Week 8 - Armanjot Bhangu - A04

Armanjot Bhangu

Section: A04

Week #8

For this week, I chose to read “What a Shaman Sees in a Mental Hospital”, written by Stephanie Marohn.
In this article, Marohn goes into detail about the differences in how mental illness is viewed in the western
world and in a shamanic view. According to Malidoma Patrice Somé, “...in the shamanic view, mental
illness signals “the birth of a healer,”. Therefore there is a more positive connotation in the shaman world
than there is in the western world. For us, mental illness is seen as being very negative and a state of
mind that one should try to get out of. Marohn gives an example of this difference by explaining the
culture shock that Dr. Somé experienced when working with patients with mental illness after coming to
the United States. To him it was unethical to prescribe people with these issues medications that would
cause them to act as if they were, “...in straitjackets, some zoned out on medications, others
screaming,...”. In a broader aspect, this speaks to the vast cultural differences that the western and Asian
worlds have with one another. There is no better example than how mental illness is viewed since in one
culture it is looked at as being a positive, while in another it is typically seen as being something that
requires extensive treatment.

QUESTION:

How can one decide which is more effective in terms of helping mental health, shamanism or simply
going to a doctor or therapist and having medicine prescribed?

REFERENCES:

Marohn S. (2014) “What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital”. The Mind Unleashed.