Conceptualization of the human psyche as a closed space (based on Russian psychological and psychotherapeutic discourses)

The research aims to identify the metaphorical models involved in representing knowledge about the human mental world as a closed space, based on psychological (scientific, popular science) and psychotherapeutic discourses. The article examines the lexical representation of knowledge regarding feelings, emotions, mental states, and mental activities, as well as their potential disorders. Using lexico-semantic and conceptual frame analysis, the study defines the frame structure of knowledge about a closed space, which includes the following slots: 1) a container space; 2) the presence of spatial boundaries; 3) the presence or absence of an entry/exit; 4) the presence or absence of the possibility of movement; 5) the presence of barriers along the path of movement. The corresponding metaphorical projections are analyzed in the aspect of discursive variation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time in Russian psychological discourse, it formulates and describes a dynamic model of the human psyche associated with the possibility of movement within and beyond spatial boundaries, which conveys information about changes in mental activity caused by stressogenic factors. The results of the study establish that the structuring of knowledge about the human psyche as a closed space in the language of psychology inherits the metaphorical model existing in the linguistic worldview, which transmits a naive-generalized representation of the ways the emotional sphere is expressed. Furthermore, it includes specific patterns of metaphorical modeling that reflect information about the peculiarities of psychological impact on human consciousness.