Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being in South East Asian Social Media

Abstract

Digitalization of Southeast Asia has contributed to making social media an important area in which to negotiate such topics as mental health and psychological well-being. This paper focuses on the metaphorical constructions associated with mental health, which have become a cognitive and socio-cultural means for discussing delicate psychological issues. The purpose of this investigation is to reveal metaphorical frames dominating in the discourses of social media users in terms of the representation of their inner world and psychological experience. Qualitative discourse analysis, which is based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory formulated by Lakoff and Johnson, was used as a methodological framework for the investigation. The study considered a corpus of 500 posts collected on Southeast Asian social networks like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook in the region (e.g., Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia). The research has proved that despite the persistence of the Mental Health as a Battle metaphor, Social Media Users in Southeast Asia tend to use Environmental and Embodied mappings such as Mental Health as a Weather Pattern and Psychological Struggle as a Physical Burden. These observations indicate that there is a tendency among Southeast Asian internet users to project their psychological problems in order to deal with cultural stigmas and family pressures. According to this study, it is important for such metaphors to exist since needed in order to translate intangible feelings of suffering into tangible forms in collectivistic societies. The contribution of this paper to knowledge can be seen in how it integrates digital linguistics with health humanities to draw relevant insights concerning social stigmas and mental illnesses. These have important implications when it comes to fighting social stigmas, increasing mental health literacy, and designing culturally competent campaigns.