Advertise on podcast: Emotional Autoimmunity: Dealing with the emotional issues of chronic illness

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text If I had to name the one question that almost every person asks me when we start working together, it's this: Is what I'm feeling normal?  This is because there is a complete lack of understanding about what chronic illness is and what the appropriate and normal human emotional responses to becoming chronically ill are.  Often, currently healthy people mistakenly believe that their health and capability is a direct reflection of their choices, actions and thoughts, rather than something that simply happens to them. But the reality is that chronic illness and disability can happen to anyone, at any time through no fault of their own and that no one can be guaranteed health. Yet when we do screw up our courage and try to talk about how we feel and make ourselves vulnerable in doing so, others either dismiss us, blame us, disbelieve us or wrongly think that it's simply an issue of mind over matter or being more positive.  All of that can leave you feeling that it must be a 'you' problem.  That you are just not strong enough or trying hard enough or that everyone else living with your condition is coping so much better than you.  So, lets talk about all of the normal emotional responses to living with chronic illness, what they are, why you feel that way and hopefully, this will leave you feeling a little better in knowing that you are not the only one.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text How do you find joy again?  Question: It’s been 4 years now with chronic illness and I am so sick of being sick and I know everyone around me is sick of me being sick as well.     I feel like my whole life now is based around managing my symptoms and the exhaustion and the grief of everything I have lost. How can I start to feel some joy again because right now, it feels impossible. When people first start working with me, the things they always list as goals are all of the things that they want less of. Less anxiety, less pain, less overwhelm or grief and it takes a while to start to think about what is it that you want more of or that you want back, instead of all of the things you want less of.  More joy, more peace, being more present and engaged with your life.  More feelings of being connected and having an expanded emotional range so that you can feel so much more than where you feel stuck at the moment.  But a lot of that is going to depend on where you are right now.  So, lets talk about where you can be stuck, what to do when that happens and how you can start cultivating a practice to include more of the things you want, including joy.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text Of all the emotional issues that come with chronic illness, the most painful and most damaging is shame. While guilt is about something we have done, shame is about who we are and all of the ways we feel that we are bad, wrong, weak, lacking or 'less than' that make us so very different to everyone else. Especially when we compare ourselves to others who have our illness and who seem to be doing so much better than us.  In this episode I go through the typical kinds of statements and beliefs that you can feel when living with chronic illness, address some of the driving factors that create these feelings and explain why they leave you feeling so full of shame.  Things like:  I feel ashamed because I feel like I am failing to get better. I feel ashamed because I am ruining my families lives. I feel ashamed and embarrassed because I look so different than I did before. If you live with chronic illness and struggle with feelings of shame, then this episode is for you and will help you understand why you feel the way you feel.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text I asked my email and social media communities a while back to ask me anything about the experience of chronic illness that they were struggling with to see if I could help and in this episode, I am back with part 2.  I was planning to answer three questions this time but unfortunately, I was running out of energy towards the end of recording and had to leave the last one for now.  I will circle back to it another time as I think that topic deserves it's own podcast and I plan on getting tips and strategies from more seasoned travellers than myself.  In this episode I speak to: How do you deal with a sleepless night or nights? and I'm not doing fun things, like creative stuff because I'm always stuck in the rip tide and just trying to keep my head above water. It's exhausting and depressing.  Have a listen and please share this if it can help your friends or your chronic illness communities.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text By far, the biggest and most upsetting issue for those of us living with chronic illness is not being believed.  From Doctors, family, friends and even total strangers on the internet, there are so many people full of scepticism, unsolicited advice and downright disbelief.  But how do you deal with the questions and comments like: It's all in your head.Why are you still so sick?There must be some Doctor who can fix you.You just need to think more positive.But you look so well.You need to stop letting the illness define you.In this episode I take a deep dive into the basis of other peoples disbelief, how to deal with the comments and judgements and more importantly, what you can do to empower yourself.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text The emotional and psychological impacts of becoming chronically ill so often go unrecognised, misunderstood belittled or simply ignored. Which means that when it happens to you, you have no idea if the grief, fear, overwhelm and exhaustion that you feel are normal or that maybe, it is all in your head after all.  A big part of my work is to normalise and validate the often complex emotions that come with becoming chronically ill because people need to understand that all of the emotions are real, appropriate and completely understandable.  In this episode, I share perhaps the most challenging emotional issue of living with chronic illness that leads so many of us feeling hopeless, powerless and completely overwhelmed.  And more importantly, I give you some practical solutions for what you can do when you feel this way because you deserve to feel understood, supported and believed.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text Most of my new clients with chronic illness are starting from a place of complete overwhelm and feeling like they are sitting in the wreckage of their lives and wondering, 'where do I even start to deal with this?' So let's talk about overcoming that overwhelm and finding ways to help yourself take back some sense of direction and control.  In this episode which will be a series, I start breaking down the first steps you need to take to start adapting to living your new life with chronic illness.  This includes:  Processing all the emotionsHow to get the information you needFirst steps to working out what you can do to help yourselfWhat your priorities need to beHow to manage the disbelief. If you are feeling totally overwhelmed and need some direction and validation, then this podcast is for you.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text Chronic illness changes every aspect of your life and a large part of that is figuring out ways to best manage your symptoms and protect your energy.  The biggest problem is though that other people can get in the way of that.  Whether it's Doctors not supporting the treatment options you want, friends or family criticising or judging the changes you are making or having to deal with others fear, concern or disapproval, it adds another big challenge to an already overwhelming situation.  When chronic illness already leaves you feeling isolated, criticised and struggling, how do you cope when others don't support how you choose to manage your illness?  Find out how in this episode of the Emotional Autoimmunity podcast.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text After a while, most people who live with chronic illness give up trying to talk about what it's like and how it feels, because people don't seem to understand.  Especially as time goes on and those around you don't see you 'getting better' and can't seem to grasp what 'chronic' actually means.  Often, when you do try to explain and seek support, you end up feeling judged, shamed and disbelieved, even by the very professionals who are supposed to be there to help you.  You can be told to stop being so negative, not let the illness define you or offered unsolicited advice that seems to completely ignore the complex reality of your illness. So at a time in your life when you are most in need of empathy, compassion and understanding, you can end up feeling more alone than you have ever felt before.  In this episode, I go through all of the key reasons why we don't talk about chronic illness. Why it happens, where peoples beliefs and judgements come from and more importantly, what you can do to help yourself when sharing leaves you feeling guilty, judged, blamed and alone.  If you have tried talking about the impacts of chronic illness on your life and no one seems to understand, then this episode is for you. Chronic illness is very real and you deserve to be believed and supported. Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text In this episode I answer questions from my chronic illness community including: Can you speak to the cost of the unique stressors in chronic illness including not being able to trust the guidance of doctors, trying to resolve health problems alone and how do you cope when taking expert advice goes badly for you? How do you revise your story of self, worth and identity when illness has stripped it away? and Are your Discovery Sessions or services some kind of scam? You asked, I answered so lets get into all the complexities, challenges and potential solutions together. Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text Today (June 19th, 2024) marks 4 years since my Type 1 diabetes diagnosis which makes this the perfect time to talk about how my chronic illnesses affect my everyday life.  In this podcast I open up about each of my 4 different autoimmune diseases, the impact they have on me, what's changed  what ongoing issues I still have and how I deal with them. This includes how it's affected my sleep, diet, social life, friendships, relationships and the many ways in which it has changed my life.  I also share a peek into my daily chronic illness management, my health goals, typical medical administration and what life is generally like for me.  As always, I am not a medical doctor and the way in which I choose to manage my illness is what works best for me. There is no "one" way to manage chronic illness and we all need to find our way and what works best for us.  The audio recording cut out at the end but all you are missing is my usual "bye for now." Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text One of the big, missing pieces in supporting people with chronic illness is that there is so little acknowledgment that becoming chronically ill changes peoples lives and that this creates complex emotional issues that are in fact, completely normal.  The typical experience is that you get your diagnosis (or not) and leave the doctors office with no idea what to do next and how to even start to cope with how much your life and self have changed and no recognition of just how lost, confused, afraid and overwhelmed you are feeling.  The one thing I see consistently with every single client is a mistaken belief that this is a 'me' thing and not an 'everybody' thing.  That there is something lacking in me whether it's that I am not strong enough, determined enough or resilient enough to cope with this or that I am too weak, too needy, too confused or just too much to deal with.  All of this is reinforced because most people don't understand the normal emotional reactions to becoming chronically ill and judge, criticise and blame, which leaves you feeling even worse about yourself. So if you have ever worried that this is a 'you' thing and that everyone else is coping much better with chronic illness than you, this will help you understand why you feel that way and how to change it.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text One of my main objectives both with my podcast and my work, is to educate and validate the very normal emotional experiences and issues that come with becoming chronically ill.  The feelings of jealousy and envy are the ones we don't talk about because it creates so much guilt and shame to even admit them to yourself, let alone to others.  Watching your friends doing all the things that you can no longer do, feeling so jealous and envious that you need to stop using social media because it makes you cry or shaming yourself because you sometimes resent your partner for how they are able to be out and about in the world.  Feeling envy and jealousy of people whose lives have not been changed by chronic illness can leave  you feeling like a bad or terrible person and so very ashamed. In this episode, I share examples of envy and jealousy based on my clients and my own personal experiences, break down why it feels so wrong to have them and most importantly, how you can support yourself when experiencing these normal, natural emotions, without the guilt and shame.  Let's talk about the real life emotional issues of living with chronic illness.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text Anxiety and dealing with constant 'what if' thoughts are something that every human has to deal with as our brain is  trying to interpret our environment for potential threats to try and keep us safe.  But when you live with chronic illness, you will experience new levels of fear that create specific types of anxiety that non chronically ill people never need to think about.  The anxiety of living in a body that is unpredictable and no longer feels safe and can make you experience pain, fatigue and disability at any time.  The anxiety of not being believed, not feeling supported or experiencing blame and judgement for 'not trying hard enough to get well'.  The anxiety of feeling let down or abandoned by the medical, social and community systems we thought would be there when we most needed them .  The anxiety of experiencing a major flare, hospitalisation or more pain, disability and fatigue.  Inevitably, all of these anxieties lead to feeling stuck in endless 'what if' scenarios about all the things that you don't want to happen which leaves you losing sleep, unable to relax and dealing with the inflammatory effects of all that stress and fear.  In this episode I break down for you why these fears happen, how they have an impact on your emotions and body and most importantly, I share new skills you can use to overcome those scary 'what if' thoughts.  And if you get some good from this episode, please share this podcast and leave me a five star review to help me reach more people who need this information.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.

Enjoyed this episode? Send Kerry a text When you live with chronic illness, you can feel so very alone which makes getting support more important than ever.  What's often shocking though is discovering just how little support is actually out there! There is so little knowledge about chronic illness in our communities, families, medical and social support systems that you can end up feel judged, blamed, isolated and left to fend for yourself.  You can feel guilty for what your illness is doing to others, worry about letting others down and feel so overwhelmed and anxious because you don't know how to get doctors to help you. Also as a formerly independent, capable and competent person, you can feel very vulnerable when it comes to asking for help in case the help you need will not be given.  If you want to know how to maximize your chances of getting the support you need, from online groups, doctors, family and friends, then this podcast is for you! Make sure you share this one with everyone you know who lives with chronic illness because we so deserve to be supported.  Kerry Jeffery is a Coach, Counsellor and Clinical Hypnotherapist helping clients all around the world to overcome the emotional issues of living with chronic illness. She lives in Melbourne, Australia along with Hashimoto's, Celiac, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. Find out more about Kerry and her Therapy programs here. Book your FREE online Discovery Session with Kerry here. Follow Kerry for daily posts on Facebook here.