When a person came to the idea that his life proceeds under the influence of higher entities - God or a demon, he gradually began to realize that these forces can at some point take possession of his mind and soul. This was all the more likely since even some people could influence others through hypnotic influence.
Moreover, the idea that otherworldly forces can infuse a person has been circulating in various communities for a long time.
For example, the ancient Greeks were sure that every day of human life is associated with the will of the gods, who not only force a person to act in a certain way at one time or another, but can even take possession of their bodies in order to use them for their own purposes.
Also, all the events - good and bad, that happen to a person, gods and demons are attributed by Buddhists and Hindus.
Representatives of many African and South American tribes are also sure that people's behavior, including not entirely adequate, is subject to the influence of invisible forces.
They did not abandon the idea of the influence of certain demonic forces on a person in the Middle Ages. On the contrary, this idea became very widespread among the clergy. Moreover, at this time, Christian theologians began to believe that any human behavior that does not fit into generally accepted norms is determined by spirits, gods, demons, demons or the devil, which inhabit him. Most often it was assumed that these supernatural forces seek to harm man. This phenomenon is called obsession.
And therefore, anyone whose behavior was peculiar and unusual, or who expressed thoughts that differed from generally accepted social attitudes, was considered to have fallen under the influence of the devil.
This happens, according to the clergy, in two ways: either the devil takes possession of a person's soul directly himself, or it is done by sorcerers who bring an invisible evil entity onto a person.
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It is possible to recover from obsession only by going through the procedure of exorcism, or, in other words, the expulsion of the devil. During this act, the devil and his helpers in the name of the Lord are driven back to hell.
The fact that this person is possessed by the devil is indicated by the following main signs: a terrible demonic voice, as well as any changes in the voice; paralysis of the whole body or some of its parts; incredible power for an ordinary person.
A number of demonologists believe that some other signs may indicate possession. These include: imitation of animals, automatic writing, a plurality of personalities, the so-called glossolalia, when a person begins to “speak a language” that does not exist, obscene behavior, blasphemy and some other signs.
However, a number of signs that are supposedly markers of demonic possession, in fact, indicate that a person suffers from a certain mental illness. So, for example, in the Middle Ages, epilepsy was often confused with obsession, copying of animal behavior with schizophrenia, etc.
It should be noted that if the official church attributed the obsession mainly to the machinations of the devil, then modern representatives of the occult sciences consider this phenomenon as an episode in a person's life, when secret forces only disorient the human soul, but do not destroy it. Moreover, according to modern concepts, invisible entities specifically come into contact with people in order to warn them about a certain event in their future life or to convey a certain message from representatives of another world.
The same person who has become a victim of obsession begins to feel serious changes in his health: he has severe headaches, sleep is disturbed; often he hears noise and incomprehensible voices, sees some kind of glow, and can also experience temporary insanity.
The cause of obsession can be a serious mental or physical trauma, which opens a kind of corridor in the human mind through which the evil spirit enters the subconscious spheres of the brain.
According to some occultists, a very clear example of possession is the phenomenon of multiple personalities. In the study of this psychic phenomenon, it was found that just the mention of the name of the Lord leads to the fact that one or even more personalities disappear and a person regains his former state.
American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck in his book "People of Lies", published in 1983, spoke about two patients, in whose minds there were several personalities. But in addition to the presence of multiple personalities, these people also suffered from an obsession with spirits that negatively affected their consciousness. Moreover, these patients knew very well that certain entities had taken possession of their consciousness. When these patients underwent exorcism, then, according to the author, they became spiritually healthy. At the same time, when the devilish spirit left the patients, then at that moment an expression of incredible anger appeared on their faces.
The phenomenon of obsession is characteristic not only of Western civilization, but also of other societies. For example, although Muslims worship one God - Allah, they are nevertheless convinced that evil deeds are done with the direct participation of special entities - jinn.
When they enter into their victims, which most often become women, then these unfortunates develop weakness, depressed mood, and bouts of neurasthenia. But if you appease these spirits with something, for example, expensive clothes, delicious food, jewelry and other valuable things, then they can leave a person.
In India, it is also generally accepted that many of the personal problems of women are associated with the intrigues of evil spirits, which, once possessed, lead to infertility, the death of children or other tragic situations.
In traditional African religions, there are also similar views on the evil deeds of the gods. For example, in Sri Lanka, they believe that any disease is caused by a certain demon, however, he can use his evil power only when a person has problems in the family or at work …
And although people most often suffered from obsession in the distant past, similar facts have also been noted in our time. The case connected with a certain Annalize Michelle was especially famous.
At the age of 17, this young woman began to show symptoms of a strange disease: at night her body was suddenly paralyzed, she could hardly breathe, as if at this time a heavy object was falling on her chest.
After some time, Annalize Michelle went to a psychiatric clinic in Würzburg. After the examination, the doctors concluded that the girl was suffering from epileptic seizures. Treatment began. But no positive results were obtained. And Annalize was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
However, in the hospital, visions of terrible faces were added to the nighttime paralysis, who constantly whispered to her that she was cursed. It soon became noticeable that drug treatment not only did not improve, but, on the contrary, aggravated the girl's condition: while terrible faces continued to appear to her in nightmares, she still fell ill with a severe form of depression. In the end, after a year of treatment, Michelle was discharged with a decent bouquet of nervous diseases, some of which she acquired in the clinic.
After some time, the young woman suggested that the devil had possessed her, and turned to Rome with a request to perform an exorcism on her. But she was denied this.
And Annalize's condition, meanwhile, deteriorated significantly. This was especially true of her behavior. She began not only to injure her own body, but to bite those who were next to her. The girl began to imitate the behavior of dogs, to swallow insects and spiders. Moreover, she began to beat icons and tore up religious books.
This nightmare lasted 5 years. Finally, after another appeal from relatives, the church agreed to conduct an exorcism ceremony. The procedure for driving out the devil began in September 1975, and ended only in June 1976. During this time, from the body of Annalize were expelled: Hitler, Cain, Nero, Judas and Lucifer.
The expulsion procedure was carried out twice a week. During the ceremony, the girl began to speak in the voices of long-dead people, to pronounce phrases in various languages. In the end, the procedure was stopped because there was no improvement in the girl's behavior.
Soon Annalize sent a letter to the priest in which she wrote that the Virgin Mary appeared to her in a dream and said that she could quickly free her from the demons or leave everything unchanged. But in this case, the girl was promised the salvation of the soul. And she chose the second path.
Annalize's suffering ended on the night of July 1-2, 1976. During the autopsy, it was determined that she died from excessive moisture loss and malnutrition.
Incidentally, this was the only case of obsession in recent years that the church has officially recognized.
Bernatsky Anatoly