Ingela Thuné-Boyle, PhD
Health Psychology 
Illness, Pain & Wellness Coach

In this video, I explore why chronic illness is about far more than physical symptoms. While symptoms are often the focus of medical appointments, living with a long-term health condition can affect almost every aspect of a person's life. It can influence energy levels, daily routines, work, relationships, identity, confidence, and the ability to plan ahead, often in ways that remain invisible to others. I discuss how chronic illness changes the way people engage with the wor

I’m pleased to share that I have launched a YouTube channel dedicated to many of the topics I work with every day in my practice, including chronic illness, chronic pain, persistent physical symptoms, mind-body syndromes, medical trauma, stress, grief, and the emotional challenges that often accompany long-term health conditions.

Living with a chronic illness often involves a prolonged and unpredictable journey that tests the body, mind, and spirit. While medical treatments address physical symptoms, many individuals turn to spirituality to discover deeper meaning, inner strength, and emotional resilience. Spirituality is a highly personal concept, ranging from organized religion to a personal sense of connection, purpose, or transcendence, and its influence on the experience of chronic illness is inc

Life is filled with transitions, some anticipated and others sudden. We plan for many of them such as graduations, careers, marriage, parenthood, and retirement, but some transitions come without invitation, disrupting the balance of our lives. Chronic illness is one of those. It can arrive suddenly or develop slowly, but regardless of how it begins, it creates a distinct sense of before and after.

Living with chronic pain can be physically exhausting and emotionally overwhelming. Pain that persists over months or years often affects every part of life: sleep, work, relationships, mood, and the ability to engage in everyday activities. Many people living with chronic pain also carry the burden of feeling misunderstood or dismissed, particularly after long periods of searching for answers within the healthcare system. Over time, this can lead to frustration, anger, and a

Living with multiple or overlapping medical conditions often means navigating a health-care system that was never designed with complexity in mind. Each symptom brings you to a different specialist; each specialist focuses on their organ, their discipline, their small slice of the body. In theory, this should lead to comprehensive care. In reality, it often leaves people feeling unseen, misinterpreted, or caught in the crossfire of contradictory recommendations. For many, the

Autoimmune and immune-mediated inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), and psoriasis are often understood primarily in terms of immune dysfunction. In many of these conditions, the immune system becomes dysregulated and mounts a persistent inflammatory response, sometimes targeting the body’s own tissues directly, and in other cases reacting excessively to i

Setting boundaries is one of the most important acts of self-care, yet for many people it comes with an uncomfortable emotional cost: guilt. This can be especially true for those living with chronic illness, where boundaries are not just preferences but often necessities to manage limited energy, pain, or fluctuating health. Saying no to social invitations, declining work responsibilities, or asking for accommodations can trigger guilt alongside fears of being a burden, disap

Living with a chronic illness means navigating challenges that reach far beyond physical symptoms. Fatigue, pain, unpredictability, and the ongoing need to adapt your lifestyle can create a heavy emotional and psychological burden. Over time, many people begin to feel isolated, anxious, or overwhelmed, not only by their symptoms, but by the constant impact their condition has on their routines, relationships, and quality of life.

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.

Among the many symptoms that accompany chronic illness, fatigue is one of the most common, and one of the most misunderstood. Unlike typical tiredness that resolves with rest, chronic illness-related fatigue is persistent, pervasive, and often debilitating. It is not simply a matter of needing more sleep or trying harder to stay active; it is a profound exhaustion that affects the body, mind, and spirit.

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.

Pain is rarely simple, and for many people living with chronic conditions, it is not confined to a single cause. Some experience both neuroplastic pain - pain that arises from the nervous system’s learned patterns of over-sensitization or misfiring - and structural pain, caused by identifiable damage or dysfunction in the body’s tissues, joints, or organs.

Living with a chronic illness reshapes nearly every part of a person’s life, and friendships are no exception. While companionship and connection are fundamental human needs, they can become difficult to sustain or initiate when someone is navigating unpredictable symptoms, physical limitations, or the emotional weight of long-term illness. What many healthy people may take for granted - meeting for coffee, keeping up with texts, attending social events, or spontaneously maki

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.

Living with a chronic illness often involves not only physical pain or fatigue but also the ongoing challenge of explaining your condition to others. For many people with chronic conditions, one of the most exhausting and isolating aspects is the repeated need to clarify, justify, or defend their limitations to healthy people who simply do not understand.

Grief is a natural reaction to loss, but it doesn’t follow the same path for everyone. When a death is sudden, violent, or deeply...

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