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Bendy Bodies with Dr. Linda BluesteinOn Hypermobility & Connective Tissue Disorders Author: Dr. Linda Bluestein
Whether youre bendy with all the benefits or hurting in all the wrong places, youve come to the right place for all things hypermobility. Connective tissue disorders like Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) are often dismissed or overlooked by healthcare providers as a cause of chronic pain. But if you or someone you care about struggles with the life-altering symptoms of hypermobility, you should know YOU ARE NOT ALONE! At the Bendy Bodies Podcast, we understand. Each week, join Dr. Linda Bluestein (The Hypermobility MD) as she pulls back the curtain on how to prevent injury and unnecessary suffering in double-jointed individuals seeking a more comfortable life in their unique, complex bendy bodies. When you tune in, youre engaging in more than a podcast. Both on-air and online, youre joining a supportive community where patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals trade insights, life hacks, and inspiring stories to embrace our Bendy Bodies journey together! Language: en-us Genres: Education, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Self-Improvement Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Sickfluencers & Cyberchondria on Social Media | Drs. Ina Stephens & Dacre Knight | Ep 221
Thursday, 5 November, 2026
What happens when real chronic illness meets a social media algorithm that rewards hospital photos, medical devices, and dramatic symptom posts? In this episode of the Bendy Bodies Podcast, Dr. Linda Bluestein, is joined by Dr. Dacre Knight and Dr. Ina Stephens for a careful, compassionate conversation about chronic illness, illness identity, and the rise of so-called “sickfluencers.” This is not about doubting whether people are sick. The team is clear that pain, fatigue, and dysautonomia are real and physiologic, not imagined, even when tests look normal. Instead they explore a more useful question: how can online communities validate and inform people with hypermobile EDS, POTS, and MCAS without reinforcing fear, excessive symptom monitoring, or the idea that looking sicker makes you more legitimate? Along the way they unpack research on the nocebo effect, cyberchondria, the creator-and-viewer feedback loop that amplifies the most alarming posts, and mass social-media-induced illness seen with tic-like behaviors. They discuss illness identity engulfment and why maintaining multiple identities supports better outcomes, how clinicians should respond when a patient says “I think I have this because I saw it online,” and practical ways to “dose” your media so you leave feeling informed and empowered rather than afraid. Takeaways: Can watching someone else’s symptoms online actually make yours worse? The nocebo effect may be stronger in the most empathetic viewers. What is “cyberchondria,” and how do you search for health information without feeding your own anxiety? Why do hospital photos and medical devices get six times the engagement online? The algorithm may be shaping what illness looks like. Is it possible to accept a diagnosis without letting it become your entire identity? Research on “illness identity engulfment” says it matters more than you think. Why did tic-like movement disorders spread through social media, and what does “functional” really mean? Website: https://www.hypermobilitymd.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bendybodiespodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hypermobilitymd/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BendyBodiesPodcastX: https://twitter.com/BluesteinLindaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypermobilitymd/Newsletter: https://hypermobilitymd.substack.com/Shop my Amazon store https://www.amazon.com/shop/hypermobilitymdDr. Bluestein's Recommended Herbs, Supplements and Care Necessities: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/hypermobilitymd/store-start Thank YOU so much for tuning in. We hope you found this episode informative, inspiring, useful, validating, and enjoyable. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to level up your knowledge about hypermobility disorders and the people who have them. Join YOUR Bendy Bodies community at https://www.bendybodiespodcast.com/. YOUR bendy body is our highest priority! Learn more about Human Content at http://www.human-content.com Podcast Advertising/Business Inquiries: sales@human-content.com Part of the Human Content Podcast Network Cozy Earth's biggest sale of the year ends December 3rd. Head to cozyearth.com and use code |Bendy| for 35% off home and sleepwear. That's cozyearth.com, code Bendy. And when they ask at checkout where you heard about them, let them know Bendy Bodies Podcast sent you.Head to AquaTru.com now and get 20% off your purifier using promo code BENDY AquaTru even comes with a 30-day best-tasting water guarantee or your money back. Take the guesswork out of pure, great-tasting water with this exclusive, podcast-only offer now at AquaTru.com using promo code BENDY. FTC: This video is not sponsored. Links are commissionable, meaning I may earn commission from purchases made through links Want more Dr. Linda Bluestein, MD? Chapters: 00:00 Fear vs Empowerment Online00:19 Show Intro and Guests02:48 Sickfluencers and Big Questions06:12 Symptoms Are Real09:17 What Communities Provide14:29 Clinicians and Online Self Diagnosis17:29 Doctors Must Keep Learning21:18 Algorithms Reward Drama28:24 Mind Body Tools for Healing30:37 Pain Physiology Explained34:06 Nocebo Empathy and Fear Loops38:17 Mind Body Rebalancing39:07 Dopamine And Social Likes41:32 Tech Benefits And Harms42:50 Media Dose And Sources45:18 Tourette Like Social Contagion46:46 Functional Symptoms Explained51:54 Illness Identity In Teens54:33 Parenting Toward Autonomy01:02:08 Cyberchondria And AI Checks01:07:34 UVA EDS Center Updates01:12:30 How To Join Waitlist01:13:45 Final Thanks And Disclaimers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
