Shamans view on Health and Illness

Shamans view on Health and Illness

Shamans view health and illness from a different perspective compared to the conventional medical perception: shamanic views associate energetic loss and spiritual connection or disconnection with certain types of diseases (Lawson, 2016). For example, illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders are spiritually connectedand require spiritual intervention rather than conventional medicinal treatments. Further, similar signs and symptoms are not caused by the same energetic loss, and therefore, each requires a different spiritual approach.

​Shamans approach the healing process through prayers because they believe diseases are caused by various etiological factors, including malevolent agents and evil spirits. Hence, rituals performed by special persons are the remedies for most ailments, although they might include herbalists to prescribe traditional medicines. Additionally, the shamanic view involves prevention measures such as burnt incense to keep away evil spirits, black magic, and other disease-causing agents (Penkala-Gawęcka, 2017). Similar to the conventional medication processes, the shamanic approach recognizes a specialized person, a healer who performs the rituals by invoking the ancestral spirits and prescribing herbal medicine, while the prevention measures are carried out by everyone, especially the parents and elders, to protect their children and families.

​Nurses interact with various patients whose perspective toward life and the afterlife varies. In most cases, terminally ill patients or patients with life-threatening conditions ask questions about the meaning of life and the nature of spirituality (Goldstein, 2019). Nurses with shamanic perspectives easily and deeply engage the patients in religious philosophies and spirituality. Indeed, the shamanic approach to health and illness adds to holistic nursing practices.