Malevolent Forces and Spirituality in the Arena of Mental Health — Thru the Wringer

Do you believe in demons or evil spirits? Do you like movies like Insidious or The Conjuring? I just am FASCINATED by films in this genre. The Ring is my favorite.

When I was in my early 20s, I had a supernatural experience involving another person’s demonic manifestation. It was a pretty crazy day, and I am sure many people will question or disbelieve my story. That is ok. I was there and have gone over it many times in my head and know what I experienced. It was real.

Religious Obsessions

Mike had a job in New Jersey back in the early 2000s, and he worked at the Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital as a chaplain. He mentioned to me that many patients there had religious obsessions.

They had what we might refer to as religious OCD. Their fears (and the fears of many) are not having enough faith, going to hell, being unclean, contaminated or impure, and fear of engaging in immoral behavior.

In Mike’s experience, we are not talking here about small fears that a pastor can simply alleviate. These fears held by psych patients were monumental and unresolvable. They were crippling.

Labeling Mental Illnesses

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) used in psychiatry to classify mental disorders was not even around until 1952. In many ways, professionals are still trying to understand mental illnesses and their causes.

Since antiquity, we as people have used and labeled mental illnesses as demons & evil spirits because there was no other explanation, and we didn’t know what else to call them. Observing someone, especially a loved one, in psychosis is not only frustrating and overwhelming but scary, beyond scary. It can look like a supernatural force is influencing them!

The bible refers to evil, evil spirits, and demoniacs. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Many people in the bible who had disturbing or unexplained behaviors were said to have demons or possessions.

A study, Demonic Influence: The Negative Mental Health Effects of Belief in Demons, found that in young adults, the belief in demons can contribute over time to the deterioration of mental health. The inverse is not true. So, if someone has poor mental health, this does not increase their belief in demons.

Demons, Religion, and Mental Illness

But do people still believe that demons cause sickness and mental illness? In my blog research, I found current articles blaming mental illnesses on sin, lack of faith, or demon possession.

Not only that, I recently had personal experience in which a well-beloved medical professional renounced all his training and embraced this approach in practice. He even went so far as to attempt to cast out demons in his office. Sigh.

This is not true spirituality or religion as taught by great spiritual leaders. It is a delusion.

I love this quote by Albert Ellis:

“Religiosity, to a large degree, essentially is masochism, and both are forms of mental sickness.”

The definition of masochism is “The tendency to derive pleasure from one’s own pain or humiliation, the enjoyment of what appears to be painful or tiresome.”

Repercussions of Stigmatizing Mental Illness

The effects of this unprofessional approach on the mentally ill person are profound. People are stigmatized, judged, spiritually neglected, and sometimes wrongly institutionalized where they may be incorrectly medicated, abused, or even neglected.

Those with mental health issues have poorer health care, diminished human rights, and higher mortality.

Less than 50% of people needing mental health treatment WORLDWIDE receive it. That number is over 90% in poorer countries.

As informed, educated, compassionate people, we cannot ever attribute mental health issues to demon possession. Not only is it wrong, unethical, and abusive, it denies the person DIGNITY, help, and potential healing.

Normalizing Mental Illness

It will be a wonderful day when our society is more educated and versed in mental illness. We have undoubtedly made progress but still have a long way to go. We can do our part by speaking openly about mental illness, being non-judgmental, and listening with compassion and kindness to each other.

Originally published at https://thruthewringer.com on February 11, 2022.