Analogies and metaphors for difficult topics

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m a nurse and much of my day involves teaching patients and family members about difficult topics, including illness, death, loss, and disability. I like to use metaphors and analogies to help create a picture. For example, when teaching about how hypertension can lead to kidney failure, I might say,

“Think of the tiny blood vessels in your kidneys as the delicate strands of silk in a beautiful scarf. If you washed that scarf gently under a low-pressure faucet, it would last a long time. This is like the gentle movement of blood with a healthy blood pressure. But if you washed that delicate scarf with a fire hose, the tiny threads would be damaged over time and the scarf would be ruined. This is like the forceful movement of blood through the vessels in someone with high blood pressure. Your kidneys have a lot of tiny, delicate vessels and if they get damaged, the kidney will no longer work properly”.

I would love to read some of the metaphors y’all have used to describe difficult topics. Thank you for any that you share!

Be well,
IzzFlrRN

2

Fry: Usually on the show [Star Trek], they came up with a complicated plan, then explained it with a simple analogy.

Leela: Hmmm… If we can re-route engine power through the primary weapons and configure them to Melllvar’s frequency, that should overload his electro-quantum structure.

Bender: Like putting too much air in a balloon!

Fry: Of course! It’s all so simple!