Embodied metaphor in communication about lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China

The study investigated how a group of 27 Wuhan citizens employed metaphors to communicate about their lived experiences of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through in-depth individual interviews. The analysis of metaphors reflected the different kinds of emotional states and psychological conditions of the research participants, focusing on their mental imagery of COVID-19, extreme emotional experiences, and symbolic behaviors under the pandemic. The results show that multiple metaphors were used to construe emotionally-complex, isolating experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most metaphorical narratives were grounded in embodied sensorimotor experiences such as body parts, battling, hitting, weight, temperature, spatialization, motion, violence, light, and journeys. Embodied metaphors were manifested in both verbal expressions and nonlinguistic behaviors (e.g., patients’ repetitive behaviors). These results suggest that the bodily experiences of the pandemic, the environment, and the psychological factors combine to shape people’s metaphorical thinking processes.