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Cited by 111Migration, Health and TraumaMigration, Identity, and HealthMedicine, History, and Philosophy

“Traveling Pains”: Embodied Metaphors of Suffering Among Southern Sudanese Refugees in Cairo

Coker, Elizabeth Marie·2004·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
DOI 10.1023/b:medi.0000018096.95218.f4
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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 notes the importance of 'thinking too much', and suggests that psychological distress may be considered as a problem in and of itself.

    “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]

  • 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.

    “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]

  • Coker [28] found that southern Sudanese refugees in Egypt often discussed their illnesses in social or existential terms rather than in physical terms, and 'thinking too much' was a common factor in illness and was thought to 'fuel' their illnesses.

    “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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Authors
Coker, E. M.
Affiliations
American University in Cairo (EG)
Corresponding author
Coker, Elizabeth Marie
Venue
Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2004-03
Volume
28
Issue
1
Pages
15-39
ISSN
  • 0165-005X (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-076X
DOI
10.1023/b:medi.0000018096.95218.f4
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
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › 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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