New goals tied to better well-being in chronic pain study
An Edith Cowan University study links finding new meaningful goals with stronger mental well-being among adults living with chronic pain.
By Priya Raghavan · Science Reporter
2 min read
People living with chronic pain reported better mental well-being when they found new, meaningful goals after pain made earlier goals harder to reach, according to Edith Cowan University. The findings point to a practical target for support, because chronic pain can disrupt daily routines, work and relationships.
ECU said chronic pain affects about one in five adults worldwide. The university said the study examined how adults with chronic pain respond when a goal becomes unachievable, with researchers comparing the role of moving toward new goals against the role of letting old goals go.
The study was led by Paria Eshraghi, a Ph.D. candidate at ECU’s Centre for Precision Health, and involved 190 Australian adults living with chronic pain, according to the university. Researchers looked at two processes: goal re-engagement, meaning the ability to take up a new goal, and goal disengagement, meaning the ability to step away from a goal that can no longer be reached.
Eshraghi said the study found a link between taking up new goals and higher well-being among people with chronic pain. She said people who found fresh sources of meaning tended to report better mental well-being than those who did not.
ECU gave the example of a person who can no longer play sport because of pain but finds another way to stay involved, such as coaching or volunteering. Eshraghi said that kind of shift may help people preserve connection and purpose when pain changes what they can do.
The study did not find that letting go of old goals, by itself, improved well-being overall, according to ECU. For participants whose pain had a strong effect on daily life, goal disengagement was linked to lower well-being, the university said.
Eshraghi said the results indicate that finding new goals may support well-being in chronic pain, while the meaning of giving up goals may be more complex. She said that when pain heavily interferes with life, abandoning valued goals may be experienced more as loss than as healthy adjustment, though she said more research is needed to test that idea.
Professor Dickson said the way people adapt to pain can influence their well-being, according to ECU. Dickson said helping people identify new goals with personal meaning may be an important part of supporting people who are trying to 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,” was published in Psychological Applications and Trends 2026, according to ECU. The listed DOI is 10.36315/2026inpact123.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.