I thought the article, "What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital," was very intriguing. It tackles the hierarchy established of Western science being "better" than other traditions. Although I am unsure of how proven rituals are, I can understand how even reframing the view of mental illness as something "bad" to something "good" can be extremely helpful to people with those conditions in dealing with the symptoms. Although I am not very spiritual myself, I have noticed the impact of spirituality in helping people cope and move on past certain trauma. Is a similar thing happening here? Another good point that the article brought up is the reliance on medicating in Western medicine. Although many medications are necessary, there is a prescription for almost every kind of condition out there and they are sometimes used to sedate or pacify rather than help a patient deal with their conditions. I have learned of such cases with elderly that suffer from Alzheimer's. I hope there are more studies done on rituals so there is more concrete evidence on the effects of these rituals. Personal stories and anecdotes are not enough to fully convince me of the benefits.
Q: How can we find more evidence on the effects of rituals?
References:
Marohn, S (2015, Aug 25). "What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital". The Mind Unleashed.
(2017) "Do you think of your body as being more a machine or garden?" [Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.amcollege.edu/blog/western-and-eastern-medicine
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