Bodily events in metaphorical embodiment of stress relief

In this study, we aimed to investigate how the state of stress relief is metaphorically embodied when people use metaphors to describe it. A group of 30 participants were asked to talk about stress relief and their real experiences in this psychological state. The results showed that the metaphorical description of this psychological state was primarily accompanied by four noticeable bodily events: exhalation of air from the mouth, slight downward movement of shoulders, downward and forward movement of the head, and downward and forward movement of hands. We explain these on the basis of a metonymic association between these bodily events and the psychological state of stress relief. Also, in a significant number of cases, these bodily events occurred in a regular order. When these events occurred together, the exhalation of air from mouth was followed by simultaneous downward movement of head and shoulders and forward movement of hands. Therefore, in the metaphorical description of stress relief, we can talk about an embodiment scheme that includes a set of bodily events occurring sequentially in a regular order. We define embodiment scheme as a sequence of coordinated dynamic bodily events that represent an event. Finally, it is suggested that embodiment schemes are developed in real experiences. Once an embodiment scheme has been established, it can be activated later in the same regular pattern.