Does anyone know of any research that examines how well people remember the coping strategies they use for managing their chronic pain? I have a hunch that people don't remember what they actually do, but instead recall easily-remembered strategies like rest, activity management, medication, exercise. This means cognitive or mindfulness strategies are less easily recalled. I remember the 2009 paper by Currant, Williams and Potts suggested that people with chronic pain don't use coping strategies at 12 months, and that this has little effect on functional outcomes, but it also raised the problem of establishing the best way to find out what people really do.

Any suggestions?

Curran, C., Williams, A. C., & Potts, H. W. (2009). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for persistent pain: Does adherence after treatment affect outcome? European Journal of Pain, 13(2), 178-188