The Use of Metaphor in Palliative Care
Introduction
Whereas it’s human
nature to showcase their compassion, care, love, unity among others, through
words, studies show that the same can play both the good and bad side of the
mental health of an individual. As such, an attempt is made to look at how the
aforementioned comes into play about cancer patients.
To begin with, the use
of metaphorical words can be unhelpful since it puts a patient on the state of
self-denial and falsehood. The use of stock phrases like “You’ve always been a
fighter, you are a warrior, etc.” sets a premise that prevents a patient from
speaking honestly about his or her feelings about the disease (Kas, 2017). This
is detrimental to mental health, a critical step towards the healing of any
patient. As such, it creates a sense of psychological isolation and loneliness
as one is indirectly prevented from expressing out his grief and emotions to
appear strong on the presence of family and friends.
However, the use of
metaphors can also serve an essential step towards healing and or recovery of a
patient. Love has an inherent positive attitude, especially if it comes from
family members and close friends. It serves a critical purpose of showing that
everyone feels that everything is okay (Amara, 2017). This is essential in
boosting individual self- esteem and rebirth of the correct mental state of their
value to other people.
Lastly, the use of
humorous metaphors has become integral to patients with critical diseases like
cancer. Many patients poke jokes at the condition through metaphors like “Mr.
Crab, thinks I eat steak and chips, I don’t Bustard!”. This serves to bring
back confidence and necessitates a fighting spirit.
Conclusively, metaphors can serve both the good and the wrong side to the mental state of patients, therefore, serving a milestone step in addressing the feared