Collective Emotion During Collective Trauma: A Metaphor Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study provides insight into lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Participant metaphors of the pandemic were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews ( N = 44). Participants were asked to compare the pandemic with an animal and with a color, and to provide contextual sensemaking about their metaphors. A metaphor analysis revealed four convergent mental models of participants’ pandemic experiences (i.e., uncertainty, danger, grotesque, and misery) as well as four primary emotions associated with those mental models (i.e., grief, disgust, anger, and fear). Through metaphor, participants were able to articulate deeply felt, implicit emotions about their pandemic experiences that were otherwise obscured and undiscussable. Theoretical and practical implications of these collective mental models and associated collective emotions related to the unprecedented collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

Exploring posttraumatic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Collective trauma is a group-level cataclysmic event that strikes at the basic fabric of society ( Hirschberger, 2018 ). In the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have faced multiple traumas, such as unemployment, isolation, and death, and the entire society has suffered from economic recession and a loss of population and resources ( Barbosa et al, 2021 ; Stanley et al, 2021 ). It is indisputable that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a collective trauma ( Holman & Grisham, 2020 ; Masiero et al, 2020 ).…”

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

“…Previous research has shown that a wide variety of metaphors have been used in communication about the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of news discourse, political discourse and online writing. To date, however, very little empirical research has been conducted to address how metaphors are facilitated in people’s narratives of their lived experiences during the COVID-19 crisis (e.g., [ 26 ]). Notably, Stanley et al [ 26 ] conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 44 American individuals.…”

“…To date, however, very little empirical research has been conducted to address how metaphors are facilitated in people’s narratives of their lived experiences during the COVID-19 crisis (e.g., [ 26 ]). Notably, Stanley et al [ 26 ] conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 44 American individuals. Participants were asked to compare the COVID-19 pandemic with an animal and a color, and to explain their metaphors.…”

“…In the present study, we sought to investigate how a group of Wuhan citizens (N = 27) employed metaphors to talk about their emotionally-complex, isolating experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Free conversation and an elicited metaphor approach were employed to resolve the limitation of “forced metaphor” [ 26 ]. The data analysis captured participants’ different kinds of emotional states and psychological conditions during the pandemic.…”

Expressing grief through metaphors: family caregivers’ experience of care and grief during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…Because metaphors allow for a detailed and nuanced knowledge of a person’s experience, we believe they represent a relevant avenue to derive a better understanding of the lived experience of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Stanley et al ( 2021 ) conducted a metaphor analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided insight into peoples’ collective trauma. Their qualitative study suggests that individuals can articulate deep implicit emotions about their pandemic experiences by sharing and reflecting on metaphors related to the traumatic events.…”