| Summary: | The current bio-psycho-social model of pain requires profound search of the experience of pain from different spheres of life.
Purpose: The purpose of this publication is to summarize the knowledge of the most common and dominant experiences of chronic pain, discussed in qualitative studies over the last 10 years.
Material and methods: Analysis of publications in the period 2010-2019 indexed in world databases with the main focus on the qualitative studies that aim to describe the essential experiences regarding the nature of chronic pain, pertaining to different spheres of life.
Results: The majority of studies have presented experiences related to the negative effects of chronic pain affecting the individual and all aspects of life– experiences related to: 1) the dominant role of pain; 2) the invisibility of pain; 3) the change or loss of identity and the sense of self; 4) loss of social identity; 5) seeking help.
Discussion: Qualitative research has provided particular insight into the multidimensional experience of pain. The selected qualitative studies reveal topics that determine the essence and significance of pain as a phenomenon. Some poorly explored areas are the impact of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, the perception of pain situation, the intensity of pain, memories of past experiences.
Conclusion: A detailed and deep investigation of the subjective experiences of the pain sufferer, prospectively monitored, would be useful to enrich management strategies and improve the quality of life of patients with chronic pain.
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