Tehran University of Medical Sciences Acta Medica Iranica 0044-6025 61 1 2023 03 07 43 51 Seyed-Mousa Mahdizadeh Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran . AND Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Monavvar Afzalaghaei Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. AND Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mehrsadat Mahdizadeh Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. AND Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2021 09 14 2022 12 11 One of the global crises that people are dealing with today is the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of this disease as a social phenomenon has affected all aspects of life. This study aimed to identify adult people's experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak. This qualitative research was performed with a conventional qualitative content analysis approach in Mashhad, Iran, from April to November 2020. twenty-five participants were selected through a purposeful sampling method with maximum diversity until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews with open-end questions and analyzed with MAXQDA10 software. Two main categories were extracted (1) difficulties in multiple domains (psychological and informational problems, social challenges, spiritual and religious challenges, and economic problems), (2) adaptation to the epidemic (purposive self-care, ignoring the disease and health instructions, faith in God and optimism). The participants faced extensive challenges, which were made worse by the confusion and ambiguity about the information, quarantine, and social isolation. To continue living, the participants tried to adapt to situations. These results provide a guiding framework for policymaking and intervention. https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/9667