An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

Goffman (1995), although he does not make reference to Parsons, also discusses „sick roleetiquette‟ and agrees that acceptance of an illness and adopting the sick role can beregarded as evidence of suffering by the sufferer, their family or the wider society. This isevidenced by the person consulting a doctor or health professional, but this is only part ofthe cultural process. Therefore, the bio-psycho-social aspect of an illness is determined bythe society affected by the sufferer‟s potential absence from employment.Weiss and Lonnquist (2005) summarise the extensive earlier literature, starting fromDingwall (1976), which defines illness as having five stages which includes the experienceof a symptom that something is wrong, relinquishing normal roles and assuming the sickrole, seeking professional health care, becoming the dependent patient and finally recoveryand rehabilitation to the point of being able to relinquish the sick role. The literature onalternative medicine demonstrates that health and illness behaviour in relation tocomplementary medicine is similar to that in relation to conventional medicine (Janzen1992). As humans we seek help from persons or places that help us, like Lévi-Strauss‟s(1966) bricoleurs, although the healer may identify a different problem from the personseeking to be healed. This is a feature of spiritual healing as much as it is of conventionalmedicine.Most definitions, models and theories of illness of the past fifty years have beendevelopments on, or reactions against Parsons‟ seminal description of “the sicole”(1975, originally 1951), a situation in which individuals are given temporary permission bydoctors to shirk their normal duties, provided they follow medical instructions to enablethem to regain health. When medical advice is not sought or followed, this is regarded as33