One reason why people spend so much time decoding symbols and metamessages is because it's a large part of how we think. In fact, most of what we see, hear, feel, and consider to be objectively factual is only brought into our inner worlds by means of metaphor and representation. While that all sounds abstract and completely impractical--which wouldn't be overly surprising--we do have some practical ways to address the way that we process information, especially under stressful conditions.