The Road Less Traveled: How COVID-19 Patients Use Metaphors to Frame Their Lived Experiences

Yu Deng, Jixue Yang, Li Wang and Yaokai Chen ()
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Yu Deng: College of Language Intelligence, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing 400031, China
Jixue Yang: School of English Studies, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing 400031, China
Li Wang: Science and Education Department, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing 400036, China
Yaokai Chen: Department of Infection Diseases, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing 400036, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Metaphor provides an important intellectual tool for communication about intense disease experiences. The present study aimed to investigate how COVID-19-infected persons metaphorically frame their lived experiences of COVID-19, and how the pandemic impacts on their mental health burden. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 patients afflicted with COVID-19. Metaphor analysis of patient narratives demonstrated that: (1) COVID-19 infection impacted patient conceptualization of themselves and the relationship between the “self” and the body, as well as social relationships. (2) Metaphors relating to physical experience, space and time, and integrative behaviors tended to be used by COVID-19 patients in a negative way, whereas war metaphors, family metaphors, temperature metaphors, and light metaphors were likely to express positive attitudes. (3) Patients preferred to employ conventional metaphors grounded on embodied sensorimotor experiences to conceptualize their extreme emotional experiences. This study has important implications with respect to the therapeutic function of metaphors in clinical communication between healthcare professionals and COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: metaphor; COVID-19 patients; mental health; narrative discourse; healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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