Within shamanic traditions, illness is often understood less as a purely physical malfunction and more as a disturbance in the subtle weave of body, mind, spirit, community, and environment. From this perspective, many forms of psychological and emotional distress fall within the scope of shamanic healing: persistent anxiety or depression, unresolved grief and trauma, emotional numbness, addictive patterns, and a pervasive sense of meaninglessness or emptiness. Such conditions are frequently interpreted in terms of “soul loss” or “loss of personal power,” where aspects of vitality and consciousness have withdrawn in response to shock or hardship. Likewise, experiences of spiritual crisis, destabilizing awakenings, or a painful disconnection from nature, ancestors, or the sacred are approached as spiritual ailments rather than merely personal shortcomings.

Shamanic healing also addresses what are perceived as spiritual intrusions or harmful influences. These may be described as unwanted energies or entities, curses, sorcery, or other negative forces that manifest as misfortune, recurring difficulties, or physical and psychological distress. Ancestral burdens and unresolved patterns in a family line—such as repeated tragedies or illnesses—are likewise treated as conditions that can be engaged through ritual, negotiation with spirits, and ancestral healing work. Relationship difficulties, persistent conflict in families or communities, and a sense of being targeted by envy or hostile intentions are framed as imbalances in the energetic and spiritual field between people and their surroundings.

Physical ailments are not ignored, but they are approached through a spiritual lens rather than as a substitute for conventional medicine. Chronic, unexplained pain or fatigue, illnesses that do not respond well to ordinary treatments, recurrent health setbacks, and psychosomatic symptoms are seen as reflections of deeper energetic blockages, intrusions, or loss of vital essence. Shamanic practitioners may also attend to disturbances associated with places—such as troubled land, houses with “bad energy,” or environmental imbalances—treating them as part of the same web of disharmony that affects human well-being. In all of this, the emphasis falls on restoring balance, reconnecting the person with sources of power and guidance, and reweaving the broken threads between self, community, spirits, and the natural world.