Richard Hovey and his graduate students reflected on the metaphor of penciled-in lives to provide a qualitative account of experiences of pain from persistent health issues and the trauma, both physical and emotional, it causes. This act of reflexivity becomes a personal examination of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using applied philosophical hermeneutics, the authors explore metaphors as a way to invite reflection and extend our understanding of something when words are not readily available to explain or interpret life challenges. In qualitative research, the metaphor becomes a technique to explore complex and sensitive human experiences so that they might become more apparent to the reader. The reader may not have had that experience and finding a metaphoric common ground adds to the art of understanding at the heart of applied philosophical hermeneutics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through their exploration of the metaphor of penciled-in lives, the authors identified three key aspects to consider when dealing with people living with persistent pain and conditions: By hermeneutically exploring this experience through the penciled-in metaphor, the authors hope that people who have never experienced persistent illness will be able to better understand it. Humanizing the experience of persistent illness is necessary for its scholarship, and a provides a foundation upon which researchers can produce patient-centered research, and clinicians can provide patient-centered care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Fragility<\/strong>: Too much stress and pressure from both internal (sense of self) and external sources (demands of society) can disrupt this new sense of acquired equilibrium, sometimes to a breaking point of self, leading to a rupture through our lives as metaphoric paper and pencils.
2) Loss<\/strong>: The intensity, duration, and perception of the pain dictate the degree of life that is lost, unlived, and forgotten. We fade away from whom we thought we were before persistent pain. The things that mattered to us begin to slip away over time with the pain.
3) Demands and perceptions of time<\/strong>: The pencil needs to be at its sharpest to ensure that medical appointments are precisely scheduled, medications are accurately measured, with periods and commas not to be confused. For the person living with pain, being at their sharpest is challenging but necessary within Chronos time. But at what cost? Continuous sharpening of the pencil shortens the pencil each time, leaving an ever-present pile of shavings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTake home message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n