James Geary exclaims to his audience “We utter about six metaphors a minute.” and although we may not use six metaphors per minute exactly we do use metaphors constantly even when we don’t realize it. Metaphors are used in songs, to describe different topics, and in the medical field. Michael Erard states that metaphors structure the way we think and talk. Metaphors are so commonly used we often don’t think of the impact particular metaphors have on us and others. Some of the most common metaphors are used in the medical field, many patients are often told their illness is a battle as Khullar explains in his article. He goes on to explain that patients may not like having their illness being referred to as a battle or a conflict as it has a negative connotation. This tends to have an overall effect on a person’s well-being.

 

Do our assumptions of metaphors override a person’s well-being in the medical field? We often overlook people’s perceptions in the medical field when it comes to how we use metaphors, thus having a grave impact on the patient’s well-being and mental health. This is important due to the use of metaphors, as they are very commonly used even when we may not realize it. In the medical field military metaphors are used to describe illnesses and after years of using these different metaphors it is acknowledged that patients may not want to view their illness as a “battle” or “conflict”.  When comparing illnesses to war many people see a negative connotation as Khullar states in his article “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors”. As people are being put in a situation where they feel as though they are a soldier fighting and are in combat rather than receiving the mental support needed. Metaphors are so commonly used we often don’t realize we are using them as James Geary explains in his article we are spitting out metaphors constantly and constantly use them to describe different aspects in life, especially in the medical field. Michael Erard states the metaphors structure the way we think and talk; although military metaphors fit in different situations such as “Cancer is a Battle” and have been apart of speech due to the commons knowledge of war but many perceptions of this metaphor vary. Over many years Doctors, physicians, and other medical colleagues have referred to illnesses with military metaphors without considering the patients outlook on the metaphor.