Dr. Ingela Thuné-Boyle
Health Psychologist
Online Therapy

Spirituality can offer profound comfort, meaning, and resilience in the face of chronic illness. It may help individuals find purpose during times of suffering and cultivate inner peace. However, when spiritual beliefs or practices are used to avoid, suppress, or deny the emotional, psychological, or physical challenges of living with illness, this becomes what is known as 'spiritual bypassing'.

When we talk about healing, most people think first about the physical body; lab tests, medications, symptoms, and diagnoses, but an often-overlooked part of recovery is emotional safety: the felt sense of being supported, understood, and free from threat or judgement. Emotional safety is essential in the healing process, not just a nice addition to medical care. It plays a significant practical and biological role in how the body regulates pain, fatigue, inflammation, and st

Living with a chronic illness can quietly erode a person’s sense of self-worth. In a society that tends to prize productivity, independence, and physical vitality, those who live with long-term illness often feel left behind, not only in practical ways, but emotionally and existentially. When illness strips away the ability to work, socialize freely, or participate in daily life without immense effort or pain, it becomes easy to internalize a painful message: I am less worthy

Anger is a powerful and inherently normal human emotion. For those living with chronic illness, it can be a frequent, complex, and often misunderstood part of the emotional experience. While sadness, anxiety, and grief are widely acknowledged emotional responses to illness, anger is sometimes dismissed as inappropriate or unhelpful, even harmful; and it can be. Yet, for many people dealing with long-term health challenges, anger can be a natural reaction to the pain, limitati