Table 3.

Examples of how central extracts inspired the construction of metaphors.

Metaphor	Examples of Extracts that Inspired Metaphor Construction
Expectations of progression towards independence in youth	“They described their personal experiences of adjusting to age-related milestones like going onto further and higher education, finding work, increasing their sense of independence and personal responsibility, developing sexual relationships and changing relationships with friends and parents.” [41], p. 206 “(…) the developmental tasks facing young adults: continuing studies; finding a life partner; having children.” [44], p. 4 “Participants reported tensions between moving away and staying connected with family, wrestling to balance their needs for closeness and separateness and the expectations of others with regard to maturity and recovery.” [50], p. 656
Psychosis as stagnation and challenge to ‘normal’ youth development	“As expected the onset of a psychotic illness has a major impact on a young person’s life and heightens the challenges of fulfilling the developmental roles, and of engaging in activities and relationships with other people.” [40], p. 139 “The majority experienced a reduced capacity to participate in activities (e.g., school, work), engage with friends, and became increasingly dependent on family.” [43], p. 247 “Six participants described an experience of stagnation during their illness, as symptoms forced a period of absence from ‘normal life’ while peers continued to progress with expected milestones. Participants seemed to indicate a sense of being left behind with less things in common with their friends than before their illness.” [49], p. 9
Suffering from social isolation following psychosis	“Participants gave first-hand descriptions of feelings of loneliness, isolation and demoralization prior to joining the [group] program.” [40], p. 130 “Losses were experienced by the adolescents in multiple domains of their lives (peer and romantic relationships or educational achievements) following their episode of psychosis.” [48], p. 174 “The reported findings demonstrated experiences of loss of social contacts as a result of first episode psychosis, resulting from either participants or friends withdrawing, and highlighted the intense effort and vulnerability involved in building new relationships for this client group.” [49], p. 13
Young people’s recovery as a social/interactive and active process	“Participants identified the importance of having the support of others as they re-engaged in life particularly highlighting the fact that their recovery did not occur in isolation.” [43], p. 248 “Perception of “being able to do something about it” included identifying potential (personalized) avenues for agency and control of the experience and the experience of being able to enact these strategies. This component of recovery often involved specific lifestyle changes to support one’s recovery.” [45], p. 550 “Across all three dimensions (friends, parents, fellow service-users), participants described interpersonal connections which made a positive difference for their insight and recovery.” [46], p. 239
Young people’s recovery as getting on with life like any other young person	“At this point in their recovery, the participants expressed that they were now thinking about getting on with their lives like any other young person, specifically negotiating separation-individuation issues with parents.” [40], p. 138 “Five participants highlighted a desire to ‘get life back on track’, in terms of management of symptoms, housing, employment and/or education.” [49], p. 12 “Some individuals indicated that social recovery was (or would be) experienced as establishing independent adult living, emphasizing that being recovered involved competence and maturity as a young adult.” [45], p. 550
The unique role of friends in young people’s recovery	“Twelve participants (40%) specifically identified social participation such as peer relationships and romantic attachments in their recovery definitions. Although relationships with family were often described as playing a crucial role in recovery, these relationships were only rarely described as a specific component of the meaning of being recovered.” [45], p. 550 “There was a shared idea that friends could provide support for participants to get back involved with everyday life, and to resume activities which might have been difficult to initiate alone (…) Participants experienced friendships differently to family relationships in the recovery process, which seemed to be related to a sense of less pressure or expectation.” [49], p. 10 “(…) the data illustrated the strengthening of existing relationships and participants identified a unique role for friends in the process of recovery.” [49], p. 13