Demonic Possession Research Paper

Since the 16th century Demonic possessions as mental illnesses have been proceeded as a controversial topic. Out of 488 people 77% of them believe that people can be possessed by anything, whether if it is a demon or some type of unnatural spirit (). Many movies such as The Exorcist and The Rite have portrayed demonic possessions and exorcisms in dark but unnatural light that still speaks fear into our mind (Levack). Many people, who were believed to be possessed by a demon or spirits, have been sought to be diagnosed with Dissociative Disorder, Multi-personality Disorder, and Trance Disorder (). All of these conditions evoke similar symptoms that may look similar to demonic possession (). There have been many discussions about whether or not

Demonic possession to many is the manifestation that a demon could enter the body of a human being against their control and take over all aspects of their body; mentally, physically, and the psychologically (Levack). This also referred to as demoniacs. As we have seen in recent horror films demoniacs exhibit the most shocking behavior. They are often extremely violent and seem to possess supernatural strengths that seem to be beyond our level of understanding and control (Levack). Some have spoken in languages that they have no knowledge of and have the ability to foresee the future. Some have spoken as If their voice has derived from a beast and have developed a multilevel of personalities. Throughout history there has been documentation that demoniacs possess a wide variety of symptoms such as muscle swelling, muscle contortions, violent convulsions, supernatural strengths and excessive vomiting of unknown substances (Levack). Just the symptoms alone has progressed fear into society and religious

Many have come to claim that insanity was a result of demonic possession or that a demonic possession was in fact insanity (Ossa-Richardson). As a result this has continually allowed psychiatrists to diagnose Demonic possession as mental disorders. The symptoms that did occur from some individuals were later found to be deliberate and a sense of fraud or the beginning of mental disorders.
In the Western tradition of medicine, demonic or spiritual possession has been diagnosed as Dissociative syndromes or disorders are diagnosed under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Demonic Possession has been linked to be very similar to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Dissociation is when your state of consciousness produces an alteration that allows you to interpret a different identity and have alterations in your physical self and appearance. Within these phenomena, the body is experiencing a fusion where the spirit becomes one with the body and essentially takes over the spirit and creates displacement. If an individual were known to have dissociative disorder they would be treated? Although Dissociation Disorder is similar to possession, is that all Dissociative Disorder found in many psychiatric settings are not the same as all instances of possession, for that reason It is hard to use that category to analyze and describe demonic or spiritual