Melissa McCurley, who started Bouncing Back Podcast after her own journey navigating autoimmune disease, sits down with Cassie Winter - a productivity and self-care coach for neurodivergent and chronically ill professionals, and founder of Accountability Muse. Cassie shares their resilient path to being diagnosed with autism, POTS, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, including how they built their signature "Mary Poppins Problem" framework after learning to navigate life without the external structure of school or a job.

Together they unpack the burnout cycle so many neurodivergent professionals face, how the Action Navigator program builds personalized accommodations, and why curiosity, even through brain fog, is the foundation of Cassie's coaching approach.

🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley

🎤 Featuring:

Cassie Winter is the founder of Accountability Muse and creator of the Action Navigator program, a productivity and self-care course for neurodivergent and chronically ill professionals. They were diagnosed with POTS in 2015 and live with autism and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), drawing on that experience to build their coaching frameworks.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why an EDS or POTS diagnosis can take over a decade and what finally helped Cassie get answers

✔️ How the "Mary Poppins Problem" explains why structure quietly disappears after school, a job, or any major life change

✔️ A framework for turning personalized limitations into sustainable, repeatable accommodations

✔️ Breaking the burnout cycle of "doing great, falling apart, and blaming yourself" that so many neurodivergent professionals know well

✔️ Why on-demand, self-paced learning works better than live formats for people managing limited and unpredictable energy

✔️ How staying genuinely curious, even through brain fog became the foundation of Cassie's coaching approach

✔️ A mindset shift for choosing resilience over frustration, borrowed from an unexpected source in Cassie's own life

📇 Connect with Cas Winter

📘Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CEOWinter

📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceowinter/

🔗 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceowinter/

📱Website: https://www.accountabilitymuse.com/

🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:

📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/

📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/

🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/

📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa

📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith

🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!

Melissa McCurley, who started Bouncing Back after her own journey with autoimmune disease, sits down with Dr. Linda Bluestein an anesthesiologist specializing in hypermobility disorders and performing arts medicine, and host of the Bendy Bodies podcast. Dr. Bluestein opened her hypermobility clinic in late 2017 and shares how she finally got her own Ehlers-Danlos syndrome diagnosis in 2012, after years of unexplained injuries and symptoms.

Together they break down POTS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), and MCAS three conditions that so often occur together including why MCAS risk jumps 35-fold in people with hypermobile EDS/HSD and POTS.

🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley

🎤 Featuring:

Linda Bluestein is an anesthesiologist and specialist in hypermobility disorders, integrative pain medicine, and performing arts medicine. As the founder of Hypermobility MD and Bendy Bodies, she provides specialized care for complex conditions like hEDS, POTS, and MCAS. She combines personal experience with clinical expertise, hosts the Bendy Bodies podcast, and serves on committees for the International Consortium on EDS and HSD.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ How joint hypermobility, POTS, and MCAS can quietly explain a lifetime of unexplained injuries and symptoms

✔️ Why an accurate connective tissue disorder diagnosis can take a decade and what finally helped Dr. Bluestein get hers

✔️ The real difference between becoming a "patient" versus a "client" when seeking specialized care across state lines

✔️ What actually defines a POTS diagnosis and why you do not need to faint to have it

✔️ Why MCAS risk jumps 35-fold in people with hypermobile EDS/HSD and POTS

✔️ How to tell the difference between joint hypermobility, tissue fragility, and skin changes as core features of EDS

✔️ Where to find free, doctor-vetted education instead of relying on unmoderated Facebook groups

✔️ How to get informed and take ownership of your health before your next doctor's appointment

📇 Connect with Linda Bluestein:

🌎 Website → https://www.hypermobilitymd.com/

📘 Facebook → https://www.bendybodiespodcast.com/

📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/hypermobilitymd/

🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypermobilitymd/

🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:

📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/

📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/

🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/

📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa

📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith

🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!

In this episode of the Bouncing Back podcast, host Melissa McCurley sits down with Lauren Freedman—a menopause lifestyle coach, patient advocate, and host of the award-winning Uninvisible Pod.

Together, Melissa and Lauren dive deep into the "perfect storm" of chronic illness, neurodivergence, and perimenopause. They discuss why women are the "canaries in the coal mine" for broken societal systems, how to navigate workplace accommodations without fear, and the exact script you need to advocate for yourself when a doctor dismisses your symptoms. If you're a high-performing professional juggling a chronic condition or approaching perimenopause, this episode is packed with validating insights and actionable tools.

🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley

🎤 Featuring: Lauren Freedman, Chronic Coach

Lauren Freedman (NBC-HWC, CNC, CIHC) is a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach specializing in chronic illness, neurodivergence, burnout, and hormonal transitions. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Patient Advocacy, she draws on her personal health journey to help clients navigate complex conditions like autoimmune diseases and chronic fatigue. She also hosts the award-winning Uninvisible Pod®.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why neurodivergent women often experience perimenopause symptoms earlier and more severely.

✔️ Why the explosion of autoimmune diseases is a physical revolt against systemic stress.

✔️ How to understand your rights under the ADA and navigate workplace accommodations.

✔️ Why you shouldn't wait until you're 45 to establish a health and hormone baseline.

✔️ Exactly what to say to a medical provider who refuses to run the tests you ask for.

📇 Connect with Lauren Freedman:

🌎 Website → https://www.uninvisiblecoaching.com/

📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/uninvisiblepod

🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/chroniccoachlauren

🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:

📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/

📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/

🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/

📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa

📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith

🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!