Conceptualisations of substance misuse and their potential consequences

My undergraduate cognitive stylistic research demonstrated how conceptualisations of addiction exist on a continuum and are constantly influenced by embodied experiences. This continuum moves from choice to illness and is dependent upon social norms, which are formed by an individual’s understandings of whether a person who uses drugs needs them to function. Addiction is a complex and multi-faceted area of research which encompasses several unfamiliar strands of interdisciplinary work which need further attention. This thesis investigates how professionals, who frequently come into communication with substance misusers, conceptualise addiction and the potential consequences that these conceptualisations can engender. The data will be analysed through a linguistic lens from a cognitive poetic viewpoint in order to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the emerging dominant conceptual metaphors used by professionals working in the field of addiction? 2. What do utterances reveal about how professionals conceptualise the different phases of addiction? 3. What are the potential consequences of such conceptualisations? The application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory will enable me to analyse how metaphor is used in key passages of the discourse. By employing a cognitive stylistic approach, I will be able to combine detailed linguistic analysis with a theoretically informed consideration of how cognitive structures and processes motivate professionals’ production of language and subsequently treatment and therapy for substance misuse - an essential procedure if we are to gain a true insight into how healthcare professionals think about addiction.