Abstract:
Schizophrenia is considered a psychotic disorder with universal symptoms of hallucinations and delusions. It has a worldwide prevalence of 1% and is known to have a polygenic and heritable basis.
In many cultures, a shaman is believed to have extraordinary or magical powers to heal sick people, predict the future, prevent misfortunate events, and serve as an intermediary between humans and the supernatural (nonphysical agencies like God or gods).
Rituals can be actions or words (or both) performed repetitively and in the same manner. They are often associated with religious beliefs and can occur in some types of psychopathology, that is, obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This chapter aims to elucidate the relationship among schizophrenia, shamanism, and rituals. Schizophrenia is classified as a psychotic disorder where people grossly misperceive reality or are out of contact with reality. Schizophrenia...