In the traditional African community someone who is sick or troublesome is considered to be bearing the ills of the community. Healing the individual is to heal the community. A sense of the disease and disquiet with what we see around us is almost universal. If we could see the distress of others as the responsibility of us all we would begin to hear the message. For most people conventional religion fails to fulfill their spiritual needs.
Some fortunate ones find fulfilment in other religions and spiritual paths.
For the majority materialism is their god, a god that fails to nurture the soul and leaves its followers with a sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction that can lead to despair. A large proportion of anorexic girls I treat shoplift. These are young women who have plenty of money and rarely use the objects they steal. If they are caught shoplifting, a cupboard full of unused items they have stolen is often discovered by distraught parents. Their bodies reflect the hunger of their souls.