Anger in Chronic Illness: A Valid and Often Overlooked Emotional Response

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, limitations, losses, and injustices that chronic illness brings. Acknowledging and working with anger, rather than suppressing or denying it, can be an important step toward emotional resilience and healing.

The origins of anger in chronic illness

Chronic illness can radically disrupt a person’s life. It may affect one’s ability to work, pursue passions, maintain relationships, or even carry out basic daily tasks. Losing physical independence and experiencing a shift in one's identity can be deeply disorienting. These losses often give rise to anger, as a reasonable reaction to profound, sometimes invisible, suffering. Anger can also stem from the frustration of navigating a healthcare system that often minimizes or invalidates patient experiences. Many people with chronic illnesses face long diagnostic delays, dismissal by medical professionals, or inadequate treatments. The lack of understanding from friends, family, or society at large, especially in the case of invisible illnesses, can further intensify feelings of isolation and unfairness.

The functions of anger

Anger, when acknowledged and channeled constructively, can serve vital psychological functions. It can act as a boundary-setting emotion, alerting individuals to experiences that are harmful or unjust. It can motivate advocacy, fuel the search for better care, and empower people to protect their rights and assert their needs. Moreover, anger can also be considered a gateway emotion because it often masks or serves as a defense against other, more vulnerable feelings like fear, sadness, hurt, or shame. In this way, allowing anger to surface and be explored can help individuals get in touch with underlying emotional pain, paving the way for more integrative emotional processing.

The challenges of unprocessed anger

While anger has its place, unprocessed or suppressed anger can become corrosive. If it goes unrecognized, it may turn inward, manifesting as self-blame, depression, a sense of hopelessness, and may cause physical tension, headaches, fatigue, or other stress-related symptoms, and may make the symptoms of an existing illness worse. Alternatively, it may erupt outward in ways that harm relationships or hinder emotional healing. Unfortunately, people with chronic illness often encounter both direct and indirect messages suggesting they should stay stoic, cheerful, or grateful despite their suffering. This can lead to feelings of shame associated with anger, causing people to suppress it instead of validating it and exploring its origins. Indeed, without safe spaces for expression, anger can become an added burden.

Constructive ways to address anger

Validating anger as a legitimate emotional response is the first step toward addressing it. Therapy, journaling, support groups, and creative outlets can offer ways to express and make sense of anger. These spaces allow individuals to explore what their anger is telling them about unmet needs, broken trust, or systemic failures. Mindfulness and emotional self-regulation techniques can also help individuals observe their anger without becoming overwhelmed by it. This means not suppressing the emotion but rather responding thoughtfully instead of reacting on impulse, and aiming for understanding rather than exploding.

Toward compassion and justice

Ultimately, anger in chronic illness reflects a deep need to be validated, heard, and treated with dignity. For individuals living with long-term illness, learning to honour and process their anger can be an act of self-compassion. For society and the healthcare system, listening to anger rather than responding defensively, can be a catalyst for much-needed change. In facing chronic illness, anger is not the enemy. It serves as a messenger, and if recognized with honesty and understanding, it can guide us toward empowerment and healing.

If this is something you’ve been affected by, please leave a comment below. If there’s something important you’d like to add, please do so. I'd love to hear from you.

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Dr. Ingela Thuné-Boyle is a licensed Practitioner Health Psychologist and a Doctor in Behavioural Medicine who specializes in improving the quality of life of people struggling with long-term health problems, chronic pain and trauma. She runs a private online (telehealth) practice at www.ingelathuneboyle.com. You can find out more about her background [here], and more about her approach to therapy [here].

📩 Contact: For therapy or other enquiries, you can contact her at info@ingelathuneboyle.com.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does a health psychologist do?

A health psychologist helps people cope with the emotional and psychological impact of chronic illness, pain, and other long-term health challenges. These experiences often involve major life transitions - changes in identity, daily routines, relationships, and sense of control. The goal of health psychology is to support emotional adjustment, resilience, and quality of life while helping you find ways to live meaningfully alongside health challenges.

Can psychology really help with chronic illness or pain?

Yes. Psychological support can reduce stress, improve coping strategies, and ease the emotional burden of living with a long-term condition. Therapy can help you navigate the transition that often comes with ongoing illness; grief for what has changed, uncertainty about the future, and the challenge of redefining yourself beyond your diagnosis. This also includes addressing medical trauma, i.e. the distress that can arise from difficult or invalidating medical experiences, and restoring a sense of safety, confidence, and trust in your body and in healthcare.

Is online therapy effective for chronic illness and pain?

Research shows that online therapy can be just as effective as in-person sessions for many people. It also offers the benefit of accessibility and comfort, especially for those managing fatigue, pain, mobility limitations, or unpredictable symptoms. Therapy can meet you where you are, both physically and emotionally.

How do I know if therapy is right for me?

If you are struggling emotionally with a health condition, adjusting to a new diagnosis, or feeling overwhelmed by ongoing pain or fatigue, therapy may be a helpful step. A health psychologist can help you make sense of these changes, develop new coping tools, and support you through the transition of living with a chronic condition, so you can find stability, meaning, and hope in the midst of it.

Please note: Advice given in this blog is not meant to take the place of therapy or any other professional advice. The opinions and views offered by the author is not intended to treat or diagnose, nor is it intended to replace the treatment and care that you may be receiving from a licensed physician or mental health provider. The author is not responsible for the outcome or results following their information and advice on this blog.