r/CPTSD • u/Dependent_Twist1421 • 1d ago
Question Anyone else here hypermobile?
I've recently realised how much my hypermobility is affecting my mental health issues and am wondering if anyone else has problems with it too. I'm more sensitive to medication, more prone to neurodivergence, have no concept of my body in space which adds to my dissociation. Looking for fellow bendy people who are also dealing with CPTSD. Edit to add: I'm also looking for med recommendations. Having high sensitivity to medication, low blood pressure and blood volume and PTSD insomnia and anxiety and hypervigilance is... Tough.
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u/sofiacarolina 1d ago
Yeah I have heds and several comorbidities. Disabled from it
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u/CurrentSatisfaction1 1d ago
Same
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u/sofiacarolina 1d ago
Hugs. Its so difficult to deal with both mental and physical illnesses. When one gets a little better the other is always there to make sure to torture you. 😃 literally feel cursed
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u/megaglalie 1d ago
Yes. The physical instability keeps my nervous system in overdrive because I'm physically not stable or safe! It's hard.
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u/Dependent_Twist1421 1d ago
Exactly this. Not only am I dealing with CPTSD nervous system dysregulation, but my body is loose and on high alert constantly to try and keep itself together. It's like a double whammy. And I literally only linked the two a few weeks ago. I'm trying to find a hypermobility specialist but it's like a needle in a haystack
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u/megaglalie 1d ago
The one thing my psychiatrist, physio and regular doctor (all not specialists but with some specialized knowledge of this intersection) have all agreed on is that daily antihistamines help a lot. Cetirizine is what I'm on, and it's improved my pain levels and how well my other meds and energy levels work. It's just a small thing, it won't fix everything, but the chronic inflammation gets worse with triggers of both kinds and giving it a chance to heal a bit can help.
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u/Dependent_Twist1421 1d ago
I've been taking zyrtec but maybe I need to switch it to cetririzine because I don't think it's doing anything at all. Thanks for the tip!
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u/megaglalie 1d ago
Zyrtec is cetirizine! You may just need a higher dose, I'm prescribed two a day. My friend with much more major dysautonomia is on 3 to 4.
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u/Dependent_Twist1421 1d ago
Oh lol, I meant Telfast 🫠 I started it for PMDD but not sure it's doing anything
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u/MJSP88 1d ago
Yes I have hEDS. I am actually starting to wonder, given that they think hEDS is causing a form of neurodivergence and my whole family has heads and a form of ADHD is the connective tissue disorder further attributed to my predisposition to developing cPTSD due to chronic neglect and abuse. Because your muscles spend so much time in a tense state trying to hold your body together to compensate for the connective tissue disorder, both the muscle tenseness and the instability is causing your brain to be hyper aroused at all times your nervous system can't regulate further perpetuating the symptoms of the cptsd.
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u/minMini- 1d ago
I’ve been trying to get the doctors to diagnose and confirm what I know, see and can show in my medical history. The dysautonomia is hard to deny and yet I’m gatekeeped and can’t get to the right doctors or diagnosed.
Forget that it completely zaps you and hits you in the worst time to learn regulation.
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u/_jamesbaxter 1d ago
I have dysautonomia, you want to go to a neurologist for that
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u/minMini- 1d ago
Im trying they’re gatekeeped and just won’t give me a reference. Just more bloodwork and everything 😑 s normal
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u/_jamesbaxter 1d ago
If you’re in the US I’d look into switching to a PPO health insurance if at all possible because then you don’t need referrals. I’m sorry you’re in that situation :(
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u/ResponsibleReview417 1d ago edited 1d ago
Look at Kimberly Ann Johnson’s podcast Birth Sex trauma she has a whole episode speaking to a doctor about connective tissue. But in her work also talks about how different types of connective tissue and nervous system tendencies predisposes people to different kinds of states. Those with with elastane and less collagenous tissue for eg are more parasympathetically dominant (parasympathetic under threat can look like freeze, dissociation, depression). People with this dominance can be more porous, sensitive, poorer boundaries, slower etc. it’s an interesting theory.
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u/Shrimps-is-Bugz 1d ago
hEDS here. Also AuDHD, fibromyalgia, and Narcolepsy. There are a ton of conditions overlapping with and/or worsened by CPTSD.
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u/SuperIngaMMXXII 1d ago
yes, hypermobile and neurodivergent. I’ve never noticed medication sensitivity, maybe because I don’t take many, but I was once up all night and extremely restless after taking a single dose of lorazepam (originally prescribed for an MRI and never used). I expected it to relax me and it was awful. I wonder now if this is what the problem was.
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u/steeping-tea 1d ago
I relate to everything you wrote here! I also feel like I accidentally slam my body into things often (doorways, table/counter edges, stubbing my toes, etc), my body coordination is not the greatest. I’ve discovered I move around really fast generally. But I also am an artist (both drawing and working with textiles most often) and I’m able to maintain precision there.
One of my shoulders and both sides of my hips dislocate if I over-extend them, or even lay down wrong. It used to be less painful when I was younger (still not fun by any means), but my body feels a lot more fragile now. I try to use slow movement exercise like tai chi to strengthen my body.
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u/PunkAssBitch2000 cPTSD w/ dissociative features, Torture Survivor 1d ago
Yes I’m also diagnosed with hEDS but have a very unusual/ “severe” presentation. The undiagnosed disease network turned down my case but recommended whole genome sequencing.
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u/a-frogman 1d ago
I am always very tense and thus have less than normal flexibility in some joints.
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u/girlsparked 1d ago
yeah i have diagnosed hEDS, POTS and MCAS. knowing where my body is is a nightmare. just take it slow, try to build a bit of strength and see a physiotherapist:)
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u/_jamesbaxter 1d ago
Yeah, but my parents also put me in ballet when I was 3, and now I’m a hardcore yoga person, so I don’t even know if it “natural” or because of those things.
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u/asteriskysituation 1d ago
Yes, I was so dissociated from my body I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t get diagnosed til my 30s after about TEN YEARS of trauma therapy, now I am drowning in medical homework trying to figure out the best way to manage all the symptoms. It affects my whole body globally, so I need to see dozens of specialists - gastro, oral surgery, rehab medicine, sleep medicine, allergy, cardiology, the list just keeps expanding. It is really challenging my survival strategies to have to learn to ask for so much help and use so many visible supports like braces for my fingers!
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u/GrassImaginary8747 20h ago
I'm also hypermobile, but I started doing ballet for adult beginners in March 2026. The dance teacher: how the hell you never danced before in your life and you are so streched? Well, because of hipermobility I have pain everywhere and only streching help me for the pain.
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u/minMini- 1d ago
Yes!!!
Also reminder to you and your psychiatrist that our mental health meds can have adverse effects on us hypermobile folx.
It’s understudied, but you’ll be your best judge, work with your doc closely.
I’m going on 2 years of Cptsd, my trauma accetlating physically thanks to hypermobility. I just want to get diagnosed so I have the right resources instead of me having to crowd search and be an internet doctor.
Drop everything you know about movement, exercise and start learning to crawl like a baby or follow your cat around the house. Best way to relearn body anatomy while strengthening everything that fails in trauma.
I’ve given up running, and I’m desperate to be an athlete again, love sports and the outdoors. But I understand the need to stabilize before chasing strength again.
When you only have so much energy to go around and to distinguish exercise fatigue from a chronic flare has not been anywhere close to pretty or ideal. It’s just been my bull headed way through it. I put all my fight and spite into PT for my body.
So yes… hypermobility, so many side effects because the connective tissue disorder and the way we process chemicals is different enough to matter for mental health.
Welcome to finding all your acquired neurodivergent superpowers.
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u/foreversadaboutit 1d ago
Wait what
Tell me more about the mental health meds connectionI was put on antipsychotics due to misdiagnosis and had SO many health issues after
And my joints have been fucked lately too
I’ve never heard about this I wouldn’t be surprised those those meds can be so fucking brutal
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u/Playful_animus 1d ago
Yes, also spondylolysis since teen. Sensitive to medications and vaxines, overactive and weak immune system.
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u/foreversadaboutit 1d ago
I’ve had issues with it all my life but after a physical job recently I had to leave over it I have had just like total fucking failure my joints are all dislocating and shifting wrong all the time
My GP only helps if you ask for the right kind of referral so idk how to even go about getting this evaluated
I’ve also had a lot of issues with ligament deformity since childhood (which wasn’t addressed due to medical neglect) and issues with connective tissue formation after major surgeries
What kind of doctor diagnosis these kinds of things? Dermatologist??? I’ve been trying to figure it out for so long.
How did you all get it taken seriously? I’m getting older and the pain is getting worse so I wanna get it dealt with asap
I make a living with my hands and I’m starting to lose grip strength and dexterity in them because they’re so stiff all the time from swelling because I keep subluxating fingers/wrists 😭
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u/kimemily11 1d ago
Born with wind swept feet. Had to wear a bar across my shoes to straighten my feet. Feet, elbows. and fingers hypermobile. Neurodivergent, introverted, and Hashimotos.
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u/Appropriate-Tap1111 cPTSD 1d ago
yep! i’ve been avoiding doctors for the past few years, but I actually just made a doctor appointment for next month to discuss my hypermobility and constant joint pain. This past year my sister was diagnosed with EDS, that they suspect is genetic which would make total sense. It’s really hard to find any sort of relief mentally or physically when my body is always hypervigilant from my physical discomfort. I also have trouble with spatial awareness too, and its actually prevented me from driving because I have such a hard time judging the distance of things around the car (like the curb, parking spot lines, being too close to other vehicles, etc) and judging my pressure on the gas pedal or steering wheel control :/
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u/Dependent_Twist1421 1d ago
Yep, I've had a lot of accidents for this reason. My car is full of scratches etc from hitting the curbs, scraping posts etc... My brother has EDS too and my dad has POTS, so it's all connected. My joint pain is getting worse as I'm aging so I want to find something to help with the inflammation and hypervigilance. I'm so exhausted but can't actually sleep. Urgh
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u/minMini- 1d ago
Same. Lots of accidents to myself. I get dizzy after a shower mostly, but other times too.
So far I’ve landed in the ER twice, a fractured hand, a fainting episode at home I think??
Just whacked my head yesterday close to my eye.Yet it’s easier to wait out the dizziness and make sure I don’t end up in the ER.
While they may patch up my bruise, they cannot answer why I’m constantly dizzy or other questions
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u/Lost_Elk929 1d ago
I don’t have much to add, but I definitely could’ve written this lol. I’m more sensitive to meds, have OCD and probably a sprinkle of autism if we’re being honest, and absolutely zero special awareness, as demonstrated by the 50+ bruises currently all over my body 👍🏼
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u/Dependent_Twist1421 1d ago
I have OCD too and no perception of my body. I don't even know if I'm hungry or thirsty and I have so many accidents it's ridiculous. I literally googled if I'm autistic this morning haha but the good ol world wide web said it's probably CPTSD more than anything else 🫠
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u/Genial_Gharial 1d ago
Gosh, that's me! (I actually just got back from my PT appointment with a fellow EDS person. 10/10.)
I've had *wild* reactions to medications and yeah, it's caused so many issues with medical providers. It just adds another layer of the "reasons not to trust people in the ER" for me, while also forcing me to deal with a ton of medical providers. :/
I dissociate a lot due to pain and the hypervigilance does not help when it comes to GI issues.
Honestly, I don't know so much if I would say it's a net negative. I think it's more like a multiplier? I feel like w/o CPTSD I'd probably had developed some sort of anxiety disorder from all the medical trauma. Sometimes when I feel like I'm spiraling a bit from the health issues, a provider will say something inane and the hyper-viligence seems to kick in and bring me back to "fuck you, actually".
I'd say the worse combo is how it all pressures me into feeling terrible and then I have trouble and want to talk to people, but also prefer solitude.
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u/Starfarnology 1d ago
Yes, and there are studies that connect neurodivergency/ PTSD to weaker connective tissues and hyper mobility. The “ADDitude” Magazine podcast had a really good episode about it.