The Hidden Connections Between ADHD, Hypermobility and EDS: When Your Body Has Been Trying to Tell You Something

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If you've been told your pain is growing pains, anxiety or just something you need to live with, this episode might be the beginning of finally understanding what's actually been going on in your body.

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by Alexandra Orfanides, a London-based hypermobility specialist osteopath and founder of Hypermobility HQ.

Alexandra hosts the Help! I'm Hypermobile podcast and is the author of the book of the same name. She believes that "incurable" does not mean "untreatable," and she's on a mission to help the hypermobile community feel seen, supported, and informed.

In this episode, Alex and I talk about the significant overlap between hypermobility and neurodivergence, why so many women spend decades being dismissed or misdiagnosed, and what it actually means to understand your body through this lens. We also get into the difference between osteopathy and physiotherapy, how to recognise signs of hypermobility in children, and why self-treatment strategies are such a crucial part of managing a connective tissue condition day-to-day.

In this episode, we cover:

• What hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and hypermobility spectrum disorder actually are, and why the terminology matters
• Why growing pains are not a real diagnosis, and what to look for in children instead
• The strong correlation between hypermobility, ADHD and neurodivergence
• How conditions like endometriosis, PCOS and dysmenorrhea overlap with hEDS and HSD
• Why gastrointestinal issues in children should never just be dismissed as IBS
• The difference between osteopathy and physiotherapy, and how to find the right practitioner
• How chronic pain, headaches and migraines can be connected to hypermobile connective tissue
• Why rhythmic movement, including swimming and dancing, can be so regulating for hypermobile and neurodivergent bodies
• The importance of self-treatment strategies for people who can't always access clinic appointments
• Why a diagnosis is a privilege, and how Help! I'm Hypermobile was written to reach the people who couldn't afford one

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome, and introducing Alexandra Orfanides

01:40 - Alex's personal story: growing up with undiagnosed pain

05:52 - From English literature to osteopathy

09:45 - Why hypermobility patients kept finding their way to Alex's clinic

11:46 - The overlap between hypermobility, ADHD and neurodivergence

14:12 - Osteopathy vs physiotherapy: what's the difference?

17:36 - Terminology: hEDS, HSD, condition vs disorder

20:30 - What patients are coming in knowing, and what they're not

23:57 - Signs to look for in children: growing pains, gut issues and more

28:15 - Endometriosis, PCOS and hormonal conditions in hypermobile bodies

30:39 - Migraines, headaches and the connection to the neck and connective tissue

36:32 - The gatekeeping problem and self-treatment strategies

39:24 - Working as a team with your patients

43:35 - Why Alex wrote Help! I'm Hypermobile

45:42 - How to work with Alex and what to expect

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Alexandra's website: hypermobilityhq.com
• Connect with Alexandra on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest: @hypermobilityhq
• Listen to Alex's podcast: Help! I'm Hypermobile
• Get Alex's book: Help! I'm Hypermobile: Your How-To Guide for hEDS, HSD, and Life in a Hypermobile Body
• Research: Gynaecological conditions in hEDS and HSD (Daylor et al., 2025): https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14165636
• Research: Defining growing pains — a scoping review (O'Keeffe et al., 2022): https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052578

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.