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  • 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.

  • 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.

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  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • If you live with chronic illness and autoimmune disease, then you understand just how frustrating and debilitating brain fog can be.

    From the embarrassment of forgetting simple words, losing your ability to concentrate and focus or reading the same lines over and over again and still not being able to take it in, brain fog can have a significant impact impact on our work, relationships, study and motivation.

    But what is brain fog exactly and what is its important relationship to stress and anxiety?

    What role does inflammation play with brain fog and how does it affect your cognition and symptoms?

    And more importantly, how can you manage brain fog and still work and function without creating even more stress, guilt and anxiety for yourself?

    In this episode I cover all of this and so much more including my top tips for managing the impact of brain fog and reducing the frustration for when it happens to 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.

  • This episode is a collaboration between myself, my clients and my social media community.

    We all know that one of the biggest issues we face is the lack of understanding about what chronic illness is and the ongoing impact it has on those of us living with it.

    In this episode I share what those of us with chronic illness most want people to understand and trust me, everyone who contributed to this did not hold back!

    This podcast is a great one to share with your friends, family, partners and chronic illness communities so make sure you listen and share and if you want to help me reach more people who need to hear this, please leave me a review.

    Let's help educate and spread the word of the practical realities and emotional issues that becoming chronically ill bring from those who know it best.

    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.

  • There is no denying that when it comes to chronic illness, there is a huge gap in peoples understanding of just how much it changes your life, energy and ability.

    So when it comes to trying to share your feelings, doubts, fears and sadness about your experiences of living with chronic illness, you are so often met with toxic positivity responses like 'at least it's not cancer' or 'you just need to be more positive'.

    Many of the normal emotional experiences that come with chronic illness are so often wrongly interpreted by others as self-pity which feels dismissive, judgmental and demeaning.

    In this episode I will walk you through all the ways that self-pity, self-compassion and toxic positivity relate to living with chronic illness and give you some insight into dealing with toxic positivity and learning to practice and benefit from self-compassion.

    If you live with chronic illness and have ever worried about getting stuck in self-pity or felt shut down by all the 'just think more positive' people, then this episode 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.

  • When you become chronically ill, one of the biggest challenges you will face because of how the disease so often limits your energy and ability, is an increased need for rest.

    In fact, rest is an essential component of responsible chronic illness management.

    Yet so many of us struggle with embracing rest because of ongoing issues of feeling guilty about the amount of rest we need, anxiety about everything that is being left undone and fear of being judged as lazy or selfish.

    And if you are resting while still feeling guilty, ashamed or anxious, then you can't get any benefit from rest at all.

    In this episode I walk you through the issues with guilt about rest, why it happens and give strategies on how you can start changing your relationship with rest so you can start making the most of 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.

  • The hallmark symptom of all chronic illness is without question, the fatigue.

    Every time I ask my community which symptom they most wish they could eliminate permanently, fatigue tops the list.

    It is debilitating, disabling and usually coincides with things like brain fog, pain, anxiety and depression.

    So it's no surprise that learning how to manage the energy you have is one of the most important challenges those of us with chronic illness face.

    Your level of functionality depends on which energy stage you are experiencing now and how much you can resist the temptation to "do all the things" on the days you do have energy.

    Because when you try and do "all the things" there is a very real risk of pushing yourself back into another lengthy flare where you are exhausted or bed-bound again.

    In this episode, I walk you through what the different energy stages of chronic illness are, share my top tips on managing each stage and more importantly, know how to protect and get the best from your precious energy levels.

    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.

  • Having good boundaries in our relationships at any time are essential, but during the holiday season, they take on a much bigger importance!

    There are so many expectations, pressures and emotions that only happen during the Holidays and New Years Eve that are a sure fire way to ramp up your anxiety and guilt and send you crashing into a major flare that can leave you on the sidelines for days, weeks or even longer.

    When it comes to chronic illness, there are two key foundations that I use to not only feel good about setting boundaries, but start keeping them guilt free.

    In this last podcast of the year for 2023, I walk you through what those foundations are, give clear examples of why and how they work and tell you practical ways you can start thinking about what boundaries you can start setting in place to better protect your precious health and energy.

    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.

  • When you get chronic illness, it doesn't only change your life.

    The impact on your family and partners can be huge, potentially damaging and be the cause of so much guilt, conflict, resentment and division.

    A few weeks ago, I asked my wonderful email community to ask their partners what sorts of issues or advice they most needed and they definitely delivered!

    In this episode I answer questions like:


    Why does my partner seem so negative now?How do I stop feeling so resentful?What can I do when I am worried that the unconventional diet or interventions they want to use will make them even sicker?Why am I feeling so resentful and tired of hearing about the illness all the time?All this and so much more in episode 12 and if you have any future questions for "Dear Kerry" and you want some great free resources to help you deal with the complex emotional issues of living with chronic illness, make sure you join my email community at my website.

    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.

  • Irrational thoughts, otherwise known in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy circles as Cognitive Distortions are something that everyone experiences.

    The problem with these irrational thoughts is that they can and do influence our behaviour, emotions, beliefs and relationships and they are key contributors to high levels of stress.

    They are also the biggest drivers of things like guilt, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, hopelessness and relationship issues.

    While there are many known and common cognitive distortions that have been identified, when it comes to chronic illness, there are five that are the most globally experienced and the most damaging.

    In this episode of the Emotional Autoimmunity podcast, I take you through the top 5 Chronic Illness irrational thoughts, how we use them and more importantly, what you can do to challenge and overcome them.

    Some of them may even surprise 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.

  • When you live with chronic illness, chances are high that you have experienced many moments of fear, overwhelm and grief and for so many of us in the chronic illness community, it can lead to such despair that you give up all hope.

    Hope of ever feeling better, hope of ever finding someone to help you, hope of being believed and hope of ever creating a better future for yourself.

    In this episode of the Emotional Autoimmunity podcast, I walk you through how this process happens, why we are all vulnerable to it and most importantly, how you can help yourself find that spark of hope again.

    If you are feeling alone, in despair and finding it so hard to hope, this episode will help you feel less alone, more empowered and more willing to hope again.

    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.

  • One of the biggest issues of living with chronic illness is that people don't "get it".

    They don't understand what it is, how much it impacts every part of your daily life and the complex emotions that go along with it.

    And because people don't get it and there's so much lack of knowledge and acceptance, you can be left feeling isolated in your experience, feeling so much grief, anxiety and overwhelm and blaming yourself for not dealing with it as well as you think you should.

    After working with 100's of clients around the world and my own experience living with four autoimmune diseases for over a decade now, I know that there are five key emotional issues that everyone with chronic illness feels at some point.

    Not only that, I know that these emotions are a completely normal response and reaction to the life changing experience of becoming chronically ill.

    In this episode I will walk you through the five key emotional issues of chronic illness and explain how they can affect you so if you are wondering if what you are feeling is 'normal' or not, have a listen.

    I promise it's not 'just you."

    Trigger warning: I discuss suicidal thoughts near the end of the podcast and give a verbal warning of this in advance so you can choose to stop the podcast if this is a trigger 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.

  • October 8th was my 9th anniversary of the Hashimoto's diagnosis that left me sitting in the ruin of my life, cognitively and physically disabled with no idea if I was going to survive or ever have a chance of recovery.

    Because my descent into chronic illness was a year long, worsening process of what I thought at the time was terrible perimenopause symptoms, finding out I had an incurable autoimmune disease was devastating, especially once I discovered just how little actual help, support or knowledge was out there.

    Now 4 diagnoses in and having worked with 100's of clients around the world helping them overcome the often complex emotions that go along with chronic illness, I'm sharing with you the 10 most important things I've learned from 10 years with chronic illness.

    Perhaps they will help you as well. Have a listen to this podcast and find out.


    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.

  • We all know that one of the biggest frustrations about living with chronic illness is the unsolicited ‘have you tried….?’ suggestions.

    Especially when it’s being given by someone who has no experience or knowledge about what living in your body with your illness is actually like.

    Even worse when it's being given by another person with chronic illness who vehemently believes that their diet, supplement or protocol is the only right way and if it didn't work for you, then you must be doing it wrong.

    It's something that we all experience and it very rarely ever feels helpful at all because generally, unsolicited advice always feels like criticism or judgement, especially when it comes from close friends and family.

    Why do people do this and how can you deal with all the "have you tried..." suggestions or the aggressive advice giving?

    Let's talk about it this episode of The Emotional Autoimmunity Podcast, shall we.

    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.

  • When you live with chronic illness, one of the things you may hear quite often is a version of "not letting the illness define you" either as a caution or warning from other people or as a fear that you hold yourself as you struggle to hang on to your former life, abilities and identity.

    Where does this thing about "not letting the illness define you" come from though and does it have any connection to things like acceptance, denial, gaslighting, disability or ableism?

    In Episode 6 of Season 3, I take a deep dive into this complex and often triggering topic of "not letting the illness define you" to explore what it means for you and your experience of living with the reality of chronic illness.

    There are so many layers to this and there's a lot to go over so settle back, make yourself comfortable and let's unravel all the interwoven parts of this tangled topic 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.