Conceptual Metaphors Related to Mental Health During the COVID‑19 Pandemic in Poland
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to analyse linguistic data from a public discourse on mental health during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The data come from interviews concluded with psychologists/psychiatrists, published in newspapers/magazines or online.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The article fills a gap in public discourse research on mental health during the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus epidemic by adopting the theoretical and methodological assumptions of cognitive linguistics that the metaphor manifested in language is essentially conceptual in nature.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The subject of the research are conceptual metaphors used by psychologists and psychiatrists in communicating expert knowledge in the public discourse. The article examines this issue in the context of developing the health competences of the society in order to counteract mental disorders caused by the pandemic.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The results of the analysis indicate that correctly selected metaphors fa‑ cilitates the process of drawing inference about the cause-effect relations between the occurrence of an epidemic situation and the occurrence of mental disorders in various age groups of Polish society.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The results of the current analysis can form the basis for further research on the cognitive foundations of effective ways of disseminating the expert knowledge about mental health, with particular consideration placed on those areas of epidemic daily life that can be easily disinformed.
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