon E. Gale or Hypermobile and Happy on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and share the posts on your newsfeed and in Direct Messages to your friends.

Buy Hypermobile and Happy now to learn more about hypermobility, getting an hEDS/HSD diagnosis, how to treat symptoms that are caused by hypermobility, and much more!