Santa Muerte Healed Me from PTSD

I’m Coni and I’m here to describe how my PTSD affected my Santa Muerte-centered spiritual practice and how She has augmented my treatment. Growing up in an older family plagued by chronic illness and sudden passings introduced me to heartache and instability beginning at the age of three. It wouldn’t be until my mother’s traumatic death in my early 30s that I would stop trying to outrun Death. This led to me turning around to face my fears and slowly walking toward Her in search of understanding. 

A few years prior, I had started drifting away from Catholicism again when my mother’s doctors explained the gravity of her condition. Thus began my reexploration of syncretic systems like Santería, which allowed me to call on others for help. Syncretism was necessary because of my family’s roots in Catholicism and Pentecostalism, but also I continued to struggle with whether I was risking…