HMN 2026: How new goals can improve life with chronic pain

Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have found that people living with chronic pain can protect their mental well-being by focusing on new, meaningful goals, rather than simply trying to let go of old ones.

Chronic pain affects around 1 in 5 adults worldwide and can disrupt work, relationships and daily life.

The study, led by Centre for Precision Health Ph.D. candidate Paria Eshraghi, involved 190 Australian adults living with chronic pain. Researchers investigated whether effective goal re-engagement (i.e. the ability to re-engage in a new goal) and effective goal disengagement (i.e. the ability to effectively disengage), when faced with an unachievable goal, were associated with mental well-being in adults living with chronic pain.

Eshraghi said the research found that re-engaging in new goals was linked to higher well-being.

“Living with chronic pain often means valued goals, like staying active or social, are no longer achievable in the same way,” Eshraghi said.

“We found that people who were able to find new goals and sources of meaning reported better mental well-being.

“For example, someone who can no longer play sport may benefit from finding new ways to stay connected, such as coaching or volunteering.”

However, while re-engaging with new meaningful goals was linked to higher well-being, the findings also suggest that simply letting go of goals did not improve well-being overall, and for people living with high pain interference (i.e. whose pain had a major impact on daily life), it was linked to lower well-being.

“Together, the findings suggest that goal re-engagement supports well-being in chronic pain, whereas the implications of disengagement may be more nuanced,” Eshraghi said.

“When pain severely disrupts life, the research suggests that giving up important goals may feel more like loss than a positive adjustment; however, further research is needed to test this.”

“How people adapt to pain can shape their well-being,” Professor Dickson said.

“Supporting people to find new, meaningful goals may be a key part of helping them live well with chronic pain.”

The paper, “Goal disengagement and goal re-engagement processes in relation to well-being for people living with chronic pain,” is published in Psychological Applications and Trends 2026.

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