BACKGROUND People have the need to find explanations for the events that occur in their lives. This is especially true when it comes to experiences that impact a person's entire existence and endanger their self-esteem and sense of identity. Chronic pain is one such experience. The search for the cause behind such pain is primarily motivated by the expectation that once the cause of the pain has been identified, an effective pain-alleviating therapy should ensue. Due to the numerous advances in the last several decades towards understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing the origins and processing as well as the treatment of pain, such expectations towards medicine can frequently be met; however, in many cases the experiences of chronic pain remain difficult to explain and, above all, very difficult to manage. GOAL In this article the authors aim to show that it is important to avoid fixation on the question of why, especially with people suffering from chronic pain. METHOD The article starts by describing how an exclusive orientation towards cause-effect-relationship in the medical context can also lead to negative consequences. Through recourse to the central theses of the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus, the meaning of the what for perspective is then discussed. Finally, with the example of a case study, it is illustrated how this change of perspective can result within the framework of a therapeutic treatment. RESULTS The following changes in perspective are recommended: the search for the past-centered why should make way for the future-oriented quest for the what for of continuing to live a life with chronic pain.

中文翻译：

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Vom Warum zum Wozu

背景人们需要为生活中发生的事件寻找解释。当涉及到影响一个人的整个存在并危及他们的自尊和认同感的经历时，尤其如此。慢性疼痛就是这样一种体验。寻找这种疼痛背后的原因的主要动机是期望一旦确定了疼痛的原因，就应该进行有效的缓解疼痛的治疗。由于过去几十年在理解控制疼痛的起源和处理以及治疗的基本机制方面取得了许多进展，因此对医学的这种期望经常可以得到满足；然而，在许多情况下，慢性疼痛的经历仍然难以解释，尤其是非常难以管理。目标 在本文中，作者旨在表明避免固执于为什么的问题很重要，尤其是对于患有慢性疼痛的人。方法 本文首先描述了医学背景下对因果关系的排他性取向如何也会导致负面后果。通过求助于存在主义哲学家阿尔伯特·加缪的中心论点，然后讨论了视角的意义。最后，通过一个案例研究的例子，说明了这种观点的变化是如何在治疗的框架内产生的。结果 建议改变以下观点：寻找以过去为中心的为什么应该为面向未来的追求让路，以便继续过着慢性疼痛的生活。