I'll aim to keep this short and too the point as it's a rich area for discussion ( in my mind anyway) because it could touch on a number of topics, e.g. NLP, creativity, CBT, self-help practice or diagnostic tool.

The way we all process information and stimuli from the outside world affects the way we think and consequently the way we then respond, interact and communicate both with others and with ourselves, if you think about metacognition. The meaning of any communication we initiate goes through a process of deletion, distortion and generalisation before it emerges as a conversaation - we colour what we say according to our views.

I think of myself as a creative person, creative in many ways (not necessarily that talented!) - with songwriting, mathematics, puzzles, problem solving, art, etc, so as a songsmith I work with metaphors all the time - they are not just an expression in language, they reflect the way we think about things. They can be a very powerful way to capture or express an idea, e.g. in one my songs I wrote - "I'm just a barren reef in an empty sea". When I look down the boards here I see a lot of metaphors used - people write about being "at the bottom of a deep dark hole", "lost/trapped in a maze", "hitting rock bottom", "dangling from a thread",etc. I have a strong feeling that a useful strategy to help us move forward is to change the language we use in order to start changing our minds, so I would advocate using the most concrete language you can to express your thoughts and feelings - I think this will help to quantify, identify and simplify what we are feeling and thinking and perhaps help to put these into perspective. So as I said - mind your language, try not to use too many metaphors and think about what you are really trying to say.