There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases. Some are well known, such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and others are rare and difficult to diagnose, treat or cure. People with rare or unusual autoimmune diseases can suffer years before getting a proper diagnosis and lifelong treatment is typically required to ease symptoms. 

Autoimmune diseases are affecting as many as 50 million people in the U.S. alone, making it the third most prevalent disease category after cancer and heart disease and around 80% of people with a chronic autoimmune condition are women. 

Putting our own health first has to be a priority if we want to live a long, happy and productive life with our autoimmune conditions. Eliminating inflammation is one of the best lifestyle choices we can make and this can be achieved by managing our 6 pillars of health: healthy eating, managing stress, increasing exercise, improving sleep, minimising risky substances, and maintaining positive social connections.  

Hi, I'm Karen Bartle, host of Autoimmune Healing Academy & Co-founder at Academy of Advanced Changework. With a professional background in health psychology and lifestyle medicine, I specialise in working with people in their autoimmune healing journey's.

Having been diagnosed with my own rare and complex autoimmune blistering disease in 2020 after years of suffering with symptoms, I know how much wasted energy and deep concern goes into dealing with an unmanaged autoimmune disease, and how much more time we invest than we think we do dealing with it.

I also know how miserable things can be as result of doing those things and not being able to stop doing them. It's like everyday we reinvent the same proverbial wheel and it can become frustrating and exhausting to keep doing what we've always done and getting what we've always got! 

It's very common when we're first diagnosed with an autoimmune disease to not know where to start or what to do about it. We're often in shock and experiencing a range of emotions for some time before we can understand what we're dealing with and how it is going to affect our lives in the short and long term.

Indeed even over 4 years into my diagnosis and treatment, I'm still a work in progress and consult with my professional team on a regular basis to ensure we're still on the right track and doing the best we can to manage it!

Help and support is an essential component of managing our disease and you'll be supported all the way at the Academy to gain control of your health and lifestyle for a healthier, happier and significantly improved quality of life.  

How Karen can help you!

Karen Bartle provides evidence based lifestyle approaches and plant based dietary support to facilitate the 6 pillars of health for managing autoimmune symptoms. Karen has a unique style of faciliating change, leaving you feeling empowered with the solutions in place to improve your health and well-being, now, and in the future.

Trained in a wide range of psychological and behavioural methods, Karen will effectively support you to make the desired changes you need to make to feel more in control of your autoimmune symptoms.