What I was experiancing in 2008 were thoughts and voices, that were not my own.Plus I would feel the presence of something above my head.On top of that something poking my body that I felt as if someone tapped me.
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Q: Is there a link between mental illness and evil spirits?
Answers (2)
9/13/09 7:07pm
Hello Adam,
Schizophrenia is a biological brain disorder. Evil spirits do not cause schizophrenia. People diagnosed with this illness need to take medication to alleviate their symptoms. If you have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, please take your medication to have the best chance of recovery. Should you experiences voices you may need medication. A qualified psychiatrist can confirm or rule out the diagnosis and also blood work will need to be done to rule out another medical condition.
Regards,
Christina
9/13/09 8:04pm
Adam, it sounds like you have had widely varying answers to your question. Some, it seems, are what you want to hear. You want to feel special and gifted, not mentally ill. Yes, there are passages in the Bible that refer to people being possessed by demons, but there is no evidence that modern-day schizophrenia is a result of demonic possession or the result of any sin of yours or your ancestors.
But, Adam, 1 in every 100 people have schizophrenia. Wouldn't it seem odd if "evil spirits" attacked exactly that many people worldwide year after year? Another evidence that schizophrenia is simply a disease like any other is the fact that it responds to medication.
When I was a child, the Devil began to appear to me in a whirlwind and tell me what a bad, sinful person I was and that I would have to atone for my sins. I don't have to do that, I realize now, because Jesus took my sins on himself. I began to hear voices and see people and became very depressed. This continued to get worse over the years until I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 14 years ago. My psychiatrist worked with me to find the antipsychotic that was most effective in my case. Each person is different in his or her response to meds. Since that time, I have ceased hearing voices (including the Devil's,) the "people" in my head have disappeared, and depression rarely bothers me.
The literature says that exorcism performed on a schizophrenic is of absolutely no value, and may even make the person worse because it confirms his belief in the "evil spirits" theory. If medications work, why not take them? You may not believe it, but the right meds can change how you feel about spirits, clairvoyance, etc. The meds will allow you to change your focus on these things to a focus on helping others and living a joyous, productive life.
Wake up! Has your version of "the truth" set you and others free yet? You say you are still living with a hellish disease. I was diagnosed in 1995, too, and with the help of Zyprexa, Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Klonopin I have made great strides forward. I have experienced significant recovery, to the point where I can live on my own now. I am happy, looking forward to what is before me.
Carolyn
9/14/09 7:56pm
Excuse me if i'm being out of line, but i noticed that many people with sz have audio hallucinations of the devil. Or voices that claim such.. Why is that? It is rather curious. i remember that Andrea Yates (who drowned her 5 children approx. 8 years ago) had such hallucinations. Why would the voices that people afflicted with sz be primerly negative?
And finally, and please excuse me again-i do not mean to offend in any way, just to understand, why would a person, even a severly mentally ill one ,think the devil is giving good advice and act upon it? (as did A. Yates and others)
9/16/09 10:13pm
Hello abcd,
A former blogger here, Robin Cunningham, heard the voice of the devil when he first got sick when he was 13 years old in 1956. He attributes this to having discovered the hypocritical nature of someone he knew that was alllegedly a devout Christian. He believed Satan had come to him and wanted him to atone for his sins.
It is possible that the delusions and paranoia are related to something going on in that person's life, and as such, could be religious in nature.
As wtih all delusions and hallucinations, the reason a person believes the devil is talking to them is because that person cannot differentiate from fact and fiction. This is of course a simpler explanation. I believe that someone with a religious background or upbringing or practice might take any voice of the devil more seriously than someone who was not a believer.
Also: a woman I interviewed for a columen I wrote three years ago heard the scripture in her head. She was a church-going woman and at first believed she was given a special message so that she could communicate with God. Of course this seemingly innocent "gift" turned sinister and she had to be hospitalized against her will and given medication.
Regards,
Christina
9/17/09 7:25am
Christia, this is someting that has happened before in late 2004. The funny thing about late 04 is I dont remember everything, I only recall some of those events. Later PTSD was labeled on my diagnoises as well. How can I find help or support out there?
9/17/09 8:40am
Hello adam,
The National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has a website, http://www.ptsd.va.gov/ that is also good for the general public as well as veterans. I used this website for myself the day after the 9/11 attacks on the world trade center when I wanted to find out coping skills for dealing with PTSD.
Also, you can contact NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness at (800) 950-NAMI (6264) to find the name and number of the local affiliate in your area that has weekly peer support meetings for people diagnosed with mental illnesses.
Those are two means of support I can think of right now.
Best,
Christina
9/17/09 8:21am
Carolyn, I still take medicine today as I did then. What makes my type of sz different has been and still is related to the spirit realm. Everyone on this planet has a level of awareness. Some have it more so. Such individuals are called a danger to society. Even while on meds I woulds see the distorted faces, and some people had an auara around their head. As much and often as I take my meds I can even sense them near and around me. It wasn't untill 2004 that in the first time in my life a certain book I read explained to me the real truth about some of the stuff that was happened to me. Don't you understand what was happening the book confirmed and explained why I was going through this. It wasn't necessarilly that I was crazy. Like I was saying some people are more aware than others, and I percieve it differently, they give my illness a name, and give me meds that don't totally cure it. It only eliviates some of the symptoms.In the meantime I do what I can to eliviate other symptoms such as working, listening to music, hobies. Yet even after all of that Ill go to 12 step meetings and sometimes whoever is speaking will shine or the face will distort. So sometimes I just look at the ground or at the wall. The point is is that I have learned to live with it, and I'm no longer afraid, just aware. I am a truth seeker as I seek truth and reach new levels of awareness I share with others. It is also a 12th step principle. How ever what I'm in need of is trying to piece together events that happened to me in late 2004. Because what happened then, changed me in a permanant sort of way.
7/12/10 7:21pm
Hello Adam,
I do not want to cause alarm in your situation. For one, if and only if this is or was being caused by malevolent spirits, it is probably easier and safer to recover from than a physical or mental disorder. This of course would depend on the strength of the individual and whether or not it is spirit possesion. I also believe it can crossover both ways, ie: you could be possesed causing mental illness, or you could have mental illness causing belief of being possessed. AS this complicates things it also makes it easier to deal with. It is extremely important to recieve sleep and nutrition. This alone can completely balance your body and mind. Also The recovery from possesion or mental illness is not instantaneous. That doesnt make any sense, it takes time gaining hold of your original self. What helped me most of all is my memory of my childhood and of my childhood self. Even during my mental siege- it kept me holding on by a thread, a thread that luckily did not break. When i found time to recover, believe me i had abstract thoughts and ideas for another year or so and finally slowly but surely all subsided and i became in control and of clear rational thought. I can even remember clearly being unrational and babbling things that were absurd, that at the time i thought was right and proper thinking. The Good EXPERTS were thouroughly confused on my case, and labeled it as BI-POLAR disorder, It was clear they had no idea how to catagorize my "illness" and i gave them a run for there money, whether i was possesed or not, they had no normal cure or classification. As for the expert who's opinion appears on top, I think she is narrow minded and very high up on her college earned horse? or podium?. anyways your not alone for thinking of other ideas to what may be behind your mental manipulation. I'm fairly sure in my case it was a mixture of being drug addled (not at all that im accusing you of drug use not at all) and let me defend myself before you discredit my response. being extremely stressed, <i just graduated high school and didn't know where to start, parents going through nasty divorce, mom just got a new house, and plenty of other things going wrong> and flat out spiritual warfare that i had placed myself in willingly and stupidly, My point being is it doesnt always only take one thing to bring about mental confusion or delusions, or loss of control of body and mind. It can be from several contributing factors and it's important to review your entire history and timeline leading up to current events. It may be favorable to forget certain situations but let me tell you its very important for proper recovery to remember and try to ascertain what causes "it" because the so called professionals cannot remember for you, and they almost certainly have no knowledge or beliefs beyond what they learned out of a damned textbook during their immense schooling. Evil and spirits in general may influence thoughts and actions on the physical plane, an evil spirit has to be invited though. at least this is what is currently believed, although it cannot be totally known as it is an occult theory. But you just might have given a lesser spirit partial access to your mind, and it may be trying to get ahold of you. the benefit is if you do not want it in you or to be a part of it, it really is as simple as not allowing them or it inside of you. Think of it as the choices of who you hang out with- you don't have to hang out with the "bad" crowd but some people are willing to be a part of that group. Thats exactly how Possession occurs. it may also be influenced by a particular obsession, anything at all that you are not willing to let go of and/or are constantly thinking about may lead to possession. "does it not bring about the possibility of OCD pationts having a connection with spiritual Possession then?" i believe it opens up the doorway between possession and mental illness.
Going to a priest would be ill advised if you believe you our possessed, i am fairly certain the modern church is not to be trusted at all, there are individuals who work with special cases of possession, usually for a profit, which makes me wonder if greed and evil hasn't got to them as well, although traveling costs money and they usually are willing to visit you. The reason i do not reccomend going to the church is they typically don't even believe what they preach and I'm sorry this is true. If you want out of what you got yourself into, It has to start with you and you alone. IT is a dangerous world if you are playing with spirits.
Say you are having a neurological disorder, you will have to get help, I wouldn't recommend a hospital visit unless its severe but psychiatry may help, if its not a spiritual thing that is. If your going to the doctors claiming possession unfortunately you may be locked up and deemed schizophrenic. Most modern doctors are boring bookworms with a limited spiritual belief system. And if you believe you are to possessed in the first place, what makes you think this? Im not trying to sound rude or sarcastic, i mean have you been playing with spiritual things or ideas? maybe even a simple ouiji board, anything at all to open yourself to the other side may trigger some things.
In your case however it seems the symtoms are minor, whether spiritual or mental. taps are not as bad as scratches, and voices and thoughts are not as bad as full blown auditory hallucinations. I'm not saying to ignore your signs at all but giving hope to you that you are definetely able to recover from this. There are bigger and badder demons and there are more severe mental disorders. Thank you for any who finished reading this article, Science and Religion still have a lot of blending to do.
3/28/11 10:51pm
I am on meds for "psychosis", "shizophrenia" and "unknown situations" ..... I firmly believe the 1% of us are affected by EVIL beings, however that is so. However the meds have responded and the voices and hallucinations have ended. What every doctor I've talked to doesn't understand is that they will NEVER understand this condition as much as they think they are trained to do so ..... it is SUPERNATURAL and EVIL. To be an educated doctor and NOT give this a possibility makes me laugh every time I go to get a prescription. Who is to say that the excess dopamine or seratonin is not the result of a supernatural experience? Please give me your thoughts O' educated ones ...you should listen to the victims and be scared, let me tell you ..... us victims are personal examples of torment that probably exists on the dark side after death ...we are not alone, trust me.
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Why then does all my research sugest otherwise? I have gathered evidence from many sources. It is true when you say evil spirits do not cause schizophrenia. However for some what causes it is sin. I am a seeker of truth I have read evidence that I have been potentially misdiagnosed. Some have gone as far to suggest that I am clairaudient, clairvoyant,etc. Some have said I am possessed. Some have said I am gifted. Some have said to me I am not mentally ill at all. My sources of information include the following. The bible, new age, metaphysics, people from churches, people who are like myself, doctors, preachers, and teachers, anyone and everyone has told me something different. What you have told me I have already heard, from many other people,and many other people told me something different. Some of which were doctors as well. I have been living with this hellish dis-ease since 1995. The only difference now is Im not paranoid with voices or hallucinations. I understand the nature of reality. I just percieve it differently then the many. Wake up! You shall know the truth and the truth shall set me and the others free.