Spiritual Attack

Spiritual attack is a widely used explanation in Nigeria for sudden misfortune, illness or distress — the understanding that it has been caused deliberately by malicious spiritual forces rather than by circumstance or biology.

Key Points:

• It is a framework, not a diagnosis: it explains why something is happening. It sits alongside a clinical account of what is happening, and most people hold both at once without difficulty.
• It is usually the first explanation offered: often by family, often before anyone has spoken to a clinician, and often with genuine care behind it.
• The risk is delay, not belief: conditions that respond well to treatment — depression, psychosis, epilepsy, thyroid disorders — get worse while they are being addressed only spiritually. Months lost at the start of a first psychotic episode measurably affect recovery.
• Belief and delusion are not the same thing: a view shared by millions of people is not a symptom. Clinicians look at whether a belief is fixed against all evidence, whether it is shared by the person’s community, how much distress it causes and how far it changes behavior — not at whether they personally agree with it.
• In therapy: a good therapist works within the language you use rather than arguing with it. Being told your explanation is nonsense is a reliable way to end treatment early.