In “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar, he explains how metaphors of comparing illness to battle/war is often used in the medical field. Khullar mentions a few studies done where there was a metaphorical and literal connection between somatic sensations and cognitive perceptions. The military references have been in the medical community for hundreds of years but have shown negative impacts on the patients suffering with illnesses. The impact of the metaphor depends on the patient and the metaphor itself.
I believe metaphor plays a large role on our mental and physical health. How we view things can have a huge impact on how we deal with stress, illness, and other tough events. If people stay positive, they may have less risk against falling into rough patches or depression. Positive or healthy mindsets can truly transform our lives, and how we live. Any change can impact how we live and therefore how healthy were are. A lazy negative mindset from discouraging metaphors/thinking may lead to an unhealthy, discouraging, lazy body. Every person who uses and distributes metaphorical thinking, speaking, and acting are responsible for managing their own language. Positive or encouraging metaphors are important for how we live and act every single day not only to ourselves but for others. The most meaningful metaphors come from ourselves. Our perspectives and thoughts are the most powerful and influential for everyday life.
This author at one point in the article mentions, “By describing a treatment as a battle and a patient as a combatant, we set an inherently adversarial tone, and dichotomize outcomes into victory and defeat.” This quote explains how viewing your situation in life as something long, hard, and something to be won or lost, gives unfair and unrealistic expectations. Another article discussing metaphors called “See Through Words” says “However, for the metaphor designer, psycholinguistic research turns out to be much more useful than philosophical commentary, because it studies how people actually encounter and process new metaphors.” The fact that there is such thing as a psychology of language shows how powerful metaphors are a way of communication which is vital to how we understand and feel about ourselves, others, and the world as a whole. The last resource that joins the conversation is a TED talk by Michael Geary called “Metaphorically Speaking”. Geary explains “Metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves, others, how we communicate, learn, discover, and invent.” How we use metaphors impacts us in a way which influences our behavior and thinking, to how we go through every day life. Metaphorical speaking, thinking, acting, and more impacts every single person in numerous ways, even to the extent oh affecting our health.
I agree with you on how metaphors do play a huge role in mental and physical health. In See through words, when it talked about how you have to be careful with emotional responses may help with your argument!