What makes you susceptible to demonic possession

These voices convinced me that I had a chip installed in my brain. I had a sensation in my head, like an electric current, an electronic impulse. I also read about it on the web. I had to find out if I was mentally ill or had an implant, but the tomography did not prove anything Charles.

Because his voices and tactile symptoms persisted despite pharmacotherapy, he also refused to accept the medical diagnosis of schizophrenia, deciding instead that his problems could only be explained in terms of demonic possession. He believed that spirits could produce symptoms resembling mental illnesses and could also mess with his mind.

I also read that some evil spirits can imitate mental illness. I don't know if that is the case because I never had problems with my faith. But I read that these spirits feed on human weakness. These are spirits. It is hard to explain. Three of them are responsible for my symptoms. There is a female voice and two male voices. I don't believe them because God would not interfere with someone's mind.

How can I believe that God or Jesus would use [rape] me in such a tragic way. They constantly comment on my actions and judge me. They have no insight into my heart, how I feel and what I am really like Charles.

All participants were referred to priests, because families or communities labeled them as possessed. Kathy said that her mother had tried to help her get rid of spirits by taking her to a tarot reader, pranic healer, and a hypnotist. She was later consulted by an exorcist called by nuns. Kathy admitted she did not expect him to perform any rituals. Instead she wanted to teach the exorcist that his view about demonic beings was wrong, and to demonstrate her auto-exorcism skills.

After visiting all these practitioners, I went to visit nuns. I thought it would be so extraordinary if demons could pray together with them but they panicked and called an exorcist.

They were scared because I articulated these demons. I had to set them free to purify them. The content was actually not that bad but the sound terrified them. It was demonic. He meets so many of them but knows so little. I wanted to inform him about the real nature of evil, that there is nothing to be afraid of. If he had accepted that, I could have helped him in his services but he just sent me here.

He said he had to make sure I did not have any mental issues Kathy. Alice, on the other hand, attended regular monthly exorcism rituals for 18 months. I was attending exorcisms and this priest told me that Satan was messing with my head. He used his book of demons and prayed over me.

He commanded them to leave my body, and I felt something leaving. At the same time, something else entered. This was probably Lucifer… After these rituals I stopped hearing the demons and only Lucifer remained. I think he helped me by making the other spirits disappear. He is an angel and has great power. He is so strong. Her relationship with the new voice was dynamic and changed over time. While initially Lucifer's voice caused distress, she later found his company comforting and reassuring.

It also helped her control her aggressive impulses. Lucifer is bad — that is what I thought at first, so I fought against him and was really scared, like I was scared of the demons. But later things changed. I realized that if I cannot get rid of him, I need to collaborate with him and things became different. At first I thought he wanted to take the [aunt's and friend's] ghosts with him, and I did not want to let them go. I didn't want to let him harm them.

I was not afraid anymore. He says I should discriminate between good and evil and refrain from any bad actions or he will punish me. He says that taking drugs or alcohol is bad, and that I should be kind to others Alice. Because her exorcist did not approve of the voice, which represented to him demonic influence, Alice decided to stop the exorcisms and terminate her relationship with the priest. She also tried to develop her own understanding of the symptoms independently from the explanatory models of priests and doctors.

I stopped attending these rituals because I am happy that I can hear Lucifer, and the other voices are gone. I do not need that priest any more really. According to him, Lucifer is bad. I think I have a mental illness but I also have supernatural experiences Alice.

After Greg's mother died, he continued meeting exorcists, who became one of his very few sources of support. He also got involved in a charismatic Christian movement which enhanced his belief in demonic possession. He denied having a mental illness and was reluctant to take medicines prescribed by his doctor or participate in psychotherapy sessions offered at the social welfare home.

However, he also admitted that not all exorcists agreed that he was really possessed. Initially, they were certain about my possession because I behaved weird. Others said they had doubts about that because they used the holy water and it did not work.

They said that if the exorcized water and prayers have no effect, it means I am not possessed Greg. Participating in exorcisms became impossible when he was incapacitated in a social welfare shelter. After that he could only attend prayers with his exorcist on the phone. Greg liked talking to priests who were friendly and interested in his story, but did not enjoy meeting exorcists who were harsh or restrained him. Some meetings with exorcists were based on a kind of investigation about what is wrong with me.

Some of them were really nice, kind-hearted. At least, this is how I saw them. Others were kind of harsh, radical. They used leather belts or called other men to restrain me Greg. To confirm his theory about possession, Charles also consulted an exorcist.

The priest did not refute his ideas and encouraged regular meetings to investigate that possibility. On the other hand, he also suggested using deliverance rituals to cleanse Charles of demons and evil spirits. I visited the exorcist and we talked. I wanted to know whether these experiences resulted from the influence of an evil spirit or not.

I just wanted to rule out spiritual factors. He neither confirmed nor disconfirmed. Instead, he suggested doing these prayers Charles. Being touched by the priest seemed to evoke in Charles aggressive impulses which could have been related to his earlier memories and conflicting feelings. I told him about the voices in my head. He then put his hand on my head and started to pray. Charles was too ashamed to tell the priest what he was feeling or hearing, fearing that, if he did, it may have been interpreted as aversion toward the sacred, an indicator for the exorcist that he was probably dealing with a possessed individual.

This study illustrates how people with psychosis can develop a strong conviction that they are possessed. The common feature is the belief in being possessed, which is co-created by the social environment.

This shared belief is usually linked to possession-form presentations, described by Van Duijl et al. Additional indicators of demonic influence may also include: exposure to inappropriate music or films, using substances, masturbation, homosexuality or extra-marital sex. From the psychiatric perspective, the belief in being possessed can be qualified as an overvalued idea — an unreasonable and sustained belief which is less intense than a delusion, i. Delusional convictions, one the other hand, are traditionally considered as more rigid and unquestionable in nature.

People with delusions are also less functional in daily life, compared to those who simply have overvalued ideas Veale, This study shows, however, that there may be a blurred line between an overvalued idea and delusion of possession. For example, one participant Charles did not show extreme rigidity about his belief in possession but sought possible explanations for his incomprehensible experiences. Their social context, which normally helps in reality testing and provides reference points for delusions, only strengthened participants' beliefs about their possession.

For this reason, it can be hypothesized whether the belief in possession described here can be regarded as a shared delusion or a shared overvalued idea. When the social context fails to provide good reference points, it is necessary to rely on other psychopathological symptoms to determine the psychotic nature of people's convictions: the existence of other delusions messianic, grandiose, persecutory or auditory and tactile hallucinations. Participants in this study had various delusional interpretations of the external world and their internal experiences, e.

Generally, such symptoms are not to be expected in other disorders. While auditory hallucinations may be present in all three diagnostic categories mentioned earlier Longden et al. In this study, voices were very simple, non-responsive, sometimes personified the abusers or were exact copies of what they previously said, but the link to the context was not obvious. This supports other observations that psychotic symptoms may directly or indirectly thematically relate to traumatic experiences Hardy et al.

While these features do not necessarily distinguish patients with psychosis, characteristic to this group were the delusional interpretations of auditory hallucinations. Similar symptoms were reported in this study, although the quality of somatic experiences was different among participants.

On the other hand, symptoms reported by Charles feeling someone blow air on his skin, touch his genitals, perform fellatio, penetrate his anus or ejaculate on him were directly related to situations experienced by him as traumatic and causing strong intrapsychic conflicts related to identity masculinity, heterosexuality.

Some clinicians could classify these symptoms as somatoform dissociation and not cenesthetic hallucinations. In other words, Charles could be re-experiencing in the present the somatic aspects of his traumatic memories, but his interpretations were again delusional, i.

This study also shows that patients' explanatory models about their symptoms are dynamic and evolving, especially under the influence of media Facebook, YouTube, books , family, and the religious community priests and other practitioners. Delusions of possession are embedded in folk beliefs about the influence of evil spirits. When other people, e. Perhaps, as Ventriglio et al. From the point of view of the recovery movement, being part of a spiritual community and finding socially acceptable labels for one's problems gives empowerment and social inclusion which may outweigh possible drawbacks Jacob, This may be particularly true for people with psychosis rather than other disorders.

Alice and Greg, for example, had stable, long-term relationships with priests who not only provided them with emotional support but also structured their daily activities. On the other hand, relying solely on religious coping can in some cases delay diagnosis and professional treatment, which may lead to worse outcomes in people with psychosis Albert et al. In Polish society, values, beliefs and norms are strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.

Reporting possession and seeking exorcisms is fairly common but official statistics is missing. In their decree, bishops encourage exorcists to refer such petitioners for clinical assessment before offering them any services. However, there is no evidence on how often this recommendation is respected because exorcisms have become a gray area of practice Pietkiewicz et al.

Giordan and Possamai observe similar phenomena in Italy and emphasize difficulties in obtaining reliable evidence. There is need for further studies exploring the prevalence of delusions of possession and how people use exorcisms in different cultural contexts.

Such studies are especially necessary in developed countries, among people representing different denominations or declared non-believers. The basic limitation is the number of participants but IPA studies are, by nature, limited to small samples in order to elaborate people's individual experiences and meaning-making.

Some respondents who were recommended by priests or doctors to participate in this study reported ambivalence about using clinical assessment and receiving a diagnosis. Reluctance to refer people to healthcare providers who did not openly declare endorsement and identification with Catholic beliefs could also be found among some exorcists.

Furthermore, different results might be obtained from people with delusions of possession who have never been exorcized or live in other cultural contexts. Finally, despite the fact that all participants in this study reported traumatic experiences, quantitative analyses are necessary to investigate links between trauma and delusions of possession.

Delusions of possession are a separate sub-category of religious delusions in psychosis. They involve a distorted perception of having one's mental processes or actions controlled by demons or spirits associated with local religion. Hearing voices, having incomprehensive bodily sensations, and thought control was attributed to this influence. Other psychotic symptoms were also present but no rapid changes in behavior or identity were reported. Beliefs in possession were induced or strengthened by family, clergy or media, and delayed diagnostic assessment and treatment.

Instead, participants chose religious coping strategies, including individual exorcisms or deliverance ministries. In clinical practice, it is important to understand internal conflicts or traumatic experiences which feed delusions of possession. IP was responsible for project design and administration, collected and analyzed qualitative data, and prepared the manuscript.

UK transcribed and analyzed interviews and participated in manuscript preparation. RT performed psychiatric consultations, helped in qualitative data analysis, and manuscript preparation. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Albert, N. The effect of duration of untreated psychosis and treatment delay on the outcomes of prolonged early intervention in psychotic disorders. NPJ Schizophrenia 3, 1—8. Bhavsar, V. Religious delusions: finding meanings in psychosis. Psychopathology 41, — Cook, C. This could be pastoral care, mental healthcare, or a combination of both depending on the individual needs. Determining the kind of care a person requires can be difficult because they may present with symptoms that are characteristic of both demonic possession, and mental health disorders.

Practitioners often fail to discern what a patient needs, i. The consequences of misdiagnosis can compromise well-being, and lead to social stigma. Spirit possession should not be seen as an isolated rare spiritual condition but rather as a spectrum of manifestations of increasing complexity. Dr Illueca notes that formal research and empirical data are sparse, which has led to a misrepresentation of those with genuine problems, based on depiction in popular culture such as horror films.

For this reason, academic work such as hers is desperately needed so that those with spiritual afflictions can be protected from social marginalisation and receive the professional care they need.

In cases suspected of demonic possession, individuals should be referred for pastoral care, which may include the use of deliverance ministries. This is a collective term used to describe prayer-based interventions that act to cleanse a person of demons and evil spirits, and aid, in multi-disciplinary fashion with the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual problems that are attributed to them. The interventions can range from specific deliverance prayers, to ritual-based exorcism reserved for the extreme, rare cases of possession.

The deliverance team is a multi-disciplinary group that often includes ministers, social workers, and psychologists. Demonic possession is a real phenomenon and it should not be ascribed to a psychiatric condition any more than mental illness should not be treated as demonic-induced. Hence, professional evaluation and diagnosis is an essential step. One classical characterisation of spirit possession appears to lie in the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian Bible where spirits are described as benign e.

Although empirical literature is limited, a spiritual syndrome appears to manifest along a spectrum ranging from spiritual vexation, obsession, oppression, and finally demonic possession.

The term spiritual infestation is used by Dr Illueca as a description comparable to a parasitic or microbial contamination. In the worst cases the evil spirit controls and uses the body as if it were its own.

It takes deliverance prayers, or in extreme cases, exorcism, to relieve a victim from this state of possession. Acknowledgment of spirit possession in the pastoral and psychology literature is increasing, and the phenomenon of demonic possession is described worldwide across cultures and continents. An early study by Bourguignon suggested North and South America to be most prominent in their belief in spirit possession.

Knowledge and understanding of local ritual practices is important for discerning whether spiritual or psycho-social assistance is needed. Mainstream Christian religion is becoming more organised around the practice of deliverance ministries with formal training and credentialing of exorcists. One of the fundamental roles of deliverance ministers is to ascertain whether the affliction observed has a spiritual basis.

Although the supportive scientific proof is limited, there is consensus within deliverance ministry circles around the distinct characteristics of these signs, and they are still used today as criteria for diagnosis.

The four criteria are: newly developed fluency by the patient in a foreign tongue; knowledge of hidden things such as identifying hidden objects or private details related to those present; supernatural strength that is disproportionate to the size of the person; and an aversion to sacred objects such as the Christian cross, Holy Water or the Bible. When all four of these are present, they are considered to be specifically indicative of demonic possession. Anti-gravitational abilities i.

Large scale recent research in Low and Middle Income Countries LMIC has shown that people with a history of childhood abuse or severe trauma are particularly vulnerable Hecker et al, as are those who dabble in occult practices e.

Ouija boards, cultic groups, etc. Psychiatric and spiritual conditions may overlap, and each requires accurate diagnosis in order to tailor treatment and avoid the potentially dangerous consequences misdiagnosis can lead to. In contrast to spiritual afflictions, psychiatric disorders are diagnosed by medical professionals who use a specific set of criteria to do so.

For example, in the case of dissociative identity disorder DID formerly known as multiple personality disorder, dissociative symptoms e. Comparative analysis shows, for example, that the spiritual dangers of the wilderness and urban spaces were more emphasized as background reasons in the densely populated urban areas of Northern and Central Italy than in the rural North. Keywords: demonic , lived religion , canonization process , sin , malediction , punishment miracle , spirit in forest , spirit in water , Italy , Scandinavia.

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