Traditional healing in Mozambique – Julio Neto

In Africa I don’t think people call themselves depressed, but rather they know that something is not right. They would go to their family and talk over the problems, or seek help from local traditional healers.

It wasn’t until recently that I began to understand the role of psychologists in depression and realised that depression is something that I have always suffered from.

Allergy attacks

When I was younger I suffered from severe allergies that affected my quality of life. One day when I was traveling in the bush, working as a Mining Engineer, an old man asked me for a lift and I agreed. We stopped to have lunch in a restaurant and once I had finished eating my body started to swell up.  The old man asked what was happening to me so I told him that I had food allergies. 

When I suffered from an allergy attack my body would swell up so much that I had difficulty breathing, I would  temporarily lose my hearing because my ears were so swollen, my skin all over my body would become insanely itchy and my eyes would close shut.

The old man then said that he knew a remedy that could help me.  When we arrived at his house, the old man gave me a root.  He told me to boil it with all the things that would trigger my allergies, including medicines, and drink the brew.

As a last hope I decided to try it, I had nothing to lose. I had been desperate with my condition for many years.  I had been treated by several doctors around the world without success. What I wanted in those moments when my allergies were triggered was to be left alone with my misery and agony.  I would be in such a precarious state and no one could comfort me. This vastly affected my mental health.

My allergies left me with a feeling of fear and anxiety. I would cringe at the thought of being invited to anyone’s house, afraid of an allergy attack.  I became a hermit and was really deeply depressed.   I was forced to eat a very strict diet of only rice, eggs and tea or water, which drove me insane.

The worst part was that some medicines actually triggered the attacks. I was allergic to aspirin and malaria medication. 

The healing process

So I followed the old man's instructions, I took the root and drank the brew. I never suffered allergy attacks again. My mental health improved and I became a very nice person, agreeable to talk to.  I started to have a normal life and to enjoy it, it was a new beginning.

Please don’t ask me what root it was, because if I knew I could be very rich person.

As in this case we have several cures in Mozambique that can be considered miraculous.  This is why in Mozambique, after much research, the Health Department has authorized the use of licensed traditional healers in hospitals.

In my country the traditional healers can take their herbs, roots, etc, to the hospitals and use it in treatment of patients in contrast with the western medicine.  No conflict arises between the two types of medicine and the results are marvelous.

As we say in Africa, before the arrival of the colonialists for thousand of years we were able to effectively treat and cure our people with mental and general health problems.  So why should we turn our backs on our beliefs and our ways now? 

For me personally, it was part of the healing process to be able to talk at ease about my traditional beliefs, without being judged, when I sought help for my depression.

» Also by Julio Neto: Impacts of racism and migration on mental health

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