I’ve been in the healing field for more than two decades now, and there is still always something that I can come across that absolutely leaves me in awe. I’ve studied all the mental and spiritual health modalities under the sun and still continue to do so.

My research always sends me down a deep path with amazing revelations. I’ve been doing a lot of work, research and courses on healing trauma behind the scenes.

I wanted to share with you what I have learned…I’m sure it will enlighten you as it continues to enlighten me.

PTSD or Spiritual Imbalance

In modern psychology, we use the term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to describe the constellation of symptoms that can follow exposure to violence or life-threatening events—hypervigilance, intrusive memories, emotional numbing, difficulty re-integrating into daily life. But long before psychiatry codified this diagnosis, there were cultures that recognized and honored these responses as signs of deeper wounding. From a spiritual standpoint, these come under the category of spiritual imbalance.

Ancient African Wisdom

Among several African communities, a warrior’s return from battle was never immediate or unexamined. Instead of rejoining daily life at once, he entered a sacred transitional period, often lasting three lunar cycles. During this time, he lived under the guidance of a spiritual healer or shaman, not as punishment, but as a compassionate acknowledgment that war alters the psyche and disturbs the soul’s equilibrium.

From a psychological perspective, these traditions acted as early interventions, sort of a rehabilitation, against what we now call maladaptive trauma responses. By removing the warrior from the demands of normal life(modern day:like entering a rehab facility) and surrounding him with ritual, care, and community, these cultures created a container for both safety and transformation.

The underlying belief was that the returning warrior carried a form of “chaotic energy”—a spiritual imbalance that could be harmful to himself and the community if left unaddressed. One of the oldest documented healing practices involved placing animal horns on the skin to draw out “stagnant blood.” While colonizers later labeled this “African cupping,” it was never simply a medical act. It was a symbolic and physiological release, not only of bodily toxins but of the psychic residue of violence—what in trauma therapy we might describe as stored somatic memory (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, 2014).

Interestingly, neuroscience now supports the premise that trauma is held in the body as much as in the mind. Practices that combine physical sensation with symbolic meaning—such as these rituals—align with what we now understand about embodied trauma processing.

Today, we call it trauma. They called it spiritual imbalance. Both frameworks recognize that the impact of violence is multidimensional—psychological, physiological, relational, and spiritual. In the hyper-clinical culture we live in now, trauma is often met with medication, cognitive reframing, or silent endurance. Yet our ancestors understood that healing must be more than symptom management; it must restore wholeness.

Closing Reflection ❤

These ancient African traditions remind us that recovery is not merely a private task—it is a communal one. It truly does take a village. The individual’s healing contributes to the well-being of the whole. As a spiritual psychologist, I see immense wisdom here: the acknowledgment that we do not heal in isolation, and that ceremony, meaning, and embodied practices can be just as vital as any clinical intervention.

Perhaps the healing way forward is also the way back, to the rituals, the community, and the soul-level care that helps the warrior return, not just live, but live life as a whole in a holistic way.

Please Note: There is a lot I want to write and share about spiritual imbalance and how you can heal from it…So the next few posts/articles are going to be covering just that. Please subscribe below by email to get them first in your inbox. ❤

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