Demons Vs. Mental Illness

[Guest Servant of Divine]

How does one tell the difference between a mentally ill person who "sees demons" and a person is actually tormented by demons?

[frugaldreams]

Well I would say that your first stop would be a psychiatrist to rule out mental illness. I did read father Amorth's book and generally it seems the person will have previously exposed themselves to such inflences via witchcraft, new age practices etc. Then there is usually speaking in languages they do not know, serious and violent aversion the blessed objects, sometimes excessive strength or other extreme physical occurances.

That being said it's pretty rare and the Church is generally going to require extensive examination by doctors before considering exorcism.

Hope that helps.

[dauntingknight]

The church will review the person with as much data as they can possibly get to. (see if he/she reacts to Holy objects and sayings.)

[eagle_eye222001]

[quote name='frugaldreams' date='06 September 2009 - 09:23 PM' timestamp='1252286611' post='1962322']
Well I would say that your first stop would be a psychiatrist to rule out mental illness. I did read father Amorth's book and generally it seems the person will have previously exposed themselves to such inflences via witchcraft, new age practices etc. Then there is usually speaking in languages they do not know, serious and violent aversion the blessed objects, sometimes excessive strength or other extreme physical occurances.

That being said it's pretty rare and the Church is generally going to require extensive examination by doctors before considering exorcism.

Hope that helps.
[/quote]

That about sums it up.

[Saint Therese]

I don't think its as rare as you would believe.

[Gregorius]

Go to my priest's [url="http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/"]blog.[/url] He has a bunch of information/stories on this topic. Or e-mail him if you can't find it. His e-mail should be on the blog.

Edited September 7, 2009 by Gregorius

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Saint Therese' date='06 September 2009 - 10:41 PM' timestamp='1252287683' post='1962340']
I don't think its as rare as you would believe.
[/quote]

Ditto. Demonic influence and torment are not rare (temptation itself is the ordinary domain of evil as Fr. Amorth explains). Possession is less frequent than either, but still is more common than probably most of us would like to believe. The Church always seeks out medical counsel when considering whether someone genuinely needs the assistance of an exorcist.

[CatherineM]

When my husband hears them talking to him, he asks me if I hear them too. When I say no, I remind him to listen only for the voice of truth.

[Saint Therese]

Not all extraordinary action of the devil is just possesion; there's also obsession and oppression, which are probably more common than possession.
Of course not all mentally ill people have spiritual problems, maybe not even the majority. But there are a significant number that do. Someone asked Amorth once if he though a lot of the problem people have today with anxiety and depression is diabolicly related and he said yes. I think it would take both a wise psychiatrist and priest to discern what was going on. It would be something that you woudln't want to determine on your own.

[Marie-Therese]

Hopefully Fr. Brian will jump in on this one, we've had discussions on similar matters on our facebook group dealing with the Catholic Church and the paranormal.

I think that it's a sticky wicket in a lot of ways...while both demonic influence (oppression, obsession, possession) and mental illness are distinct, one can definitely influence the other. For example, a person with underlying mental illness might be targeted by demons simply because of their illness. Conversely, a person who has experienced severe demonic influence might be at a higher risk of some mental illnesses as a result. This is, of course, my own opinion.

I second Saint Therese in that competent and thorough medical and psychiatric examination by professionals is needed in consultation to the clergy members involved in the case to make sure that all eventualities were examined in determining a course of treatment.

[Nihil Obstat]

It's good to remember that it's almost always a long process, since even when a person is legitimately possessed, the demon may never manifest itself spectacularly, even as it's being cast out. The priest will recommend prayer and fasting and confession in any case, and recommend that they see a variety of doctors.

[Saint Therese]

[quote]I think that it's a sticky wicket in a lot of ways...while both demonic influence (oppression, obsession, possession) and mental illness are distinct, one can definitely influence the other. For example, a person with underlying mental illness might be targeted by demons simply because of their illness. Conversely, a person who has experienced severe demonic influence might be at a higher risk of some mental illnesses as a result. This is, of course, my own opinion.

[/quote]

Iawtc. I think that the devil probably uses whatever weakness a person has, in some people that might be mental illness.

[Nihil Obstat]

Another thing to remember is that mental illness will often be comorbid with demonic possession or oppression. In some cases demonic influence could be the case of, say, major clinical depression, or some kind of dissociative disorder.
So that's just one other thing that has to be dealt with.

[Winchester]

Show the person a movie about demons. If the person rolls his eyes and says: "This is so unrealistic," then he's possessed. Demons can't stand movies about demons.

[takebacktonight]

Soo, say when I was a kid I used Ouija boards, and had some pretty terrifying experiences..as did my friends. Is it possible for me to do something to make sure those demons aren't hanging around me still?