UC Riverside

Chronic pain perseveres for more than 3 months and affects various aspects of life, including but not limited to work, social relationships, and leisure. Though medication can treat the biological aspects of the chronic pain experience, it comes with side effects and rules set out by health insurance. Due to the various effects on life and limitations of medication, psychosocial treatments for chronic pain deserve more attention. Flow, being in the zone during an actively engaging and challenging experience may provide a respite from pain via decreased pain awareness. We assessed naturally occurring flow activities among the chronic pain population to explore whether being in a flow state is associated with a decrease in pain awareness and intensity (Study 1). Then we conducted an intervention study, where participants spent 15 minutes per day engaging in a flow activity or a mindfulness activity or went about life as usual. We aimed to delve deeper into the relationship between flow and chronic pain in relation to decreasing pain awareness and intensity and compare these effects to those of mindfulness, non-judgmental awareness and acceptance of present moment states, feelings, and sensations (Study 2). Across the two studies, results revealed that flow and mindfulness have similar effects on pain awareness suggesting that either type of activity can be engaged in with relatively equal decreases in pain awareness and intensity. We also learned that this sample of people with chronic pain chose to engage in flow and mindfulness activities that were active in nature, despite experiencing effects on life that were physical in nature as a result of their chronic pain. These results provide initial evidence in support of flow as a management strategy for chronic pain, such that a flow state can provide temporary respite from unrelenting pain.