Devil entered under the scientific view

Richard Galllagher is a psychiatrist at New York Medical University. Recently he studied the phenomenon of demonic entry and exorcism, having a brief article on the Washington Post.

In the late 1980s, I was introduced to a self-proclaimed Satan priest. She called herself a witch, dressed in black, thick eyeliner and claimed to be Satan's "queen" . As a senior scientist and historian who studied and practiced for many years at top universities in Princeton, Yale and Columbia, Catholic priests wanted to seek professional advice from me: whether women Does this have some mental illness?

At that time, the Satanist movement emerged throughout the United States. Many individuals were arrested and prosecuted for taking advantage of spirituality to seek profit. However, this priestess could tell exactly the cause of my death, but she certainly did not meet. With knowledge at that time, I could not find any other explanation but admitted that it was a mysterious power.

The priest who consulted me on this case is very experienced in spirituality. I told him, even though I'm a Catholic, I still don't believe in unbelievable things. He replied a bit unsatisfied: "That's why we asked for you."

Partnerships start from there. For more than two decades, I have lectured to hundreds of missionaries to recognize the signs of many complex mental illnesses that are unrelated to demons. It was a bit difficult, but the two spiritual and scientific aspects were not in conflict. As a professor - psychologist, I focus on being open, respectful and understanding. This helped me to distinguish between "devilish" cases with common cases.

Many colleagues in the scientific world naturally do not believe this, the reason is because they have been fooled too much, but my careful observation shows that there are some extremely rare cases with no explanation. Other even when using the most complex therapies.

The need for exorcism ceremonies is increasing. Over the past 10 years, the number of "professional" exorcists - allowed by bishops - has increased from 12 to about 50 people. However, not everyone is as alert as the first priest I met, especially in developing countries. They misjudged, even using dangerous "measures" such as beating victims. Perhaps this is the reason why exorcism is perceived wrong.

The need for exorcism ceremonies is increasing.

But I have witnessed real cases. Victims often show signs of suddenly having offensive statements about religion, understanding and speaking previous languages ​​they do not know, have abnormal power or hover in the air. They also know things like the death of a stranger or the secret sins that others have committed. As a consultant doctor, I think I have encountered more than one case of supposedly demon possessions.

Most of my patients suffer from psychological disorders due to family history or multiple personality syndrome. But what if a patient suddenly speaks Latin perfectly?

(Many other cases in the world suddenly speak a language after physical or psychological trauma. According to the experts' initial explanation, this phenomenon is caused by the part of the brain in charge of language. active "but with the current medical level has not shown a clear relationship).

Victims often show signs of suddenly having offensive statements about religion, understanding and speaking previous languages ​​they do not know.

For each case, I first approach in the most careful direction. I do not arbitrarily "analyze" the spiritual direction but will inform the priest about the symptoms that cannot be explained by medicine. I understand that many people do not believe and are willing to object harshly to any issues related to that aspect, but my job is to help people who are in trouble rather than persuading doctors. . However, I was also surprised by the number of people currently supporting those theories.

As a rational person, I have to explain things that are difficult to understand. To be able to believe in such "greedy and unscientific" things, I have to seriously look at the evidence. Ignorance and superstition turned scams or psychological illnesses into ghost stories. However, almost every culture believes in the soul and there are many cases recorded with persuasive witnesses that reinforce that. As a psychiatrist, it is natural to deny these strange cases largely due to psychological denial and not from rational research, from which stories are colored. spirituality becomes trustworthy.

After all, I do this job not from an academic or theoretical standpoint. I think a doctor should not refuse when asked to help people who are in pain, whether from a scientific or faith standpoint.