Metaphors, Biophilia, and the Psychophysiological Landscape of Pain

Introduction Metaphors are not just decorative linguistic flourishes—they are foundational cognitive tools that guide perception, decision-making, and behaviour. In our 2023 article, Perspectives on the insidious nature of pain metaphor: we literally need to change our metaphors, we explored how Emotional Memory Images (EMIs) formed in early life can generate long-term psychophysiological distress. This current integration expands upon that work by highlighting the role of metaphors, especially within a biophilic versus necrophilic mindset, in shaping how individuals relate to themselves, to others, and to pain. Drawing from salutogenic theory, we suggest that embracing life-affirming metaphoric frameworks may offer profound healing potential, supporting both mind and body in the shift from dis-ease to ease.

The Healing Power of Metaphors

Metaphors serve as bridges between abstract emotional states and tangible life experiences. When aligned with a biophilic mindset (a love of life and living systems), metaphors can help individuals reframe their suffering not as signs of pathology, but as part of a dynamic journey of growth and adaptation. This reframing parallels the Split-Second Unlearning (SSU) model, which interrupts learned fear responses encoded as EMIs and allows the nervous system to reset.

Metaphors like “weathering the storm” or “planting seeds of change” provide intuitive, embodied imagery that can help individuals integrate overwhelming experiences. This metaphorical shift may serve as a precursor to physiological healing by reducing hyperarousal and promoting parasympathetic regulation, thus enhancing coherence across bodily systems.

Biophilic vs. Necrophilic Mindsets

Drawing from Fromm’s terminology, we contrast two cultural mindsets:

• Biophilic mindset: Celebrates life, growth, and interconnection. It recognizes individuals as part of an intricate ecosystem, supporting holistic healing and recovery.
• Necrophilic biomedical mindset: Prioritizes mechanical models of disease, often ignoring psychosocial and ecological dimensions. It fragments the self, seeing people as dysfunctional machinery rather than as adaptive, meaning-making organisms.

In our original paper, we noted that this biomedical reductionism exacerbates the mind-body split, further entrenching dis-ease. In contrast, metaphoric language rooted in biophilia fosters integration. Just as forests self-regulate and heal through biodiversity, human systems may recover when seen through this interconnected, life-affirming lens.

Salutogenesis and the Origin of Health

Salutogenesis, meaning “the origin of health,” shifts attention from what makes people sick to what helps them thrive. In SSU, this aligns with the clearance of EMIs and the promotion of coherent perception. Metaphors can scaffold this transition: for example, seeing recovery not as “fighting an illness” but as “nurturing a garden” reframes the process toward growth and agency.

A biophilic metaphor helps resolve what we previously termed the “double bind of recovery”, when individuals fear losing their identity if their symptoms vanish. By offering metaphors of transformation (e.g., caterpillar to butterfly), we provide safe narratives for letting go of pain-based identity constructs while honouring the depth of one’s lived experience.

Metaphors and Environmental Embedding

Biophilic architecture (e.g., Bosco Verticale, Amazon Spheres) and natural settings reduce cortisol, lower blood pressure, and enhance heart rate variability. But it’s not just the physical presence of nature; it’s the story we tell ourselves about being in that space. Metaphors guide those stories. For instance:

• A rooftop garden isn’t just “green infrastructure,” it becomes “a sanctuary above the chaos.”
• A park isn’t just “public space,” but “a living canvas of seasonal renewal.”

In urban environments where nature is scarce, metaphor can serve as a surrogate, nurturing a symbolic attachment to growth, rhythm, and connection. This aligns with SSU’s approach of accessing subconscious learning pathways through rapid, embodied interventions.

Pain, Perception, and Metaphoric Framing

As discussed in our original article, chronic pain often arises from an unresolved EMI that perpetuates a false threat signal. Pain becomes the body’s metaphor—its way of saying “something is wrong” when language has failed. If the cultural frame only offers mechanistic narratives (e.g., “your back is broken”), recovery is limited. But if patients are invited into a biophilic frame—”you’re healing, layer by layer, like bark after injury”. This way the pain becomes meaningful, malleable, and manageable. This could also explain why hypnosis and EMI clearing in audio downloads works so well.

Cultivating a Biophilic Mindset Through Metaphor

1. Daily metaphor use: Use growth-based phrases (e.g., “rooted in change,” “new shoots of opportunity”) to reframe adversity.
2. Environmental cues: Incorporate natural elements and metaphoric triggers (e.g., spiral patterns, flowing water) into living and therapeutic spaces.
3. Reflective practices: Nature journaling, dream analysis, and metaphor-based visualization can help externalize and reconfigure EMIs.

Conclusion

Merging SSU and biophilic metaphor reveals that healing is not merely a return to baseline, but a re-embodying of self in a life-affirming narrative. When we shift from a necrophilic, mechanistic worldview to one that honours life’s complexity, metaphor becomes medicine. By recognising pain as a symbolic signal and fostering environments (internal and external) that speak the language of growth, connection, and wonder, we can more fully reclaim our health and humanity.