You can change the pain experience

Updated September 3, 2026

It's important to remember that you're not alone. There are strategies and skills that can help you develop greater control over how you respond to chronic pain, reduce its impact on daily life, and live well despite it.

Changing how you think about pain, how you respond emotionally, and how you behave in its presence can influence the pain experience and, importantly, how much pain affects your activities, relationships, and quality of life.

Self-management doesn't mean giving up appropriate medical care. It means making self-management part of the treatment rather than relying on treatment to do everything for you. IASP identifies active cognitive and behavioral strategies, physical activity, emotional coping, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and appropriate use of healthcare resources as important components of chronic pain self-management.

My experience
My journey took a turn for the better when I accepted the reality that pain was part of my life, stopped the relentless pursuit of a single cause or cure, and discovered the power of self-management through a structured interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program.

Acceptance didn't mean giving up.

It meant changing my goal.

Instead of making the elimination of pain a requirement for moving forward, I began focusing on what I could do to improve my life.

I learned to change how I thought about pain, how I responded to it, and how I behaved when pain was present.

That shift gave me a greater sense of control over how I lived my life.

You have more influence than you may think
You can't control everything about pain.

You can't always control when it appears, how intense it feels, or what caused it.

But there are things you can influence:

• You can learn more about pain.
• You can challenge unhelpful thoughts and beliefs.
• You can change behaviors that keep life centered around pain.
• You can gradually return to meaningful activities.
• You can develop skills to manage stress and difficult emotions.
• You can set goals and work toward them.
• And you can learn to focus more attention on living and less attention on pain.

These changes won't necessarily eliminate pain, and they won't work the same way for everyone.
But they can change the relationship with pain and reduce the impact it has on daily life. Self-management programs are designed to build confidence and practical skills for managing pain and its consequences.

The goal is to live, not just to treat
For years, I focused on finding the next treatment that might finally make the pain go away.

Pain rehabilitation taught me to think differently.

The goal wasn't simply to find another treatment. The goal was to develop the skills and confidence to live a meaningful life while managing chronic pain. That distinction changed everything for me.

You may not be able to control every aspect of the pain experience. But you can learn to influence how you think, feel, and behave in response to it. And those changes can make a meaningful difference in how you live.

You can change the pain experience.
And you can change the role pain plays in your life.

Learn more

• A Few Things You May Not Know About Chronic Pain That Have Helped Me Live Well — 2:02
• Control What You Can Control
• Self-Management Skills and Strategies to Learn, Practice, and Adopt
• How to Move Patients from Passive Management to Active Self-Management
• The Journey to Recovery
• My Time at the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center
• Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS) - Dr. Christopher Sletten — 22:19