Dr. Ingela Thuné-Boyle
Health Psychologist
Online Therapy

Near the end of his life, Andy Warhol often repeated the line: “Health is wealth.” It might sound quite obvious, yet it actually demonstrated a deep understanding of what it means to live in a body that can no longer be taken for granted. Indeed, Warhol recognized that when the body fails, the entire world changes. Illness removes the illusion that life is predictable or that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday.

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

Chronic illness presents a relentless challenge, not only to the body but to the human spirit. Living with a condition that does not resolve quickly, and may never fully disappear, demands more than just medical intervention; it requires resilience. Resilience - the capacity to adapt in the face of adversity - becomes a vital psychological resource for those navigating the long, unpredictable terrain of chronic illness.

Chronic illness can bring immense physical, emotional, and social challenges. Symptoms may be relentless, treatments may fail, and healthcare systems may disappoint. These realities can leave anyone feeling powerless. However, for some, this sense of powerlessness evolves into a victim mentality - a habitual way of interpreting life through the lens of helplessness, blame, and defeat.

For many living with chronic illness, the word acceptance can feel loaded, even offensive. It may carry the sting of resignation, suggest defeat, or imply a passive tolerance of pain and limitation. To be told to "accept" one’s condition can sound dismissive, especially when that advice comes from those who do not grasp the daily realities of chronic illness. And yet, paradoxically, acceptance is also a cornerstone of psychological flexibility and emotional well-being.

'Medical trauma' refers to a patient's psychological and physiological response to a negative or traumatic experience in a medical...

The mind-body connection refers to the link between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and our physical health. This relationship is bi

The connection between narcissistic abuse, trauma, and chronic illness conditions, underscores the profound impact of emotional suffering on

Some people with a chronic illness or with distressing physical symptoms may have experienced trauma in their lives, either as a direct result of their illness or at a previous point in their lives. Ongoing childhood abuse, for example, has been shown to be related to ill health in adulthood, where those who experienced a rough childhood are more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic illness later on in life.

Grief is usually associated with a single event such as the death of a loved one. However, in chronic illness, grief is also very prevalent despite the fact that no one has died. It can be an ongoing issue and is usually associated with many types of losses. Despite this, people don't often associate chronic illness with grief but the realization that life will never be what it was, and the future is not what you thought it would be, is a major loss.

Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) consists of at least four broad domains that can affect or be affected by one's condition and/or treatment: physical, psychological (including the behavioural), social and spiritual functioning.

While healthy individuals are currently experiencing a huge amount of uncertainty and even hardship as a result of the Corona virus, their lives will eventually get back to some kind of normal - maybe even a new normal - but with far less uncertainty. Most will eventually re-establish their routines and feel some sense of control over their lives. However, for those of us with a chronic illness, that sense of future uncertainty was always there and continues to cause havoc wh

When we live with a chronic illness, it's so easy to focus on our shortcomings. So easy to fall back on self-criticism and self-blame. You may feel guilty because you're no longer able to contribute to society in ways you would like to. You may feel embarrassed and ashamed over medical symptoms. You may feel inadequate as a spouse. You may not feel like a good enough parent to your children. You may feel like you let your friends down because you've had to cancel on them more

So, I've recently experienced quite a major bump in my ever present, complicated relationship with illness. My quality of life has been absolute crap despite my best efforts. I've had endless issues where nothing I did appeared to provide any relief whatsoever. This is not new to me. Indeed, I've been here before. Quite a few times actually yet each time, a quiet sense of despair sets in and my future seem very uncertain and bleak. Basically, I start to lose hope.

Refusing to accept symptoms or limitations brought on by chronic illness is a good thing, right? It stops us from giving up, does it not? It drives us on. It makes us fight harder, look for better treatments or, perhaps, even use it to maintain hope for a cure. It's a great motivator! Well, maybe to some degree but in the long-term, all it does is lead you down the path of suffering. Hear me out.