Skip to main content

Demonic possession or Psychiatric illness?

Since the conception of the cinema, the genre ‘Horror’ has attracted millions of viewers, satiating their primary desire for tension, relevance and unrealism. A large portion of these horror movies are structured along the same plot of the protagonist becoming possessed by a demonic spirit, the progression of the possession and finally the awaited exorcism of this demonic presence leading to either the death of the protagonist or the expulsion of the spirit and the protagonist's life recommencing. 
The dilemma between science and faith remains constant through these movies usually in the form of a conflict between the doctor and the priest both arguing for their respective schools of thought. It always, however, ends up being an apparent possession not a mental illness. 
A closer look at case histories of these supposed possessions would allow one to easily identify a psychiatric condition. The possessed individual complains of being controlled by an entity or power external to them. Altered personalities, irrational speech, change in tone of voice, altered state of consciousness, memory blackouts, loss of personal identity and catatonic behaviour are all assumed to be signs and consequences of a possession. Psychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, tourette’s syndrome and forms of schizophrenia were all mistaken for possessions in the past and with time have evolved to become thoroughly researched medical conditions. Similarly, all behaviours considered to be signs of possession can be medically explained by different psychiatric phenomenon. Consider an individual manifesting different personalities and exhibiting catatonic behavior. Irrational speech and a change in the tone of voice can result from a dissociative episode and strange rigid poses or extreme flexibility can be the result of a catantonic stupor. 
In Catholicism, priests undertake prayers for repentance, divine intervention and protection before engaging in exorcism. The patients then undergo counseling to enhance their spiritual life after the ritual. Buddhist exorcism involves prayer and meditation to persuade the spirit to leave the body. Among Muslims, the belief of demon possession is not universal however the general idea remains that unseen creatures of gods: ‘jinns’ or ‘spirits’ can possess an individual. A constant across all cultures, however, remains using prayer and divine intervention for deliverance. Medical explanations and treatments are written off as ignorant practices that disregard the divine power and processes. Consider the movie ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ based on the events that took place in the life of Annaliese Michel. Her most erratic symptoms were medically explained by the doctors. Her family and priest, however, continued to believe that she was victim to a demonic possession and refused necessary medical measures. Annaliese eventually died during the exorcism and the priest stood trial for her death. 
The indefinite line between science and faith becomes even more obscure when men of science start leaning towards skepticism. Dr. Richard Gallagher, a board-certified psychiatrist and a professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College is at work on a book about demonic possession. He believes there are cases that do not find any explanation in medicine. “I’ve helped clergy from multiple denominations and faiths to filter episodes of mental illness  ... but I don’t see these two aspects of my career in conflict. The same habits that shape what I do as a professor and psychiatrist — open-mindedness, respect for evidence and compassion for suffering people — led me to aid in the work of discerning attacks by what I believe are evil spirits and, just as critically, differentiating these extremely rare events from medical conditions.” 
Explaining mental health problems with the concept of ‘possession’ has taken multiple forms over the course of history and across cultures. This form of explanation has meant that people who have been suffering from distressing and debilitating psychiatric and psychological problems have been persecuted, isolated and abused in the name of deliverance and have been refused imperative medical treatment. This lack of awareness about mental illness and cultural variables have real time implications on the suffering individuals who are denied timely medical care.
References:
Deliverance, demonic possession, and mental illness: some considerations for mental health professionals. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13674676.2012.706272.
Gallagher, R. (2019, March 1). As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. Also, I help spot demonic possession. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/07/01/as-a-psychiatrist-i-diagnose-mental-illness-and-sometimes-demonic-possession/.
Jumreornvong, N. (2016, March 3). Exorcism and Mental Illness Across Different Cultures. Retrieved from https://hopes.stanford.edu/exorcism-and-mental-illness-across-different-cultures/.
Rashed, M. A. (2018). More Things in Heaven and Earth: Spirit Possession, Mental Disorder, and Intentionality. Journal of Medical Humanities. doi: 10.1007/s10912-018-9519-z

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PTSD and its relationship with defense mechanisms and empathy: Character analysis of Levi Ackerman (SnK)

|Indira Bulhan Blog post: 1 “Manga is for kids” (My ignorant friend, 2018). Manga is often treated by people as something which is not so serious. However, it holds within itself some dark aspects of humanity. One such example is Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). In it, the character of Levi Ackerman has been through a series of events which sets him apart from the people around him. Through this blog post, I will look upon the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its relationship with defense mechanisms and empathy.     Levi’s past is filled with events which can act as strong stressors for the development of trauma: the death of his mother at an early age, abandonment by father, raised by his uncle in the underworld in a highly unhygienic and malnourished state (who later abandons him again), death of his two closest friends and lover. Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD can be defined as a mental disorder which can happen to peopl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Patrick Jane a psychopath?

Under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Psychopathy was never recognized, until the revised DSM-5 categorized it under Anti-Social Personality Disorder. “He will choose you, disarm you with his words, and control you with his presence” (Hare)  Psychopaths can replicate the behavior which the person they are interacting with thinks they want from them, without feeling a thing, which contributes greatly to their ability to manipulate. Psychopaths charm and lie their way seamlessly to the top, and while they lack empathy, they are well-liked because they know what to say and when to say it. Psychopaths occupy most of the positions of power in our society and corporations and thus often end up being glorified. This glorification of psychopaths is most evident in the portrayal of psychopathy in TV shows. Some of the most notable characters which the screen has ever seen, like Marlo Stanfield from ‘The Wire’, James Moriarty from ‘Sherlock’, Hanni...
Post a Comment
Read more

Patrick Bateman: A Successful Psychopath

Abigail D'Souza Personality disorders are psychological disorders characterised by rigid and pervasive patterns of behaviour that persist over time. These must be maladaptive, or cause clinically significant distress to the individual, and are typically recognizable by late adolescence, or early adulthood. The most commonly known personality disorder is Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), or rather Psychopathy, since people often assume the two are synonymous. They aren’t.   ASPD belongs to the Cluster B group of personality disorders, along with Histrionic, Narcissistic, and Borderline personality disorders. Individuals with these tend to be dramatic, emotional, and erratic (Hooley et al., 2021). ASPD is characterised by a lack of moral or ethical development; inability to follow approved models of behaviour; deceitfulness; manipulation of others; history of conduct problems as a child, etc. (Hooley et al., 2021). Psychopathy however, is more a set of traits, like superfi...
Post a Comment
Read more