The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
“Traveling Pains”: Embodied Metaphors of Suffering Among Southern Sudanese Refugees in Cairo
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a larger study conducted among Southern Sudanese refugees in Cairo, Egypt. "Illness talk" and body metaphors are the focus of the present work, which is based mainly on an analysis of the illness narratives of people attending a church-run medical clinic. The findings suggest that refugees use certain narrative styles in discussing their illnesses that highlight the interconnection of bodily ills and refugee-related trauma. The refugees narrated the histories of their illnesses in terms consistent and coterminous with their refugee histories, and articulated illness causes in terms of threatening assaults on their sense of self as human beings and as part of a distinct community and culture. The use of embodied metaphors to understand and cope with their current and past traumatic experiences was echoed in narratives that were nonillness related. Metaphors such as "the heart," "blood," and "body constriction" were consistently used to discuss social and cultural losses. Understanding the role that the body plays in experience and communication within a given cultural context is crucial for physicians and others assisting refugees.
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“Earlier qualitative research with southern Sudanese displaced populations [27, 28] similarly notes the importance of ‘thinking too much’, and suggests that psychological distress may be considered as a problem in and of itself.”
From Mental health and psychosocial support for South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda: a needs and resource assessment (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
In the citing paper
“Communal coping strategies (social support through connecting with elders, relatives, community members, religious institutes) are consistently mentioned in both earlier and later qualitative research as coping and help-seeking strategies [27, 28].”
From Mental health and psychosocial support for South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda: a needs and resource assessment (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
In the citing paper
“Coker [28] interviewed southern Sudanese refugees in Egypt and found that the refugees often discussed their illnesses in social or existential terms rather than in physical terms. “Thinking too much” was a common factor in illness and was thought to “fuel” their illnesses.”
From Mental health and psychosocial support for South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda: a needs and resource assessment (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
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Cross-Cultural Assessment of Psychological Trauma and PTSD
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Mental Distress, Economic Hardship and Expectations of Life in Canada among Sudanese Newcomers
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Metadata
- Authors
- Coker, E. M.
- Affiliations
- American University in Cairo (EG)
- Corresponding author
- Coker, Elizabeth Marie
- Venue
- Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
- Published
- 2004-03
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 15-39
- ISSN
- 0165-005X (ISSN-L)
- 1573-076X
- OpenAlex
- W2000779100
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 5.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Culture Medicine and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- American University in Cairo
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration, Identity, and Health
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
- Keywords
- illness narratives, embodied metaphor, refugee trauma, body metaphor, selfhood, heart metaphor, refugee health, cultural context of illness, coping with trauma
- MeSH terms
- Attitude to Health, Culture, Depression, Egypt, Humans, Pain, Refugees, Sudan, Travel, Metaphor
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: “Traveling Pains”: Embodied Metaphors of Suffering Among Southern Sudanese Refugees in Cairo. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1023/b:medi.0000018096.95218.f4
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- Coker, E. M. (2004). “Traveling Pains”: Embodied Metaphors of Suffering Among Southern Sudanese Refugees in Cairo. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1023/b%3Amedi.0000018096.95218.f4
