Literature is a form of art. Art in many cases attempts to express the beauty and/or pain found in life. Metaphors greatly capitalize on this concept. Metaphors compare something concrete, to that of the abstract. By doing so, metaphors are able to influence our perception of the concrete because of its comparison to the abstract. While metaphors can contribute to our understanding of a concept, such as a doctor attempting to explain a medical diagnosis to a patient, metaphors can also harm our understanding by making us desensitized and insensitive to people legitimately afflicted with an illness that is being used for its metaphorical properties. In Susan Sontag’s piece, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors she discusses the concept of cancer being viewed as a “consumption”. Such connotation can negatively affect cancer patients and societies’ view of them. Similarly, the phrase “I’m so OCD” shows how desensitized we have become to a legitimate illness that people greatly struggle with. Society has taken OCD and turned it into a personality trait of someone that likes to be neat and organized. Both connotations have negatively influenced those afflicted with cancer and OCD by undermining the severity of such illnesses and viewing them as somewhat of a contagion.

Cancer is deemed that of a consumption. It is a “…disease of growth…of abnormal, ultimately lethal growth that is measured, incessant, steady”(Sontag12). Cancer is seen as a disease that can turn up anywhere and that will continue to spread until the entire person is consumed by death. It will continue to grow and develop like a “demonic pregnancy” that won’t stop until it has killed everything in its path. Just saying the word “cancer” has become somewhat of a taboo. It is a terrifying illness that will do as it pleases because it cannot be stopped. Cancer will continue to develop and grow from within; depleting its host of their energy, strength, and nutrients, much like that of a developing newborn. However, once this pregnancy has come to term, it will not be the start of a life, rather the end of one. Referring to cancer as “demonic” insinuates that the host is possessed, they are no longer in control of their body because the cancer has now taken over. The patient has been consumed by the cancer, the cancer is now in control and will take the host to their inevitable death.

The stigmatism around cancer has resulted in hushed whispers and fearful glares from society. Glares that are fearful of a loved ones inevitable death, glares that are fearful of succumbing to a similar fate themselves. The symptoms of cancer are characteristically invisible until it is too late(Sontag12). Cancer’s elusiveness and rapid progression only contributes to its terrifying nature. One minute you are healthy, the next you are becoming consumed by cancer and you wouldn’t even know it until it was too late. Not only is cancer a consumption of the body, it is also the consumption of the mind and spirit. In France and Italy it is a rule for doctors to convey a cancer diagnosis to the patient’s family but not to the patient. Such a diagnosis would be incomprehensible for the patient to come to terms with, unless they are deemed exceptionally mature and intelligent(Sontag7). Not only would the patient’s body be consumed by the cancer, but their mind and spirit as well. A life is not well lived if burdened with the constant reminder of one’s rapid impending death. The patient may become depressed and simply wait for the cancer to consume them, deeming their life completely over from the second they hear the diagnosis.

Metaphors such as “consumption” and “demonic pregnancy” are only a disservice to those afflicted with cancer. Cancer patients are seen only as their illness. They are a beacon of death of which no one wants to come into contact with out of fear of contagion. “…large numbers of people find themselves being shunned by relatives and friends and are the object of practices of decontamination by members of their household…”(Sontag6). There is a moral contagion that surrounds the cancer patient. They are shunned out of fear of contraction, no one wants to be seen associating with someone afflicted by this demonic illness. Ultimately, they do not want to become “possessed” themselves. As a result of not wanting to be looked at as an outsider, cancer patients will oftentimes keep their condition a secret. Cancer patients don’t look at their biopsies. If they were to look, they would be confirming their own death sentence, physically and socially. Ignorance is bliss in this scenario. If they don’t look, then they don’t have to acknowledge their diagnosis. The severity of the situation is overshadowed by not wanting to become a social pariah that is inevitably going to become consumed by a demonic illness. This ultimately leads to a lack of medical attention. Modern technology has allowed for people to go into remission, downplaying the severity of the situation by simply not looking is automatically taking away any chance the patient may have in overcoming cancer. 

The phrase “I’m so OCD” has made a mockery of anyone afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviors. Individuals with OCD have obsessive thoughts which results in compulsions that are usually only eased after performing some ritual such as cleaning hands, repeatedly checking things, or rearranging items. In some cases, OCD can be seriously debilitating causing the person to spend at least an hour a day completing rituals to calm their thoughts. Overtime OCD has become synonymous for words like “perfectionist” or “meticulous”. It has unfortunately become a saying that society has deemed as acceptable and relatable. Companies such as Buzzfeed have even capitalized  on this phrase by developing articles titled, “33 Meticulous Cleaning Tricks For the OCD Person Inside You” and “5 Types of OCD Friends You Know and Love.” Companies have turned OCD into something that is quirky and trendy. Branding someone’s illness in the form of a clickbait-y article used for comedy is beyond offensive and insensitive. The phrase “I’m so OCD” has turned OCD from something concrete (an illness) to something abstract (an overt tendency to be neat or, like to have things in a certain order or, look appealing to the eye). This is ultimately desensitizing society from viewing OCD as a legitimate illness that has affected the lives of over 2.2 million people in the U.S. alone. 

The inappropriate usage of OCD in today’s society has minimized the severity of the illness. It has turned OCD into a joke that one casually throws into a conversation. This can result in people with OCD feeling like they are not being taken seriously and that their daily struggles in life are not valid. “It frustrates me because OCD is a disorder, not a personality quirk and it has caused a great deal of suffering both in my life and in my father’s life”(Greenstein). People with OCD will feel like outsiders. While other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and PTSD are taken seriously, OCD is treated as a joke. Their feelings are invalidated and their symptoms are downgraded to “liking things in a certain order” and “double checking that the door is locked”. As a result, legitimate symptoms will be brushed off and a person with OCD will not seek treatment because they will feel that they are not going to be taken seriously. In the long run, the symptoms will worsen without proper treatment and the person will become overwhelmed and debilitated by their compulsions.

Both metaphors desensitize society to those afflicted with illness and makes them feel like outsiders. Cancer patients would hide their condition and avoid looking at their biopsies. Acknowledging that they had cancer would be the death of them both physically and socially. Shunned by strangers and even family members because everyone feared contracting the demonic illness that would inevitably consume them. Metaphors contributed to the stigmatism surrounding cancer patients. Cancer being viewed as a demonic pregnancy that consumed everything in its path made people avoid even mentioning the topic of cancer. The tension surrounding the word pressures cancer patients to hide their diagnosis at all costs, making them feel like a contagious pariah of death. As a result, many patients were desensitized towards their own illness and avoided receiving proper medical care. Similarly, the phrase “I’m so OCD” desensitized society and OCD patients to their own illness by making them feel alienated and belittled. This metaphor takes the serious illness OCD and turns it into a quirky and relatable characteristic. The overt use of this phrase undermines the severity of OCD and the daily struggles of those afflicted by it. Those that actually have OCD are undermined by society’s lighthearted and comical take on it. This is harmful to OCD patients because they feel that they are being mocked and that they will not be taken seriously. Both metaphors desensitize and undermine the severity of cancer and OCD by putting a stigmatism surrounding those afflicted. These patients will feel alienated from their peers if they choose to speak up and acknowledge the fact that they are ill. As a result, they will not seek out proper medical care to help treat their illness.

Metaphors can certainly be useful when explaining something however, if not used properly they can convey the wrong message on a topic. Describing cancer as “consumption” and a “demonic pregnancy” automatically strikes fear into anyone. People will view cancer as a demonic possession that will rapidly grow until they are entirely consumed by death. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to a cancer diagnosis. It has become the norm for cancer patients to avoid their biopsies and hide their illness. As a result, the alienated patients will not seek out medical attention. Death is a small price to pay when you aren’t deemed a social pariah and can live your life without the burden of knowledge that your time is rapidly coming to an end. OCD is also wrongfully portrayed in society. It is made light of at the expense of actual OCD patients. Patients will not have their mental illness taken seriously because nowadays everyone says “I’m so OCD”. Both metaphors alienate and undermine those afflicted by cancer and OCD.

 

Works Cited

Greenstein, Luna. “NAMI.” Home, Oct. 2015, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2015/OMG,-I%E2%80%99m-So-OCD.

Sontag, Susan. Illness as Metaphor ; and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Penguin Books, 2004.