Demonic Possession or Psychological Illness. You Decide!

            Have you ever seen a movie about demonic possession?  A movie such as The Exorcist, The Devil Inside, or The Possession?  Demonic Possession is an extremely controversial topic which many people like to believe, and many others look at as a cruel joke.  On the other hand, many people believe that although many of these movies may not be solely based off of true stories, the act of demonic possession exists and happens to people for certain reasons.  Although it is a very rare phenomenon, there are many symptoms that you should look out for such as the victim becoming extremely quiet and/or isolated.  Attitude, sleep schedules, and weight change are some of the symptoms that occur.  The victim may have a sudden aversion to any type of religious object or thought.  They often become highly abusive, threatening, and/or violent.  Their strength may also become too much for one to handle.  Night terrors will become much more prominent in the victim and lastly, you will most likely start seeing multiple personalities in the possessed victim.( http://fspp.net/warn%20poss.htm) I am not going to sit here and tell you that demonic possession completely and without a doubt exists, but what I am going to try to argue is that demonic possession is not a psychological illness and that I believe that it is a spiritual or religious act.

 There have been many cases of demonic possession in the past that people believe can be explained by psychology, or even by human nature. Dr. Joseph M Carver, a Clinical Psychologist with over 40 years in the field, was asked a straightforward question about demonic possession.  When asked if demonic possession was merely a case of psychological illness, he explained that indeed it was.  He believes that the symptoms that people assumed to be related to demonic possession were really just brain chemistry disturbances.  Dr. Carver finds this to be true because any symptom of “demonic possession” can be duplicated with medicine, and can also be terminated.  On the other hand, these symptoms may really just have been normal psychological problems that were treatable with medicine.  He gives no proof that most “demonic possessions” were really just disturbances in the brain.  Many people may also argue that a demon may have caused the brain disturbances in the first place. (http://askthepsych.com/atp/2008/01/28/is-demonic-possession-merely-a-case-of-psychological-illness/)

            Dr. Carver seems to also contradict himself in answering this question.  He says “An individual who only speaks English never has a hallucination in a another language.”  After I read an essay called “Real-Life Case of Demon Possession Documented” about a woman named Julia who was thought to be demon possessed by a board- certified psychiatrist, and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College.  It is explained that during her possessed states, she would blurt out comments in Spanish or Latin.  Afterwards, she would not remember saying these nasty comments, and she explained that she only spoke English.  This seems to show that Dr. Carver may not be 100% correct in his conclusion about demonic possession.  Below is a video of a girl being put through an exorcism.  Please pay close attention to the violent and aggressive words coming out of her mouth.

            When trying to prove demonic possession true or not, there is almost always a thought that it may just be a psychological illness.  Although I do believe in demonic possession, if I had to diagnose a body I would rule out any psychological factors before I conclude that it is demonic possession.  There are a wide variety of symptoms that are not explainable by psychology such as change of language, and contortions farther than the body’s limit.  Dr. Carver was able to help us distinguish the differences between psychological illness and demonic possession by telling us that if it were just a psychological illness, it would be treatable with medicine.  This is definitely a suitable start when determining whether one is possessed or not.  Looking out for the right symptoms is something you should remember too.  Although it seems easy to mix up illness and possession, it is said that there is a certain eerie feeling that others get in the room when the human is possessed by the devil.  The psychologically ill person does not get that same feeling.  Demonic Possession may never be proven to be true because science has basically demolished the thought of it, but the many outward manifestations that are said to come along with possessions is hard to easily push out of one’s head.  Once you witness the subject being levitated, and voices that are not coming from the person, science may have to then take a step back and reevaluate.  

Bibliography

1.     Carver, Joseph M. "Ask the Psychologist." : Online Clinical Psychologist. , 6 Feb. 2008. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://askthepsych.com/atp/2008/01/28/is-demonic-possession-merely-a-case-of-psychological-illness/>.

1.     "Real-life Case of Demon Possession Documented." WND. N.p., 13 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.wnd.com/2008/03/58835/>

1.     Waterhouse, Steven. "How to Differentiate Schizophrenia From. Demonic Possession." How to Differentiate Schizophrenia From. Demonic Possession. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/coping/demonic-possession-mental-illness.html>.