What metaphors are used in The Way It Felt to Be Falling by Kim Edwards?

In the story, Kate equates falling with madness. Both Kate and readers realize that falling and madness are two separate ideas, but the way Kate describes it, a reader can easily see that the sensation of falling is an appropriate way to figuratively describe madness. Says Kate in the beginning: "Take care I said each time we left my father. . . . And I listened to my own words; I took care, too."