Mental illness in America is a serious problem, but is it being handled the right way? In America, there are 43.7 million people who say they are suffering from some form of mental illness. That’s 18.29% of the population, and the number doesn’t seem to be going down [1]. The state prevalence of mental illness ranges from 16.03% in Florida to 22.66% in Oregon.

According to Shaman and Dr. Malidoma Patrice Some of Dagara, West Africa, we could be looking at it the wrong way [2].

Healing Mental Illness

When Dr. Some arrived to the U.S., he was shocked to see how people with mental illnesses were treated. As a shaman, his culture does not view mental illness as something that needs to be stopped at all costs. Dr. Some says that these mental and behavioral disorders are just two energies that are not quite compatible merging together in the same field.

Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and more importantly, a way of life. It is a way to connect with nature and all of creation [3]. The word ‘shaman’ comes from the Tungus tribe in Siberia, and anthropologists have coined the term to refer to the spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide. But you can’t just declare yourself a shaman. Becoming a shaman isn’t something you decide at a career fair, it is a calling that requires a teacher to help guide you to realizing your destiny [4].

Shamanism and Mental Health

Shaman’s don’t view mental health the same way that Western doctors do, but what is the shamanic view of mental health? Here is a revealing quote from Dr. Edward Mann, sociologist:

“From American Indian shamanism* to esoteric judaism, this concept has dominated for millennia. As it has now become clear, western civilisation is unique in history in it’s failure to recognise each human being as a subtle energy system in constant relationship to a vast sea of energies in the surrounding cosmos.”

Broadly speaking, any form of awareness around mental health that includes spiritual, mystic and/or mythic considerations could be included in a shamanic view of mental health [5]. Dr. Some’s culture does not view mental illness as something that needs to be stopped. In order to test his belief in the shamanic view of mental illness was true in the Western world, he decided to bring an American patient to his village in Africa to help him deal with crisis reconcile both energies rather than working to expel or suppress one.

Alex, an 18-year-old American who suffered a psychotic break at the young age of 14 was drugged to an extreme extent and institutionalized but nothing was working to help improve his mental state. With permission of his parents, Alex made his way to Africa with Dr. Some. In just 8 months, Alex was back to his old self. He was even helping healers with their tasks. Alex spent 4 years in the village of his own choice, because he said it made him feel safe. Shamans don’t see people suffering from mental illness, they see healers waiting to be born [2].

Mental Health in America

Millions of Americans suffer from some sort of psychological issue, and the evidence shows that the amount of people suffering is not going down, even though there is an increase in treatment methods [6]. Research shows that while we’re seeking treatment more, rates have not dropped much, if at all, in recent years. For depression alone, about one in 10 people in America has suffered from it in the last year. Twice that number will be affected over the course of a lifetime. It seems that, while these treatments help deal with symptoms of mental illness, they don’t solve the issue for good. We have come a long way since the days of shock therapy, but perhaps there is still more for us to learn, if we look in the right places.

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