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{{short description|Cultural belief}}
"'''ghost sickness''': A syndrome believed by many American Indian tribes to be caused by association with the dead or dying and is sometimes associated with witchcraft. The sufferer is mildly obsessed with death or with a deaceased person. Physical symptoms may include nightmares and or sleep disturbances, weakness and/or fatigue, diminished appetite or other digestion problems. There may be dizziness or fainting and sometimes even loss of consiousness. At times the sufferer may experience a sense of being suffocated. Psychological symptoms may include anxiety and fear or a feeling of being in danger. He or she may also experience hallucinations and confusion. At some point there may be a sense of pointlessness or depression.
'''Ghost sickness''' is a culture-bound syndrome among some [[indigenous peoples in North America]] and [[Polynesian peoples]] in which people are preoccupied with the deceased or consumed by pathological [[grief]]. Reported [[symptom]]s can include general weakness, loss of [[appetite]], [[Asphyxia|suffocation]] feelings, recurring [[nightmare]]s, and a pervasive feeling of terror. The sickness is attributed to [[ghost]]s or, occasionally, to [[witch]]es or [[witchcraft]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Lena |title=Conceptions of Mental Illness: Cultural Perspectives and Treatment Implications |url=http://www.fcas.nova.edu/faculty/publications/quadrivium/issue1/mental_illness/index.cfm |publisher=Nova Southeastern University |access-date=April 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816042819/http://www.fcas.nova.edu/faculty/publications/quadrivium/issue1/mental_illness/index.cfm |archive-date=August 16, 2013 }}</ref>
==Cultural background==
North American people associated with ghost sickness include the [[Navajo Nation|Navajo]] and some [[Muscogee]] and [[Plains Indians|Plains]] cultures. In the [[Muscogee (Creek)]] culture, it is believed that everyone is a part of an energy called ''Ibofanga''. This energy supposedly results from the flow between mind, body, and spirit. Illness can result from this flow being disrupted. Therefore, their "medicine is used to prevent or treat an obstruction and restore the peaceful flow of energy within a person".<ref name=brintmcr>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/07481180701405188 |title=Bereavement Rituals in the Muscogee Creek Tribe |year=2007 |last1=Walker |first1=Andrea C. |last2=Balk |first2=David E. |journal=Death Studies |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=633–52 |pmid=17849603|s2cid=41156151 }}</ref> Purification rituals for mourning "focus on preventing unnatural or prolonged emotional and physical drain."<ref name=brintmcr />

The traditional Native American grief resolution process is qualitatively different from those usually seen in mainstream Western cultures. In 1881, there was a federal ban on some of the traditional mourning rituals practised by the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] and other tribes. Lakota expert [[Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart]] proposes that the loss of these rituals may have caused the Lakota to be "further predisposed to the development of pathological grief". Some manifestations of unresolved grief include seeking visions of the spirits of deceased relatives, obsessive reminiscing about the deceased, longing for and believing in a reunion with the deceased, fantasies of reappearance of the deceased, and belief in one's ability to project oneself to the past or to the future.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/00377319809517532 |title=The return to the sacred path: Healing the historical trauma and historical unresolved grief response among the Lakota through a psychoeducational group intervention |year=1998 |last1=Brave Heart |first1=Maria Yellow Horse |journal=Smith College Studies in Social Work |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=287–305}}</ref>

==Cause==
There are a variety of mainstream psychological theories about Ghost Sickness. Putsch states that "Spirits or 'ghosts' may be viewed as being directly or indirectly linked to the cause of an event, accident, or illness".<ref>Putsch, R.W. (2006-2007) ''[http://www.drumlummon.org/images/DV_vol1-no3_PDFs/DV_vol1-no3_Putsch.pdf Drumlummon Views] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920121953/http://www.drumlummon.org/images/DV_vol1-no3_PDFs/DV_vol1-no3_Putsch.pdf |date=2009-09-20 }}'', retrieved on May 22, 2008</ref> Both Erikson and Macgregor report substantiating evidence of [[psychological trauma]] response in ghost sickness, with features including [[Social withdrawal|withdrawal]] and psychic numbing, anxiety and [[hypervigilance]], [[guilt (emotion)|guilt]], identification with ancestral pain and death, and chronic sadness and depression.<ref>Erikson, E. (1959). ''Identity and the life cycle''. Psychological Issues, 7(1). New York: International Universities Press.</ref><ref>Macgregor, G. (1975). ''Warriors without weapons''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1946){{page needed|date=November 2013}}</ref><ref>Macgregor, G.(1970). Changing Society: The Teton Dakotas. InE. Nurge (Ed.),''The modern Sioux: Social systems and reservation culture'' 92-106. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.</ref>

==Treatment==
Religious leaders within the Navajo tribe repeatedly perform [[Navajo song ceremonial complex|ceremonies]] to eliminate the all-consuming thoughts of the dead.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Morris E. |last1=Opler |first2=William E. |last2=Bittle |date=Winter 1961 |title=The Death Practices and Eschatology of the Kiowa Apache |journal=Southwestern Journal of Anthropology |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=383–94 |doi=10.1086/soutjanth.17.4.3628949 |jstor=3628949|s2cid=164093581 }}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Complicated grief disorder]]
* [[Vengeful ghost]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Ghosts}}

[[Category:Ghosts|Sickness]]
[[Category:Native American religion]]
[[Category:Navajo mythology]]
[[Category:Psychosis]]
[[Category:American witchcraft]]
[[Category:Native American health]]
[[Category:Grief]]
[[Category:Culture-bound syndromes]]
[[Category:Polynesian mythology]]

Latest revision as of 13:32, 3 July 2024

Ghost sickness is a culture-bound syndrome among some indigenous peoples in North America and Polynesian peoples in which people are preoccupied with the deceased or consumed by pathological grief. Reported symptoms can include general weakness, loss of appetite, suffocation feelings, recurring nightmares, and a pervasive feeling of terror. The sickness is attributed to ghosts or, occasionally, to witches or witchcraft.[1]

Cultural background

[edit]

North American people associated with ghost sickness include the Navajo and some Muscogee and Plains cultures. In the Muscogee (Creek) culture, it is believed that everyone is a part of an energy called Ibofanga. This energy supposedly results from the flow between mind, body, and spirit. Illness can result from this flow being disrupted. Therefore, their "medicine is used to prevent or treat an obstruction and restore the peaceful flow of energy within a person".[2] Purification rituals for mourning "focus on preventing unnatural or prolonged emotional and physical drain."[2]

The traditional Native American grief resolution process is qualitatively different from those usually seen in mainstream Western cultures. In 1881, there was a federal ban on some of the traditional mourning rituals practised by the Lakota and other tribes. Lakota expert Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart proposes that the loss of these rituals may have caused the Lakota to be "further predisposed to the development of pathological grief". Some manifestations of unresolved grief include seeking visions of the spirits of deceased relatives, obsessive reminiscing about the deceased, longing for and believing in a reunion with the deceased, fantasies of reappearance of the deceased, and belief in one's ability to project oneself to the past or to the future.[3]

Cause

[edit]

There are a variety of mainstream psychological theories about Ghost Sickness. Putsch states that "Spirits or 'ghosts' may be viewed as being directly or indirectly linked to the cause of an event, accident, or illness".[4] Both Erikson and Macgregor report substantiating evidence of psychological trauma response in ghost sickness, with features including withdrawal and psychic numbing, anxiety and hypervigilance, guilt, identification with ancestral pain and death, and chronic sadness and depression.[5][6][7]

Treatment

[edit]

Religious leaders within the Navajo tribe repeatedly perform ceremonies to eliminate the all-consuming thoughts of the dead.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hall, Lena. "Conceptions of Mental Illness: Cultural Perspectives and Treatment Implications". Nova Southeastern University. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Walker, Andrea C.; Balk, David E. (2007). "Bereavement Rituals in the Muscogee Creek Tribe". Death Studies. 31 (7): 633–52. doi:10.1080/07481180701405188. PMID 17849603. S2CID 41156151.
  3. ^ Brave Heart, Maria Yellow Horse (1998). "The return to the sacred path: Healing the historical trauma and historical unresolved grief response among the Lakota through a psychoeducational group intervention". Smith College Studies in Social Work. 68 (3): 287–305. doi:10.1080/00377319809517532.
  4. ^ Putsch, R.W. (2006-2007) Drumlummon Views Archived 2009-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on May 22, 2008
  5. ^ Erikson, E. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. Psychological Issues, 7(1). New York: International Universities Press.
  6. ^ Macgregor, G. (1975). Warriors without weapons. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1946)[page needed]
  7. ^ Macgregor, G.(1970). Changing Society: The Teton Dakotas. InE. Nurge (Ed.),The modern Sioux: Social systems and reservation culture 92-106. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
  8. ^ Opler, Morris E.; Bittle, William E. (Winter 1961). "The Death Practices and Eschatology of the Kiowa Apache". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 17 (4): 383–94. doi:10.1086/soutjanth.17.4.3628949. JSTOR 3628949. S2CID 164093581.
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