When We Were Shamans, We Looked to the Stars

An evolved way to provide psychiatric care.

“You are a strange species. Not like any other. And you'd be surprised how  many there are. Do you know what I find most beautiful about you? You are  at your best when things are at their worst." Starman (1984)

In this remote science fiction movie from 1984, recently widowed Jenny  Hayden is in a state of bereavement, contemplating the meaning of her life  when she is confronted with what she imagines is a psychotic hallucination  of her deceased husband. She is initially terrified, believing that she has  lost her mind in the midst of her grief. Fast-forward: a benevolent alien  species from across the galaxy has responded to the 1977 Voyager II  space probed launched with a gold analog disc communicating a message  of peace and inviting alien species to visit. Starman is an emissary from  the cosmos. His vehicle is shot down by NORAD and he is forced to seek  refuge in Jenny’s home. He is a ball of energy that clones Jenny’s  deceased husband from a strand of hair. He is a wise but innocent ethereal  being on a mission of peace, but he instead encounters a primitive and  angry species. Was there a bait and switch?

The arc of the story begins with disbelief and pain. Jenny learns to trust  that she is not psychotic and comes to appreciate the uncorrupt beauty of  this celestial soul. Spaceman teaches her with simplicity and the conviction  of certain truths. They journey and flee from the would-be promethean  Federal government who would like to capture and dissect Spaceman to  acquire his knowledge and power. In their journey to take Spaceman to  meet his ride home in the Arizona desert, they survive multiple travails.  Spaceman reveals his ability to discern character, heal, and stay the course  with a planned destination. In this trajectory, Jenny begins to heal and  recognize that her life has meaning, and she has a renewed desire to  continue with her life. Before catching his ride to return home, Starman  uses his borrowed DNA vessel to leave her pregnant. Starman tells her that  her child will have Starman’s knowledge and will know what to do with it.

Whoa!!! Is this just another messianic trope? Clearly, I think this old movie  to be quite beautiful. It is an old story. Perhaps every civilization has had  such stories or myths. Our species is reportedly 300, 000 years old and the  social use of language is perhaps half as old. Language has enabled our  species to be self-aware about our mortality. As we organized into hunter gatherer communities, the need to negotiate and cooperate has allowed  our species to advance to our current state. Conflict and discontent were  the inevitable result of individuals learning how to fulfill social functions;  along with hunters and gatherers, there was need to assign an early role for  a liaison to the unknown depths of the night and human soul. These were  the shamans. Shamans observed and communicated; they also fulfilled  the role of healers. For much of our history, shamans have attempted to  guide our species to greater survivability and meaning, though not always  as successfully as Starman.

In our intensely complicated modern civilization, we all need healers and  liaisons with the unknown. The role of shaman has meandered through  various rebranding throughout history, from religious clergy, to gurus, to  

cult belief systems like Heaven’s Gate Cult which waited for a ride from the  Hale Bopp comet in 1977. Medicine has also entered the fray for the role  of healers of both the body and soul. Today, we all seek a greater  understanding of ourselves and to maintain health throughout the  health span, not simply the lifespan. The goal is not simply to live a long  life, but to live a long and healthy life. We define health as the robust  pursuit of a sound mind and vigorous and functional body. We were once  shamans, but we are now healers. As a psychiatrist for over 35 years, I  have seen medicine and psychiatry in particular evolve. There is much  debate and angst in medicine today. There are debates about vaccines,  “healthy at any weight”, and the definition of mental illness. Keeping it  simple, I believe that modern healers should not deviate from the  Hippocratic ethic to first do no harm. Physicians should maintain humility to always recognize that there is something more to learn and always  debate with an open mind while anchoring treatment in the valid science.

In the last three decades, we have seen much debate in psychiatry regarding the definitions of autism, bipolar disorder, and the value of  accountability when discussing personality disorders. There is so much  more to psychiatry than just the panoply of pharmaceuticals we give  patients to make them more functional. Perhaps modern medicine would  do well to channel a little of the Starman in guiding us through the arc of  our stories.