Terminology for discussing chronic pain: Using metaphors to educate families on chronic pediatric pain.

To educate families about chronic pain requires a holistic discussion on the nature of pain, multidisciplinary treatment, and empowering families with tools to support their child's recovery.

I'm still me, I'm still a person: war metaphor use and meaning making in women with metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The war metaphor is one strategy used frequently in breast cancer to inspire individuals in a "fight" against cancer and assist patients in navigating their illness experience. Despite prominent use, the emotional impact of this language has not been examined in the context of meaning making among women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: This study involved a semi-structured interview considering the war metaphor's impact on women's illness experience with MBC. Participants (n = 22) had been diagnosed with MBC for at least 6 months or following 1 disease progression and were undergoing treatment at an NCI-designated cancer center in Western Pennsylvania at the time of interview. Each participant underwent an individual interview exploring the war metaphor's impact on illness experience. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed to assess feelings about the war metaphor and emotional response to the lived experience of cancer. RESULTS: Two themes were identified surrounding metaphor use and participants' experiences with meaning making in cancer. First, women with MBC perceive the diagnosis as an "unfair fight" due to its incurable nature. Second, patients use alternative language of "living life" and communicate resistance to being defined by their cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSION: War metaphors are one collection of terminology people use to understand their diagnosis. However, their use may apply pressure to prioritize positivity in the face of diagnosis and treatment, in a unique clinical context where this may not be adaptive. These findings affirm a need to consider patients' lived experiences to best facilitate psychological adjustment to illness.

Women's Metaphors About BRCA Gene Testing and How They Can Inform Health Communication Theory and Practice.

Genetic testing can detect whether an individual carries a harmful variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 (Breast Cancer 1 or 2) gene which, if present, drastically increases a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The experience of BRCA gene testing can be an emotionally laden process yielding significant uncertainty. In this study, we examined women's experiences of BRCA gene testing by exploring how participants communicatively framed and made sense of this process through the use of metaphors. Comparing uncertain and unfamiliar experiences to familiar references through metaphor can help people in challenging health-related situations with sense-making and communicating complex emotions. Furthermore, metaphors can be employed as a therapeutic tool by health care professionals, but their use has not often been studied regarding experiences of genetic testing, including BRCA gene testing. We conducted in-depth interviews with 42 women who have undergone BRCA gene testing (regardless of results), and analyzed data using constant comparative techniques. Eight categories of metaphors that women used surrounding BRCA gene testing were evident in the data, including those related to (a) knowledge is power; (b) gambling; (c) a journey; (d) a rollercoaster; (e) battle, disaster, or wreckage; (f) Pandora's box or a can of worms; (g) doom and gloom; and (h) the release or placing of a weight. Results enhance our understanding of women's experiences related to the uncertainty-inducing process of BRCA gene testing and lead to valuable theoretical implications and practical recommendations, including regarding the potential use of metaphors in patient-provider communication about BRCA genetic risk.

Enrolling the body as active agent in cancer treatment: Tracing immunotherapy metaphors and materialities.

Immunotherapy is heralded as the 'fifth pillar' of cancer therapy, after surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and genomic medicine. It involves 'harnessing' patients' own immune system T-cells to treat cancer. In this article, I draw on qualitative interviews with practitioners working in oncology and patients in the UK, to trace metaphorical and discursive framing around immunotherapy. Immunotherapy aims to restore the functioning of the immune system to detect cancer (non-self), working with the self/non-self model that pervades immunology discourse more widely. Practitioners draw on metaphors that cement this self/non-self model, and that tend to depict the relationship between cancer and the immune system as an internal battle. Yet the discursive framing around immunotherapy also involves shifts that emphasize the body's own capacity to heal, where it is framed as 'gentle' or 'tolerable' on the body. Through this discursive shift, immunotherapy refigures the antagonism associated with the self/non-self model in the context of cancer. Analysing patients' embodied experiences of treatment, this article attends to the material realities and tensions provoked by this shift in discursive framing. This article contributes to feminist STS analyses of immunology discourse, and extends this literature by arguing that it is critical to address the material stakes of these discursive shifts by paying attention to patients' day-to-day experiences of treatment. The discursive framing of immunotherapy brings into being new forms of embodied patienthood in the context of cancer.

What Patients and Caregivers Experience When They Receive Palliative Care: A Study Eliciting Metaphors That Could Shape Public Messaging.

Many patients who could benefit from Palliative Care do not receive services because of lack of awareness or misconceptions. This high level of public unfamiliarity combined with inaccurate beliefs equating Palliative Care with dying calls for public messaging designed to increase public familiarity and correct misconceptions. A barrier to widespread public messaging, however, is the scarcity of messages developed with empirical research in public perceptions of the lived experience of receiving palliative care. In this report, we describe qualitative research aimed at identifying the "deep metaphors" associated with palliative care, to provide an empirical foundation for further creative work. We interviewed 8 patients receiving palliative care and 8 caregivers using a qualitative method, Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, that is specially designed to reveal unconscious metaphors and socially shared associations that participants held about experiencing palliative care. Study participants likened the onset of serious illness as a massive disruption resulting in stunning losses with far-reaching consequences. What serious illness "took away" from them was a sense of certainty about where their lives were going, and these participants described experiencing (1) shame and embarrassment about what was happening to them; (2) a sense that no one was listening to them; (3) feeling lost and uncertain about what to do, feeling stuck; and (4) losing parts of their identity to illness. What they felt in need of, to counter what had been taken away, was (1) validation for what they were going through; (2) agency to determine their own quality of life and have input into their care; (3) guidance to access a network of resources; and (4) regeneration of their self-worth, resulting in a new version of their identity. This research provides guidance for message developers on frames, language, and visuals for future campaigns designed to create public interest in palliative care.

Fatalism and metaphor in Confucianism: A qualitative study of barriers to genetic testing among first-degree relatives of hereditary cancer patients from China.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the benefits, the rate of genetic testing among first-degree relatives (FDRs; parents, children, and siblings) remains low, and the barriers to undergoing testing among FDRs in China are not clear. We explored the reasons why FDRs refused genetic testing. METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 22 patients and 27 FDRs. Participants were recruited at an urban tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, South China. We used qualitative content analysis to analyse the transcripts of audio recordings and identify major themes and subthemes. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged related to FDRs' low rate of participation in genetic testing. First, there is cognitive distance from genetic testing/cancer and a lack of knowledge of preventive medicine that deepens the 'fatalistic' attitude towards cancer among FDRs, which leads to an enormous gap between their knowledge and understanding of genetic testing. Second, medical consultation is not valued in Confucianism, and the view of cancer as 'bad news' and the risk of cancer as a curse makes cancer a metaphor, which leads to exhausting arguments when persuading FDRs to undergo genetic testing. Third, physical distance from the hospital, loss of privacy, possible discrimination in many social activities and genetic testing as a source of stress and anxiety lead FDRs to fear the disruption of their daily lives. CONCLUSIONS: There are many barriers to genetic testing among the FDRs of hereditary cancer patients originating from the national social and cultural context. Healthcare professionals should develop interventions rooted in culture and promote cancer risk communication between hereditary cancer patients and FDRs.

How metaphors shape the particularities of illness and healing experiences.

Metaphors are frequently seen in individuals' descriptions of their illness and healing experiences. These figurative phrases are not ornamental, or distracting, but often reveal the particularities of what it is like to be ill or healing. Culture plays a big role in shaping the particular metaphors employed to express one's thoughts about illness and different healing rituals. However, a significant reason why metaphor emerges in illness narratives is because people ordinarily reason via embodied simulation processes in which they imaginatively project themselves into different real-world and fantastic situations, such as imagining one's struggle with cancer as being a complex dance with the disease. These simulations can play a major role in therapeutic interventions to help those who are ill and in distress.

Metaphors in End-of-Life Dreams in Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Secondary Qualitative Study.

Background: Metaphors are used by patients and professionals in the discourse of disease and can facilitate conversations about difficult topics. There is little information about metaphors present in patients' end-of-life dreams. Objective: Identify and interpret metaphors in end-of-life dreams, directly reported by patients in palliative care. Design: A qualitative study with a secondary analysis of transcribed face-to-face interviews with patients. Setting/Participants: The study includes 25 patients with end-stage disease receiving advanced end-of-life palliative care. In total, 41 interviews were performed. Results: Metaphors applicable to 3 themes were found: the journey toward death, the inevitability of death and death itself. The underlying meaning of the metaphors is often related to topics and emotions commonly relevant in dialogue with patients near death. Patients, however, often seemed unaware of the meaning of their dream metaphors. Conclusion: Metaphors pertaining to death are present in end-of-life dreams in patients with end-stage disease. We hypothesize that encouraging patients to talk about their dreams can expose metaphors that could facilitate end-of-life discussions.

Reflexo e sombra: o duplo e o narcisismo em hoffmann e chamisso / Reflection and shadow: the double and the narcissism in hoffmann and chamisso / Reflejo y penumbra: el doble y el narcisismo en hoffman y chamisso

Esta é uma pesquisa qualitativa, em formato de ensaio, que realiza o estudo comparado de duas obras literárias, de A. Von Chamisso e E. T. A. Hoffmann, e de uma anotação do diário deste último para problematizar a repercussão de algumas formas de desestabilizações do Eu na dinâmica psíquica da neurose. O foco dos textos referidos está no fenômeno do duplo na sua forma negativizada, isto é, como o desaparecimento da imagem exterior que dá suporte ao Eu. As ausências da sombra e do reflexo são entendidas como representações metafóricas de uma alteração do Eu que engendra repercussões importantes na homeostase psíquica, sobretudo nas relações sociais de troca. Explora-se daí a menção no diário de Hoffmann de instrumentos ópticos para interrogar o uso desses aparelhos como modelos metapsicológicos na psicanálise. Salienta-se, ainda, a participação de processos de natureza estética na dinâmica psíquica do infamiliar, tomando como referência a ligação entre o conto de Hoffmann e o relato de Stendhal sobre a sua estadia em Florença.(AU)

This is a qualitative research, in essay format, which performs the comparative study of two literary works, by A. Von Chamisso and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and an annotation in the latter's diary to problematize the repercussion of some forms of destabilization of the Ego's in the psychic dynamics of neurosis. The focus of the referred texts is on the phenomenon of the double in its negative form, that is, as the disappearance of the outer image that supports the Ego. The absences of the shadow and the reflection are understood as metaphorical representations of an alteration of the Ego that generates important repercussions on psychic homeostasis, above all in social relationships of exchange. Thus, we analyze the mention of optical instruments in Hoffmann's diary to question the use of these devices as metapsychological models in psychoanalysis. Note, also, the participation of processes of aesthetic nature in the psychic dynamics of the uncanny, taking as reference the connection between Hoffmann's short story and Stendhal's account of his stay in Florence.(AU)

Este ensayo cualitativo realiza un estudio comparativo de dos obras literarias de A. Von Chamisso y de E. T. A. Hoffmann, junto con una anotación en el diario de este último para problematizar la repercusión de algunas formas de desestabilizaciones de la función del Yo en la dinámica psíquica de la neurosis. Los textos se centran en el fenómeno del doble en su forma negativa, como la desaparición de la imagen exterior que sostiene el Yo. Se entienden las ausencias de la penumbra y el reflejo como una representación metafórica de una alteración de la función del Yo que genera importantes repercusiones en la regulación psíquica, sobre todo en las relaciones de intercambio social. Se analiza la presencia en el diario de Hoffmann de instrumentos ópticos para discutir el uso de estos dispositivos como modelos metapsicológicos en psicoanálisis. Se destaca la reverberación de procesos de naturaleza estética en la dinámica psíquica de lo ominoso, tomando como referencia la conexión entre el cuento de Hoffmann y el relato de Stendhal sobre su estancia en Florencia.(AU)

Comparative structure of similarities and differences between tree and cognitive model of Cognitive Behavioral Theory / Estrutura comparativa de semelhanças e diferenças entre árvore e modelo cognitivo da Teoria Cognitivo-Comportamental

To contribute to studies in Psychology through a systematic and methodological analysis of the comparison between a tree and the cognitive model of the cognitive behavioral theory, establishing similarities and differences between the comparative domains. Method It is a qualitative, exploratory, documentary research, based on the Conceptual Metaphor, the Cognitive-Behavioral Theory, and on the Methodology of Teaching with Analogies. It starts from the hypothesis of the existence of a conceptual metaphor in which "the cognitive model is structured like a tree", transposing characteristics between both. It verifies, classifies, analyzes the comparison by means of analogical reasoning and the filling of comparative charts between vehicle and target. Results The results point to the complexity and potential of comparison if treated systematically and methodologically. Conclusion The research results corroborate the hypothesis that originated it.

Este artigo buscou analisar as percepções de pais e professores a respeito da trajetória escolar de crianças adotadas. Para isto, entrevistamos professores do Ensino Fundamental (3º ao 7º ano) e pais adotivos, investigando como compreendem a existência de possíveis sucessos e dificuldades escolares nas crianças adotadas, e se há relação entre adoção e atuação escolar. Método A pesquisa é qualitativa, exploratória, documental, fundamentada na Metáfora Conceptual, na Teoria Cognitivo-Comportamental e na Metodologia de Ensino com Analogias e parte da hipótese da existência de uma metáfora conceptual em que "o modelo cognitivo se estrutura como uma árvore", transpondo características entre ambos. Verifica-se, classifica-se e analisa-se a comparação por meio de raciocínio analógico e do preenchimento de quadros comparativos entre veículo e alvo. Resultados Os resultados apontam a complexidade e o potencial da comparação, caso seja tratada sistemática e metodologicamente. Conclusão A hipótese de pesquisa é corroborada.

A coisa em psicanálise e o objeto no lísis de Platão / The thing in psychoanalysis and object in Plato's lysis / La cosa en psicoanálisis y el objeto en lisis de Platón

Este artigo propõe o estudo sobre o conceito de outro como semelhante e como objeto. Partindo de textos que interpelam a alteridade na psicanálise e remetendo aos temas do complexo semelhante, da satisfação, da perda, do luto, da negativa, da repetição; avalia o conceito de outro articulando textos de diversos autores. A partir da psicanálise freudiana, estuda o das Ding e a negação, discriminando com estes termos um objeto estruturante na origem do psiquismo. Aborda textos técnicos da psicanálise para delimitar o tema da repetição. Também a recordação e a repetição são vinculadas ao objeto e estudadas na perspectiva da filosofia moderna. São retomados temas do diálogo platônicos para definir o lugar do erótico e da amizade. No fim do presente artigo, propomos o termo clássico grego Oikos com valor equivalente ao da Coisa freudiana e como esta aparece em escritos psicanalíticos.(AU)

This article studies the concept of other as similar and object. It is based on texts that question the alterity in psychoanalysis and refers to the themes of otherness complex, loss, grief, negative, repetition, and evaluates the concept of other, using articles of diverse authors. Based on Freudian psychoanalysis, it studies the Thing and the denial and discriminates a structuring object in the origin of psychism. It approaches technical texts of psychoanalysis to delimitate the theme of repetition. The recordation and repetition are also linked to the object and studied from the perspective of modern philosophy. Themes of the platonic dialogues are resumed to define the place of the erotic and the friendship. In the end of the article, we propose the greek classic term Oikos, with equal value to the Freudian Thing, as this one appears in psychoanalytic writings.(AU)

Este artículo estudia el concepto Otro como semejante y como objeto. A partir de textos que interpelan la alteridad en psicoanálisis y que se refieren a temas del complejo semejante, de la satisfacción, de la pérdida, del duelo, de la negación, de la repetición, se evalúa el concepto de Otro articulando textos de diferentes autores. Basado en el psicoanálisis freudiano, se aborda Ding y la negación, discriminando con estos términos un objeto estructurante en el origen de lo psíquico. Se abordan textos técnicos del psicoanálisis para delimitar el tema de la repetición; el recuerdo y la repetición son vinculadas al objeto y estudiadas desde la perspectiva de la filosofía moderna; y se retoman temas de los diálogos platónicos para definir el lugar de lo erótico y la amistad. Al culminar este artículo se propone leer el término griego clásico Oikos con un valor equivalente al de la Cosa freudiana como aparece en los escritos psicoanalíticos.(AU)

"More than conquerors": a qualitative analysis of war metaphors for patients with cancer.

PURPOSE: Meaning-making is fundamental to the cancer experience and communication within cancer care is saturated with metaphors. The objective of this study was to better understand the impact and function of war metaphors among patients with cancer. METHODS: Patients at the Duke Cancer Center were purposively sampled for inclusion based on type and stage of their cancer. Each patient underwent a semi-structured interview to explore their use of metaphors in their lived experience with cancer. Qualitative interviews broadly explored two key areas of interest: (1) frequency and use of metaphors to describe cancer diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship; (2) function and impact of the war metaphor on the patient experience of cancer. RESULTS: Fifteen participants with either breast, lung, or colorectal cancer were interviewed. Most patients used metaphor themes of journey, war, and mystery to describe their cancer. All patients with non-metastatic disease used war metaphors and described how these metaphors facilitated meaning-making by promoting positivity and situating cancer within a larger life story. The few patients who did not use war metaphors had metastatic disease, and they explained that war metaphors were unhelpful due to feeling a lack of control over their metastatic disease and outcomes. CONCLUSION: The war metaphor should remain an integral part of cancer care. Disregarding war metaphors robs patients of an important framework for meaning-making-one that may promote strength, continuity, and resilience in navigating cancer.

Examining Nursing Students' Perspectives on Cancer through Metaphors in Turkey.

This study was conducted to reveal the perceptions of cancer through metaphors among second-year nursing students. This study utilized descriptive phenomenology, which is a qualitative research design. In order to reveal the metaphors that each nursing student (n = 65) considered for the concept of "cancer," they were asked to complete the following sentence: "Cancer is like ……, because ……". In analyzing the data, a content analysis approach comprising coding, the identification of themes, and grouping of data according to codes and themes was used. It was found that the nursing students produced 44 different metaphors. With the groupings made from the students' perspectives on cancer, categories of "crime/punishment," "fear/anxiety/pain," "uncertainty," "uncontrollability," and "struggle/hope" were identified. In particular, the students' metaphors of "test," "fight," "unwanted friend," "love," "naughty child," "thief," and "trouble" for the concept of cancer came to the fore. It is recommended to improve clinical education to develop positive attitudes among nursing students toward cancer.

Metaphors that shape parents' perceptions of effective communication with healthcare practitioners following child death: a qualitative UK study.

OBJECTIVES: To offer an interpretation of bereaved parents' evaluations of communication with healthcare practitioners (HCPs) surrounding the death of a child. DESIGN: Interpretative qualitative study employing thematic and linguistic analyses of metaphor embedded in interview data. SETTING: England and Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: 24 bereaved parents (21 women, 3 men). METHODS: Participants were recruited through the True Colours Trust website and mailing list, similar UK charities and word of mouth. Following interviews in person or via video-conferencing platforms (Skype/Zoom), transcripts first underwent thematic and subsequently linguistic analyses supported by NVivo. A focused analysis of metaphors used by the parents was undertaken to allow in-depth interpretation of how they conceptualised their experiences. RESULTS: The findings illuminate the ways parents experienced communication with HCPs surrounding the death of a child. Key findings from this study suggest that good communication with HCPs following the death of a child should acknowledge parental identity (and that of their child as an individual) and offer opportunities for them to enact this; taking account their emotional and physical experiences; and accommodate their altered experiences of time. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that HCPs when communicating with bereaved parents need to recognise, and seek to comprehend, the ways in which the loss impacts on an individual's identity as a parent, the 'physical' nature of the emotions that can be unleashed and the ways in which the death of a child can alter their metaphorical conceptions of time.

Young adults' stigmatizing perceptions about individuals with skin cancer: the influence of potential cancer cause, cancer metaphors, and gender.

Objective: This study examined the influence of three potential predictors of stigmatising cancer perceptions: the controllability of the cancer cause, metaphors used to describe the cancer experience, and the target's gender.Method: 306 undergraduates (Mage = 20) were recruited via subject pool, balancing males and females. Participants read a fictitious post by a patient/blogger with skin cancer that described different potential causes for their cancer varying with respect to its controllability, used varying types of commonly invoked cancer metaphors, and indicated their gender with names.Main outcome measures: Potential stigmatisation of the blogger in the form of negative affective responses, perceptions of flawed character, desired social distance and expectations for post-traumatic growth were assessed using mixed methods. The perceived age of the blogger and expectations for their survival were also explored.Results: More blame, less sympathy, and less favourable perceptions of character were ascribed to the hypothetical blogger when their cancer was described as due to their lifestyle rather than genetics and thus potentially construed as more controllable. Females using a war metaphor resulted in more positive responses compared to a female using no metaphorical language.Conclusion: Stigmatisation of individuals with skin cancer may depend on the potential cause of cancer, and to some extent, metaphors and gender.

Towards Dialogic Metaphors of Learning - from Socialization to Authoring.

The background of the article is an interest in theories of learning and the metaphors of learning they build on and propagate. The basic argument is that the discursive construction of learning plays a central role in theoretical perspectives in research but also in discussions of societal issues in a wider sense. An initial observation is that current metaphors of learning oscillate between emphasizing socializing/reproductive dimensions and perspectives which foreground new-thinking transformations of existing collective knowledge; the culturally given. Hence, our aim is to explore conceptions of learning underpinning dominant theoretical perspectives as behaviorism, cognitivism, pragmatism, and various sociocultural traditions, in the light of this theoretical tension. Our conclusion is that the views of communication and learning inherent to the radical dialogic perspective on communication that stresses the unfinalizable nature of knowing, offered by Bakhtin, add to our understanding of how learning may be conceptualized in contemporary society. Such a dialogic perspective, emphasizing open-ended agency, plurality of voices, and performative potentials of creatively expressing opinions when learning from each other, offers a perspective on learning worth considering in times of diversity, unpredictable risks, and the need for critical self-reflexivity.

As fake news e os sete pecados do capital: uma análise metafórica de vícios no contexto pandêmico da COVID-19 / Las fake news y los siete pecados del capital: un análisis metafórico de las adicciones en el contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19 / Fake news and the seven sins of capital: a metaphorical analysis of vices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

As crises sanitárias fazem surgir "pecados" e deformidades morais da sociedade que, embora evidentes quando despontam, pareciam antes dormentes à percepção coletiva. Por meio da metáfora dos sete pecados capitais, o texto analisa o fenômeno das fake news nas mídias sociais e no cenário da pandemia da COVID-19. A luxúria do sensacionalismo, que é viciosa pela sedução e exploração de vulnerabilidades ligadas ao medo da morte; a gula, por conteúdos de confirmação que disseminam inverdades no empenho de converter versões em fatos; a catequese do negacionismo gerando o ódio em ambientes epistêmicos restritivos; a ganância das novas tecnologias da economia da atenção pelo engajamento como nova commodity; a competição pelos holofotes da visibilidade midiática e ganhos derivados que incitam a soberba e a inveja dos pesquisadores que confundem o senso público com as fake researches - o que, em ciclo, nutrirão o sensacionalismo, gula, ódios e as ganâncias do capitalismo da atenção. Por fim, a preguiça é retratada como o vício capital dos que optam pela inação comunicativa. No conforto das bolhas renunciam ao diálogo por aversão ao dissenso, acomodando-se em posições de conforto epistêmico. Em síntese, o fenômeno das fake news na pandemia da COVID-19 é aqui retratado como a confluência de diversos vícios que se materializam como desinformação, na vacuidade comunicativa dos momentos nos quais somos obrigados a nos dirigir uns aos outros para partilhar nossas visões do mundo.

Las crisis sanitarias sacan a la luz "pecados" y deformidades morales de la sociedad que, aunque son evidentes cuando emergen, antes parecían latentes a la percepción colectiva. A través de la metáfora de los siete pecados capitales, el texto analiza el fenómeno de las fake news en las redes sociales y en el escenario de la pandemia del COVID-19. La lujuria del sensacionalismo que se ensaña con la seducción y la explotación de las vulnerabilidades ligadas al miedo a la muerte; la gula por los contenidos de confirmación que difunden las falsedades en el afán de convertir las versiones en hechos; el catecismo del negacionismo que genera el odio en entornos epistémicos restrictivos; la avaricia de las nuevas tecnologías de la economía de la atención por el compromiso como nueva commodity; la competencia por los focos de la visibilidad mediática y las ganancias derivadas que incitan a la soberbia, y la envidia de los investigadores que confunden el sentido público con falsas investigaciones -que, en ciclo, alimentarán el sensacionalismo, la gula, el odio y la avaricia del capitalismo de la atención. Por último, la pereza se presenta como el vicio capital de quienes optan por la inacción comunicativa. En la comodidad de sus burbujas renuncian al diálogo por aversión al disenso, instalándose en posiciones de comodidad epistémica. En resumen, el fenómeno de las fake news en la pandemia del COVID-19 se retrata aquí como la confluencia de varios vicios que se materializan como desinformación en la vacuidad comunicativa de momentos en los que nos vemos obligados a dirigirnos unos a otros para compartir nuestras visiones del mundo.

Health crises spawn "sins" and moral deformities in society that are evident when they emerge but had seemed to be dormant to collective awareness before. Through the metaphor of the seven capital sins, the article analyzes the phenomenon of fake news in the social media and in the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic: the lust of sensationalism through the seduction and exploitation of vulnerabilities associated with fear of death; gluttony for confirmatory contents that spread untruths in the attempt to turn versions into facts; the catechism of denialism, fueling wrath or hate in restrictive epistemic environments; the greed of new technologies in the attention economy through engagement as a new commodity; competition for the spotlights of media visibility and derived gains that incite pride and envy in researchers that confuse public meaning with fake research, in a cycle that feeds sensationalism, gluttony, hate, and greed in attention capitalism. Finally, sloth is portrayed as the capital sin of opting for communicative inaction. In the comfort of bubbles, people renounce dialogue out of aversion to dissent, settling for positions of epistemic comfort. In short, the fake news phenomenon in the COVID-19 pandemic is portrayed here as the convergence of various vices that materialize as misinformation, in the communicative vacuity of the moments in which we are obliged to address each other to share our worldviews.