Postpartum onset of panic disorder: A metaphor analysis

Abstract

Prevalence rates of postpartum panic disorder range from 0.5% to 2.9%. New mothers may not know the medical terminology to describe what they are experiencing. Metaphors can provide women with a different voice to help provide a basis for shared understanding with clinicians. The purpose of this secondary qualitative data analysis was to examine the metaphors used by women to describe their panic disorder after birth. Metaphor Identification Procedure was used to analyze the primary dataset. The process revealed the following eight metaphors: caged animal, Coke in my veins, bone-tired, imposter, escape artist, magnifying glass, detective, and hermit.