Possession or Mental Disorder?

We live in a time where seemingly everyone suffers from some type of “mental disorder.” Michael is bipolar. Andrea has an anxiety disorder. Matthew suffers from depression. Tiffany has borderline personality disorder. Ruth is a narcissist.

On and on it goes.

I want to begin by stating that there is absolutely something going on here, and that people who display unstable mental patterns are very much on the rise. Further, problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—particularly within those who have experienced the horrors of war or similarly difficult events—are both real and tragic. I am in no way attempting to undermine problems of this nature.

But what about the other disorders and the overall trend toward a mentally unstable society? Is everyone just dealing with brain-chemistry and/or hormonal problems? Are these just “common” to humanity, and do we have any responsibility for them?

Or might there even be another explanation . . . a supernatural cause, so to speak? Is it possible that spiritual forces are to blame?

What is really going on here?

In this article, I want to unpack these questions and at least offer my own opinion on them. Please drop a comment below if you would like to engage in the discussion.

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Genuine Mental Health Disorders

As previously mentioned, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a powerful thing. When one goes through an event (or events) that are unimaginably shocking and image-inducing, it is to be expected that it will stick with the person for a long time or perhaps forever.

Seeing a spouse reduced to skin and bones after a long battle with cancer is undoubtedly agonizing. Watching a child drown, be hit by a vehicle, or lose their life in some other unthinkable way is not only a nightmare but would be impossible to ever forget. Watching the soldier next to you be blown apart by a grenade would make for a hellish memory, without question.

Pardon the graphic nature of these examples but the point needs to be clear: PTSD is a real thing and can certainly be understood as a mental disorder.

This applies to complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD) as well. This includes situations with ongoing trauma. People who undergo regular and consistent mental, physical, sexual, or other types of abuse often develop long-term mental problems. Abuse produces psychological effects that many of us can never wrap our minds around.

In both cases—and so many others—the power and energy of the associated events can imprint graphic images into the mind that will be replayed for the remainder of the person’s life, to one degree or another. While there is certainly a spiritual component involved with those who cause the abuse, we can easily understand that the victim’s brain chemistry has been altered and that this change largely accounts for their mental condition.

Another example of a mental disorder that is beyond the person’s control would be something like separation anxiety disorder (SAD). Anyone can understand the human emotions involved in being strongly attached to an individual/s and then losing them as part of your life. While this exceeds normal attachment levels and is clearly not healthy, it’s not a stretch to see how this would naturally develop in certain individuals.

Furthermore, any mental condition caused by brain trauma can be understood as existing beyond the person’s control and typically without supernatural agency. One can be mentally impaired by sustaining a critical blow to the head, without the need for demonic influence.

While other examples could be mentioned, there is no question that certain mental health issues are best explained by biological and/or purely psychological factors.

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The Intent of the Act

To this point, we have only considered matters that involve brain injuries, traumatic events, and particularly harsh circumstances. Certainly, these can be drivers for people to have or develop mental health disorders that manifest without the person’s intent.

But does that cover everything? No, certainly not.

Let me describe a scenario that illustrates this. Since I have been discussing narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in recent blogs, it seems fitting to discuss this here. NPD is considered to be a personality disorder and, for our purposes, also a mental health condition. Importantly, it is frequently cast as something beyond the person’s control and driven by external causes (past trauma, childhood experiences, brain development, etc.).

In other words, many believe that narcissists don’t choose or plan their malicious behavior. I beg to differ.

I could offer countless reasons for this (and have given more elsewhere) but think on this example: the romantic relationship with a narcissist. There is quite literally a step-by-step playbook that is typically followed in fooling the victim and placing them into the “narcissistic fog.”[1] While slight variations are involved, here is how the process generally works.

1. The narcissist “love-bombs” the victim by heaping mounds of praise, adoration, intimate attention, and other positive reinforcement on them in a concentrated blast. This is also known as the “euphoric stage” of the relationship.
2. After the victim has bought into the person’s intentions—by falling in love, moving in together, getting married, or by some other means—the narcissist will suddenly drop the mask and create a massive dilemma in the relationship. This dilemma will arise seemingly from nowhere and will be either a contrived problem or an issue that is blown far out of proportion.
3. The victim will be asked to grovel for forgiveness, proving their commitment to the narcissist. If that happens, they will be accepted by the narcissist and moved into the next stage.
4. Now that the narcissist knows he or she “has” the victim under their spell and that they are willing to be manipulated, the “devaluation stage” begins. This is the body of the relationship, consisting of a constant push-pull cycle of events. The victim is constantly devalued and abused but given temporary reinforcement (“breadcrumbs”) to keep them hooked. In this cycle, a “trauma-bond”[2] is created in the victim, making it incredibly hard to break free. In short, it feels like being under a spell.
5. The devaluation stage continues until the victim either gains the insight to break free or, more likely, the narcissist “discards” them for someone they deem to be a better source of “supply,” or the “replacement.” This “new supply” was likely being groomed behind the victim’s back for most or all the relationship.

*Kicker – The narcissist will often “hoover” the victim after the relationship has ended. This means they will pick an opportune time to reenter their lives and try to lure them back in for another round of abuse and devaluation.

Anyone who has been through this vicious cycle knows exactly that these steps are valid; they really happen, and typically just as they are described above. If you have not experienced this—and have trouble believing it—I urge you to watch this video and read the countless comments below it that attest to this pattern.

This does not mean that every action is premeditated. In fact, narcissists are often extremely impulsive, worse than petulant children.

Still, someone (or something) is causing them to act in these fairly predictable patterns. The meticulous cycle of events described above—which is exhibited by nearly every narcissist in the romantic “game”—can hardly be accounted for by involuntary mental health problems. Read the list again (if need be) and look at how much strategy is involved.

This is not an involuntary act but is done with clear intent. The same applies to the behavior of sociopaths and psychopaths. They plot and scheme evil.

Intent matters. Intent is everything.

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Demonic Influence in the Bible

Mental health disorders, while clearly erupting in our current day, have always been with us. Or at least, abnormal human behavior has.

This was taken up many times within Scripture. Below are a few of the examples.

Christ encountered two men—one in Mark’s account, 5:1-13—who were possessed by demons (Mt. 8:28-34). This person was extremely violent, to the point where the town’s people could not even pass by him (Mt. 5:28). Jesus sent the demons into a herd of pigs.

As described in Mark 9:17-27, he also encountered a young boy who was possessed by a demon (a “mute spirit”). We learn from the Gospel accounts collectively that the spirit would cause the child to convulse, foam at the mouth, grind his teeth, and that it even attempted to both drown and burn him up in fire. Jesus cast the demon out of the boy, and it left with a shriek.

Jesus also worked closely with Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons were cast out (Lk. 8:2). While the Scriptures do not clearly state this, it has long been thought that Mary was a sexually promiscuous woman: one with the “Jezebelle spirit,” so to speak. Whether this is accurate or not, we know that her behavior radically changed and that she lived a life of sin before encountering Jesus.

These are not the only possible examples, but they do reveal something critical. Whether we attribute the blame to the possessed individual, the possessing spirit, or both, the fact remains that the actions being performed were intentional.

While the child was not trying to do the harmful acts to himself, the acts were clearly thought out by the one controlling him. The possessed man may or may not have been choosing to harm those who passed by, but the one possessing him was. Mary was choosing to live an evil life but was certainly abetted by the demons at some point in her life.

It is my opinion that no one becomes possessed without choosing to give themselves over to the darkness. In other words, many evil (and willful) decisions likely precipitated the person falling into possession.

Let’s stop here and get to the heart of the matter. As the Bible describes things . . .

Jesus didn’t cast narcissism out of the person; he cast the demon/s causing the narcissistic behavior out of them.

Jesus didn’t cast sociopathic behavior out of the person; he cast the demon/s causing the sociopathic behavior out of them.

See the point?

This does not negate the reality that mental health disorders existed—such as the ones previously covered—which were not demonically motivated and, thus, mostly beyond the person’s control. Certainly, things like PTSD were not known about then, even though people still suffered from the condition.

But let’s get back to the main point. The intent to harm others or behave in evil ways was present in those who underwent exorcism in Scripture, even if that manifested as self-harm. For the believer, it is undeniable that many so-called “mental health disorders” are really the product of corrupt individuals who have allowed demonic activity into their lives.

Those in Christ cannot be possessed, so it stands to reason that anyone who is possessed either invited or permitted the demon/s to enter their life.

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Conclusions

Clearly, this is an extremely difficult topic to broach. I realize that I have by no means answered every possible question or gone down all the rabbit trails.

However, I do believe that this at least points us in the right direction and provides a framework for discerning what we are dealing with: is this a possession or a mental disorder?

In my estimation, many things we have deemed to be mental disorders—such as narcissism and sociopathy—likely have some basis in brain development and upbringing. However, there is an undeniable pattern of behavior that often reveals choice, premeditation, and even an outright desire to do doing evil things.

If you need further evidence of this, please see my previous blog entitled, Narcissists: Satan’s Foot Soldiers.

Yes, there is intent in much of this. Though I cannot elaborate here and now, I would apply this intent to other matters as well. Things like having sex changes, believing you are wrongly sexed, or dressing in drag cannot be fully explained by a mental disorder—though our society is so corrupt that many wouldn’t even consider such things to be malfunctions.

Does the brain tell one to believe they belong to the opposite sex, that their reproductive parts are off, and that they should perhaps dress in drag? Even if we accept that “gender dysphoria” exists, we have a deeper question to answer—What caused the dysphoria?

Again, if not them then at least the one/s controlling them.

Friends, a smorgasbord of demonic activity now runs rampant in the Satanic Age we are living in. As I have explained, we cannot treat every issue as being demonically derived. However, we can be sure that much of it is.

Anytime we can pinpoint intent in actions and a conscious scheme to do evil, we can be sure that dark forces are involved.

It is my opinion that we need to stop trying to explain evil behavior by labeling it with a psychological term or believing that the person cannot help but act that way. Doing so will only give the enemy a greater foothold in our world and, perhaps worse, make us that much more vulnerable to his wicked schemes.

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Footnotes

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[1] The “narcissistic fog” is a term used for the stage where the victim is being consistently devalued. This comes after the person is hooked on the narcissist after the love-bombing stage (described in the article).

[2] The “trauma-bond” is developed by the constant push and pull cycle of the relationship. It’s literally a re-wiring of the brain that makes one become addicted to the reinforcement of the narcissist. This does NOT develop in healthy relationships.