Focus on What You CAN Do: Meaningful Engagement in Activities while Managing Chronic Pain

Dr. Dave Kopacz discusses chronic pain as a call to growth and change, a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual journey to become someone new. He explores re-engaging in meaningful activities, focusing on what you can do, and allowing grief over loss of previous activities. Because chronic pain is processed through the brain, developing new interests, hobbies, taking classes, or any focus on developing oneself further creates new brain pathways that decrease focus on pain and shift focus to new possibilities, passion, and hope. Chronic pain itself can be a call to focus on our personal development, and we explore the concept of pain as a hero’s journey.