In “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors”, battle terms keep coming up to help patients with illness understand what is wrong. Many people who are diagnosed with an illness coin themselves as a “fighter” and they are fighting their “battle.” In this essay, it is discussed that sometimes the terms “fighter” and “battle” could have more negative than positive effects. The words behind the description of illness have a lot of power and need to be thought about before being spoken. Words mean different things to different people so doctors and other healthcare providers have to be careful how they describe illness. Metaphors create a common language for patients and their doctor, so that is why they are used so much in medicine.

After reading all three articles that were required I have learned a lot about metaphors and their use. Metaphors have become a common way of communication and can sometimes make things too casual. In Khullar’s piece, he describes how metaphors are used in the healthcare field can how they can make a positive or negative impact on a patient. War terms are often used to describe illness and this can often create a negative on patients with illness. Michael Erard does a good job describing how metaphors need to connect two things but in ways that are understandable for all, which can be hard to accomplish.

“Metaphorically Speaking” — “Metaphor matters because it is around us every day, all the time.”

• Metaphors are around us every day, so it is crucial for us to understand them. I feel that in each piece that we read, the authors described how often metaphors are used and how important they are in conversation.

“See Through Words” — “And yet, it’s hard not to think of metaphors that over-simplify an aspect of the world, or that obscure reality.”

• Metaphors often make things too casual, and can over-simplify things that maybe need to stay complex. All words can be put into a metaphor and this may be a good or bad thing.

“The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” — “Ultimately, any metaphor–military or otherwise– is not inherently good or bad. Rather, the utility of each depends on a patient’s culture, values, experiences and preferences.”

• Metaphors aren’t good or bad, it’s how people connect things and understand the metaphor that makes it good or bad. A person’s background and what they know play a big role in how different metaphors affect them.