For 23 years, Dr Lucy Foulkes lived with chronic pain, migraines, endometriosis, and unexplained symptoms. She saw neurologists, rheumatologists, urologists, and physiotherapists. Nobody connected the dots. Then a stranger’s Instagram message led her to a diagnosis of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).Dr Foulkes brings a rare dual perspective: an Oxford psychologist who researches diagnosis and mental health language, and a patient who spent two decades undiagnosed.If you live with unexplained chronic pain, fatigue, migraines, MCAS, POTS, endometriosis, or hypermobility — this episode is for you.We cover:- The siloed medical system and why it fails complex chronic illness patients- Dr Foulkes’ 23-year diagnostic journey through hEDS, chronic migraine, and endometriosis- The Beighton Scale, hEDS and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), and the changing diagnostic criteria in 2026- The mental load of rationing medication, energy, and life itself- Self-diagnosis: danger or necessity?- Why diagnosis can feel like relief, not a sentence- Practical strategies for living well within chronic illness- Identity versus illnessAbout Lucy FoulkesDr Foulkes is an academic psychologist at the University of Oxford, and author of Coming of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us (2024) and What Mental Illness Really Is… And What It Isn’t (2021).