Logical Explanations There are a number of medical
explaintions given by doctors and psychiatrist to defunct the claims of demonic
possession. Especially in such well documented and publicised cases as Mannheim
and Michel. Felicitas D. Goodman (1914–2005) a Hungarian-born American linguist
and anthropologist offered something else. She was a highly regarded
expert in linguistics and anthropology and researched and explored ritual body
postures for many years. She studied the phenomenon of “speaking in tongues” in Pentecostal congregations in Mexico. Before her
death in 2005, Dr Goodman had published over 40 scientific and popular articles
and more than seven books. Her most famous book, The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel, was the inspiration for two films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem. She embraces
the possibility that Anneliese was not epileptic, and that the medication the
doctors had given her to control her seizures only made her hallucinations
worse, locking her in her states of “possession”. She also refers to altered
states of consciousness.
Popular psychiatric interpretations of possession experiences, including dissociative identity disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, sexual abuse, and group hysteria
, epilepsy, and religious hysteria. Terry D. Cooper, Ph.D., a psychologist with doctorates fromVanderbilt UniversityandSaint Louis University, as well as Cindy K. Epperson, a doctoral fellow at the University of Missouri, have analyzed the case of Robbie Mannheim and have come to the conclusion that normal psychological explanations cannot account for the claimed events; their explanations are offered here, we can also compare this with Anneliese Michel (in our own capacity):
Dissociative Disorders (DD) are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity or perception. People with dissociative disorders use dissociation which is a defense mechanism, pathologically and involuntarily. Dissociative disorders are thought to primarily be caused by psychological trauma. Dissociation can be defined as an array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. It is commonly displayed on a continuum, meaning that changes can be measured on a gradual scale without any abrupt changes. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality – rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis. In mild cases, dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanisms in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress – including boredom or conflict. At the non-pathological end of the continuum, dissociation describes common events such as daydreaming while driving a vehicle. Further along the continuum are non-pathological altered states of consciousness.
Dissociative disorders, including dissociative fugue and depersonalization disorder with or without alterations in personal identity or sense of self. These alterations can include: a sense that self or the world is unreal (depersonalization and derealization); a loss of memory (amnesia); forgetting identity or assuming a new self (fugue); and fragmentation of identity or self into separate streams of consciousness (dissociative identity disorder, formerly termed multiple personality disorder) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Dissociative disorders are sometimes triggered by trauma, but may be preceded only by stress, psychoactive substances, or no identifiable trigger at all.
· Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as Multiple Personality Disorder)
is adissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality identities manipulate the individual’s behaviour at different moments, whose treatment consists primarily of
psychotherapy.Although some symptoms of dissociative identity disorder line up with Robbie’s behavior,
Dr. Cooper and Dr. Epperson criticize this explanation because it fails to explain how Robbie’s symptoms suddenly disappeared after the exorcism ritual since psychotherapy is a slow and tedious process. Moreover, Robbie Mannheim displayed no previous history of multiple personality disorder earlier in his life. According to Cooper and Epperson, labeling Robbie’s condition as dissociative identity disorder also fails to explain the strange
paranormal activity associated with the case to which forty-eight individuals testified.
Comparing this disorder to Anneliese, there was trauma in the form of sudden loss of her sister as well as the believe instilled in her of repentance. It has been shown that personalities can number in the hundreds each with different mannerisms, different sexes as well as different ages, many of these personalities will and can emerge in different situations that the prime personality cannot deal with; ie a strong personality will emerge to stand up to bulling. Yet it is stated that strangely one personality is not aware of the other personalities and in Anneliese’s case she was fully aware of the personalities that “possessed” her and it also seems clear that the other personalities where fully aware of each other as well.
A variety of symptoms exist with wide changes over time. The person can exhibit high ability as well as sever difficulty in daily tasks. Symptoms include:
- Multiple mannerisms, attitudes and beliefs that are distinct
- Unexplainable headaches and body pains
- Distortion or loss time sense
- Sever gloom or pessimistic attitude
- Depersonalization
- Derealization
- Severe memory loss
- Depression
- Flashbacks of abuse or trauma
- Unexplainable phobias
- Sudden unjustified anger
- Lack of intimacy and personal connections
- Frequent panic/anxiety attacks
- Auditory hallucinations of alternate personalities ( which are distinct from psychotic disorders or schizophrenia)
In addition Patients may suffer from other medical conditions and disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, epilepsy, mood disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders.
· Tourette’s syndrome The essential feature are of multipletics (body twitches), which may include blurting out inappropriate comments as well as foul language
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. The early symptoms of TS are typically noticed first in childhood, with the average onset between the ages of 3 and 9 years. TS can be a chronic condition with symptoms lasting a lifetime, most people with the condition experience their worst tic symptoms in their early teens, with improvement occurring in the late teens and continuing into adulthood.
Robbie was indeed known to use foul language during the exorcism ritual, albeit he no longer swore after the successful exorcism. Dr. Cooperson and Dr. Epperson argue that “reducing Robbie’s entire set of circumstances to this simple disorder does not do justice to this case. It’s simply implausible that a young man with Tourette’s was able to fool nine Jesuit priests, hospital personnel, and all the family members.” Moreover, Tourette’s syndrome is treated with medication and
counseling- it simply does not go away.
Looking at the above definition as well as development period it stands to reason that although Robbie and Anneliese both produced foul language as well as strange body movements it is impossible that this behaviour would have been displayed much earlier than what it did. Anneliese showed no symptoms in childhood. From accounts it appeared out of nowhere.
· Schizophrenia is another mental disorder that some people believe Robbie might have had. At the trial of Anneliese’s death it was also decided that she suffered from this. According to the
National Alliance on Mental Illness:
Schizophrenia often interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. It is basically
characterized by a breakdown of thought processes and by a shortfall of typical emotional responses
The first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or early twenties. It is often treated with
antipsychotics. Psychologist Cooper states that Robbie was too young to have developed schizophrenia. Cooper also argues that Mannheim never became
psychotic, but rather, remained coherent throughout the process and did not receive any medication or psychotherapy for his condition. According to a Christian argument, the Maryland youth went on to lead a healthy existence, whereas schizophrenia and other dissociative disorders are often lifelong and require extensive psychiatric treatment; moreover, Robbie Mannheim never had a
relapse.
In the case of Anneliese she did display some of the symptoms, as well as suffering from depression from a very young age. Schizophrenics
may experience
hallucinations (most reported hearing voices), delusions (often bizarre or
persecutory in nature), and disorganized thinking and speech. The latter may range from by safesaver” href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia”>loss
of train of thought, to sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to incoherence known as
word salad in severe cases. Social withdrawal, sloppiness of dress and hygiene, and loss of motivation and judgment are all common in schizophrenia. There is often an observable pattern of emotional difficulty, for example lack of responsiveness. Impairment in
social cognition is associated with schizophrenia, as are symptoms of
paranoia; social isolation commonly occurs. Difficulties in
working and long-term memory, attention, executive functioning, and speed of
processing also commonly occur. In one uncommon subtype, the person may be largely mute, remain motionless in bizarre postures, or exhibit purposeless agitation, all signs of
catatonia. About 30% to 50% of people with schizophrenia do not have insight; in other words, they do not accept their condition or its treatment. Treatment may have some effect on insight. People with schizophrenia often find facial emotion perception to be difficult.
This may explain some of the strange experiences Anneliese experienced; especially given her devote religious beliefs. Could it be possible that her beliefs effected her hallucinations? Or that her hallucinations drove her religious beliefs?
Schizophrenic hallucinations may be passive or active. If they are passive, the person knows that they’re happening, but they can ignore them. When they are active, they are overpowering. They can swallow the person whole, so that the only thing they know is what they are experiencing in that moment. People having hallucinations can be influenced by them, especially if they come in the form of voices. Sometimes they may even believe they are having a supernatural experience. The person may tell them that these hallucinations are a god or another mythical or invisible creature (like an angel or an alien) is talking to them. These voices may tell them to do things they wouldn’t normally do. They may act out on those things because they feel overwhelmed by what is going on. What they do doesn’t necessarily involve violence. It could be something like writing on the walls or locking themselves into a small room, or telling people about what the voices are saying to them.
Most studies have tried to assess how religious beliefs and religious practices influence psychotic illness. The study of religious delusions and hallucinations with religious content is of interest because these symptoms may lead to violent behaviour. Homicides have been perpetrated by patients who featured religious delusions, religiously deluded people have taken statements literally in the Bible to pluck out offending eyes or cut off offending body parts,and antichrist delusions have led to violent behaviours [25].
Religious delusions may also have an impact on the adherence to treatment. For example when some patients attribute psychoticsymptoms to supernatural entities and refuse medication. conducted among schizophrenic outpatients, we also found that a third of them were highly involved in a religious community, and that another third gave a significant role in their life to spirituality, carrying out spiritual practices every day butwithout being involved in a religious community. Other authors have also pointed out that religious practices were common among psychiatric patients in Europe and in North America. However, spiritual and religious dimensions have yet to be fully considered in psychiatric research.
Also keeping in mind Anneliese was on anti-psychotics throughout, which were supposed to have suppressed these hallucinations. Yet it did not appear that way. They might even have aggravate
the other symptoms of possession. As during the time Anneliese was on various medications it was that
a first generation of antipsychotics, known as
typical antipsychotics, was discovered in the 1950s. Most of the drugs in the second generation, known as
atypical antipsychotics, were developed more recently, although the first atypical antipsychotic,
clozapine, was discovered in the 1950s and introduced clinically in the 1970s. Both generations of medication tend to block receptors in the brain’s
dopamine pathways, but atypicals tend to act on serotonin receptors as well. A number of
adverse effects have been observed, including extrapyramidal effects on motor control
– including akathisia (constant discomfort causing restlessness), tremor, and
abnormal muscle contractions, an involuntary movement disorder known as tardive dyskinesia
, and elevations in prolactin (resulting in breast enlargement in men, breast milk discharge
, or sexual dysfunction). Some atypical antipsychotics have been associated with
metabolic syndrome and, in the case of clozapine, lowered white blood cell counts.
· While some allege that Robbie Mannheim may have been sexually abused by Aunt Harriet, there is no evidence to support this assertion and moreover, with the prevalence of sexual abuse in society, most individuals who have been sexually abused do not delineate Robbie’s behaviour. Some critics also allege
group hysteriato explain the case of Robbie Mannheim. However, Robbie’s some forty-eight witnesses were spread out in different locations. For example, Robbie’s shaking bed was reported by numerous individuals both in
Washington D.C.andSt. Louis.
· Other medical experts who have examined Robbie’s case have suggested that he had
automatismorobsessive-compulsive disorderalthough the physicians and psychiatrists who examined Robbie Mannheim did not find any evidence to make these conclusions. As a new hypothesis, anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor encephalitis has been suggested to be the cause for acute devastating behaviour dyscontrol resembling demonic possession (G. Sebire, Annals of Neurology 2010;67:141-142).
Many who have claimed to be plagued by demonic forces or those have claimed to be possessed have also spoken of occurrences where they have woken from sleep or are in the process of waking and found that they were unable to move or felt as if they were being held down by an unseen force. Others have also stated that they have felt a weight on their chest as if someone were seated there. This could possibly be explained by sleep paralysis which is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. More formally, it is a transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It can occur at sleep onset or upon awakening, and it is often associated with terrifying visions, to which one is unable to react due to paralysis. It is believed to be a result of disrupted
REM sleep, which is normally characterized by complete muscle atonia that prevents individuals from acting out their dreams. Many people that experience sleep paralysis are struck with a deep sense of terror, because they sense a menacing presence in the room while paralyzed, known as the
intruder hallucination. This phenomenon is believed to be the result of a hyper vigilant state created in the midbrain. More specifically, the emergency response activates in the brain when individuals wake up paralyzed and feel vulnerable to attack. This helplessness can intensify the effects of the threat response well above the level typical to normal dreams; this could explain why hallucinations during sleep paralysis are so vivid.
Something else that I have been unable to find and explanation for is how people especially someone as young as Robbie Mannheim where able to speak not one or two other languages but nearly half a dozen others. One or two any ration person would concur could be learned even in a short period of time, but so suddenly with no evidence of how it being learned and neither any proof that the person displayed proficiency before strange occurrences.
Even the strange duel voice or guttural tone of possessed persons can be, in my opinion, partially explained.
The vocal cords or vocal folds are two sets of tissue stretched across the larynx. They can be placed in such a way that they vibrate when air passes through the larynx. This will produce sounds. Humans can use them to produce language. Men and women have different vocal fold sizes. Adult male voices are usually
deeper’ – males have larger folds. The male vocal folds are between 17mm and 25mm in length were as t
he female vocal folds are between 12.5mm and 17.5mm long.
Folds are pearly white – females have whiter cords than males. The difference in vocal fold size between men and women is what caused the difference in pitch. Each person’s voice is different and has a slightly different pitch. This is caused by genes that influence how the larynx is made. The vocal folds discussed above are sometimes called ‘true vocal folds’ to distinguish them from the
false vocal folds
. These are a pair of thick folds of mucous membrane. They sit directly above the true vocal folds, to protect them. They have a very small role in normal speech formation, but are often used in musical
screaming and the death grunt singing style, used in most rock music. They are also used in Tuvan throat singing
.
The false folds are also called vestibular folds and ventricular folds. Unlike the true vocal cords, the false ones grow back completely when they are removed by surgery. Under normal circumstances the false vocal folds cannot be used together with (at the same time) the true vocal folds.
In vocal training different sounds can be produces, this is called harmonics, or overtone singing. One set of tones is created with the vocal cords, there are seven places in the mouth and throat to essentially, whistle concurrantly. But there is an amazing vocal technique in which one singer can produce two stable notes at the same time while a third note varies on top. In other words, one person can sing in chords and can also provide a melody. The lowest note is so extremely low it sounds hoarse and raucous, stretching the limits of the human voice. In Touva and Mongolia the nomadic herders call it “Karguiraa” and they have been practicing it for over a thousand years. The monks of the monastery of Gy
�t� call it “Yang” style and the monks in Drepung Loseling call it “Zu-Kay”. The vocal technique is based on a very precise control over the vocal resonators so as to amplify specific overtones. The vocal cords are used in a special way that allows them to vibrate at two different frequencies at the same time. Western voice specialists are often perplexed by this technique.
In the Occidental tradition, (this is the sing we here everyday and produce ourselves) singing is the production of a complex but unique periodic vibration. Overtones are amplified as a whole (not individually) depending on the requirements of the text and of the musical score.Our literature describes three modes of vibration for the vocal cords: glottal fry, modal singing (i.e. chest
by safesaver” href=”http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm2-9/sm2-9Nomads.html”>register
) and falsetto. These sounds cannot be produced all at once.
In those who can, as stated above it has taken years of voice training under other masters of the technique but it has, as far as my research shows, been produced spontaneously outside of these cultures.
Ralph Allison, senior psychiatrist at the California state prison in San Luis Obispo stated:
“My conclusion after 30 years of observing over one thousand disturbed patients is that some of them act in a bizarre fashion due to possession by spirits. The spirit may be that of a human being who died. Or it may be a spirit entity that has never been a human being and sometimes identifies itself as a demon, an agent of evil
.“
Dr. Wilson Van Dusen, a university professor who has served as chief psychologist at Mendocino State Hospital, is another health care professional who has stated his opinion that many patients in mental hospitals are possessed by demons.
“I am totally convinced that there are entities that can possess our minds and our bodies,” Van Dusen said. “I have even been able to speak directly to demons. I have heard their own guttural, other-world voices.”
And all too often, some researchers say, those hellish guttural voices have commanded their possessed hosts to kill, to offer human sacrifice to Satan.
In a recent report released by the American Psychological Evaluation Corporation, Dr. Andrew Blankley, a sociologist, issued statements about the rise in contemporary sacrificial cults, warning that society at large might expect a “serious menace” to come. According to Blankley, human sacrifice constitutes an alarming trend in new religious cults: “Desperate people are seeking dramatic revelation and simplistic answers to complex social problems. They are attracted to fringe groups who provide the ritualistic irrationality that they crave. In the last ten years, fringe rituals often include the sacrifice of a human being.”
Dr. Al Carlisle of the Utah State Prison System has estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 humans are killed through ritual homicides in the
United States every year. In the
Las Vegas area alone, Carlisle asserts, as many as 600 people may die in demon-inspired ceremonies each year.
Based on a synthesis of the studies of certain clergy and psychical researchers, following is a pattern profile of what may occur when someone has become the unwilling host of an uninvited spirit presence and become possessed:
The possessed may begin to hear voices directing him/her to do antisocial or perverse acts that he/she had never before considered. He/she will claim to see the image of a spirit or demonic presence. In the weeks and months that follow, he/she may fall into states of blacked-out consciousness, times of which he/she later has absolutely no memory. On occasions, he/she will fall into a trance-like state. The possessed will be observed walking and speaking differently, and acting in a strange, irrational manner. He/she will begin doing things that he/she has never done before. In the worst of cases, the possessing spirit or demon will consume the victim’s life. It may reach to a climax where the possessed commits murder, suicide, or some violent antisocial act.
Healthcare professionals will point out that many of the above “symptoms” of possession may also indicate the onset of stress, depression, and certain mental illnesses.
There is much unreliable evidence which we can (or cannot) believe in yet there IS an unexplainable five per cent and a very puzzling ten per cent in cases which present very strange behaviour. As we have said, modern advancements in medical science, especially those in psychiatry, are often accepted as “explanations” for what in other times would have been seen as diabolical possession. Research into the subconscious has given many useful insights into the involved workings of the human mind. If on the other hand, possessing spirits do exist who have the ability to enter the mind of a living person, they must be dispossessed by exorcism before they can further control the activities of the victim. Here we come up against a problem: differentiation between an earthbound entity whose fundamental desire is to be freed from his “bound” state and between a malevolent being whose desire is to degrade humans and in the process revile God – whose natural element is Hell, the burden of the exorcist imprecations uttered in the course of the ritual. Basically, an exorcist seeks to direct an entity – correctly! the ritual in the present day needs the presence of a “team” of “assistants”: clerical, lay, medical, psychiatric, and a recognition that mistakes can be (and have been) made by single or duets of exorcists working alone. The process of “healing” (as distinct from mere expulsion) has nowadays greater emphasis in the Churches, RC and Anglican
.
There has been records of people being repossessed after exorcisms, quite a few in fact.
In truth who is to say this in not true or it is, as everything is in the mind of the perceiver. We can only judge for ourselves either on fact or faith.
Popular psychiatric interpretations of possession experiences, including dissociative identity disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, sexual abuse, and group hysteria
, epilepsy, and religious hysteria. Terry D. Cooper, Ph.D., a psychologist with doctorates fromVanderbilt UniversityandSaint Louis University, as well as Cindy K. Epperson, a doctoral fellow at the University of Missouri, have analyzed the case of Robbie Mannheim and have come to the conclusion that normal psychological explanations cannot account for the claimed events; their explanations are offered here, we can also compare this with Anneliese Michel (in our own capacity):
Dissociative Disorders (DD) are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity or perception. People with dissociative disorders use dissociation which is a defense mechanism, pathologically and involuntarily. Dissociative disorders are thought to primarily be caused by psychological trauma. Dissociation can be defined as an array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. It is commonly displayed on a continuum, meaning that changes can be measured on a gradual scale without any abrupt changes. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality – rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis. In mild cases, dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanisms in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress – including boredom or conflict. At the non-pathological end of the continuum, dissociation describes common events such as daydreaming while driving a vehicle. Further along the continuum are non-pathological altered states of consciousness.
Dissociative disorders, including dissociative fugue and depersonalization disorder with or without alterations in personal identity or sense of self. These alterations can include: a sense that self or the world is unreal (depersonalization and derealization); a loss of memory (amnesia); forgetting identity or assuming a new self (fugue); and fragmentation of identity or self into separate streams of consciousness (dissociative identity disorder, formerly termed multiple personality disorder) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Dissociative disorders are sometimes triggered by trauma, but may be preceded only by stress, psychoactive substances, or no identifiable trigger at all.
· Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as Multiple Personality Disorder)
is adissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality identities manipulate the individual’s behaviour at different moments, whose treatment consists primarily of
psychotherapy.Although some symptoms of dissociative identity disorder line up with Robbie’s behavior,
Dr. Cooper and Dr. Epperson criticize this explanation because it fails to explain how Robbie’s symptoms suddenly disappeared after the exorcism ritual since psychotherapy is a slow and tedious process. Moreover, Robbie Mannheim displayed no previous history of multiple personality disorder earlier in his life. According to Cooper and Epperson, labeling Robbie’s condition as dissociative identity disorder also fails to explain the strange
paranormal activity associated with the case to which forty-eight individuals testified.
Comparing this disorder to Anneliese, there was trauma in the form of sudden loss of her sister as well as the believe instilled in her of repentance. It has been shown that personalities can number in the hundreds each with different mannerisms, different sexes as well as different ages, many of these personalities will and can emerge in different situations that the prime personality cannot deal with; ie a strong personality will emerge to stand up to bulling. Yet it is stated that strangely one personality is not aware of the other personalities and in Anneliese’s case she was fully aware of the personalities that “possessed” her and it also seems clear that the other personalities where fully aware of each other as well.
A variety of symptoms exist with wide changes over time. The person can exhibit high ability as well as sever difficulty in daily tasks. Symptoms include:
- Multiple mannerisms, attitudes and beliefs that are distinct
- Unexplainable headaches and body pains
- Distortion or loss time sense
- Sever gloom or pessimistic attitude
- Depersonalization
- Derealization
- Severe memory loss
- Depression
- Flashbacks of abuse or trauma
- Unexplainable phobias
- Sudden unjustified anger
- Lack of intimacy and personal connections
- Frequent panic/anxiety attacks
- Auditory hallucinations of alternate personalities ( which are distinct from psychotic disorders or schizophrenia)
In addition Patients may suffer from other medical conditions and disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, epilepsy, mood disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders.
· Tourette’s syndrome The essential feature are of multipletics (body twitches), which may include blurting out inappropriate comments as well as foul language
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. The early symptoms of TS are typically noticed first in childhood, with the average onset between the ages of 3 and 9 years. TS can be a chronic condition with symptoms lasting a lifetime, most people with the condition experience their worst tic symptoms in their early teens, with improvement occurring in the late teens and continuing into adulthood.
Robbie was indeed known to use foul language during the exorcism ritual, albeit he no longer swore after the successful exorcism. Dr. Cooperson and Dr. Epperson argue that “reducing Robbie’s entire set of circumstances to this simple disorder does not do justice to this case. It’s simply implausible that a young man with Tourette’s was able to fool nine Jesuit priests, hospital personnel, and all the family members.” Moreover, Tourette’s syndrome is treated with medication and
counseling- it simply does not go away.
Looking at the above definition as well as development period it stands to reason that although Robbie and Anneliese both produced foul language as well as strange body movements it is impossible that this behaviour would have been displayed much earlier than what it did. Anneliese showed no symptoms in childhood. From accounts it appeared out of nowhere.
· Schizophrenia is another mental disorder that some people believe Robbie might have had. At the trial of Anneliese’s death it was also decided that she suffered from this. According to the
National Alliance on Mental Illness:
Schizophrenia often interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. It is basically
characterized by a breakdown of thought processes and by a shortfall of typical emotional responses
The first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or early twenties. It is often treated with
antipsychotics. Psychologist Cooper states that Robbie was too young to have developed schizophrenia. Cooper also argues that Mannheim never became
psychotic, but rather, remained coherent throughout the process and did not receive any medication or psychotherapy for his condition. According to a Christian argument, the Maryland youth went on to lead a healthy existence, whereas schizophrenia and other dissociative disorders are often lifelong and require extensive psychiatric treatment; moreover, Robbie Mannheim never had a
relapse.
In the case of Anneliese she did display some of the symptoms, as well as suffering from depression from a very young age. Schizophrenics
may experience
hallucinations (most reported hearing voices), delusions (often bizarre or
persecutory in nature), and disorganized thinking and speech. The latter may range from by safesaver” href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia”>loss
of train of thought, to sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to incoherence known as
word salad in severe cases. Social withdrawal, sloppiness of dress and hygiene, and loss of motivation and judgment are all common in schizophrenia. There is often an observable pattern of emotional difficulty, for example lack of responsiveness. Impairment in
social cognition is associated with schizophrenia, as are symptoms of
paranoia; social isolation commonly occurs. Difficulties in
working and long-term memory, attention, executive functioning, and speed of
processing also commonly occur. In one uncommon subtype, the person may be largely mute, remain motionless in bizarre postures, or exhibit purposeless agitation, all signs of
catatonia. About 30% to 50% of people with schizophrenia do not have insight; in other words, they do not accept their condition or its treatment. Treatment may have some effect on insight. People with schizophrenia often find facial emotion perception to be difficult.
This may explain some of the strange experiences Anneliese experienced; especially given her devote religious beliefs. Could it be possible that her beliefs effected her hallucinations? Or that her hallucinations drove her religious beliefs?
Schizophrenic hallucinations may be passive or active. If they are passive, the person knows that they’re happening, but they can ignore them. When they are active, they are overpowering. They can swallow the person whole, so that the only thing they know is what they are experiencing in that moment. People having hallucinations can be influenced by them, especially if they come in the form of voices. Sometimes they may even believe they are having a supernatural experience. The person may tell them that these hallucinations are a god or another mythical or invisible creature (like an angel or an alien) is talking to them. These voices may tell them to do things they wouldn’t normally do. They may act out on those things because they feel overwhelmed by what is going on. What they do doesn’t necessarily involve violence. It could be something like writing on the walls or locking themselves into a small room, or telling people about what the voices are saying to them.
Most studies have tried to assess how religious beliefs and religious practices influence psychotic illness. The study of religious delusions and hallucinations with religious content is of interest because these symptoms may lead to violent behaviour. Homicides have been perpetrated by patients who featured religious delusions, religiously deluded people have taken statements literally in the Bible to pluck out offending eyes or cut off offending body parts,and antichrist delusions have led to violent behaviours [25].
Religious delusions may also have an impact on the adherence to treatment. For example when some patients attribute psychoticsymptoms to supernatural entities and refuse medication. conducted among schizophrenic outpatients, we also found that a third of them were highly involved in a religious community, and that another third gave a significant role in their life to spirituality, carrying out spiritual practices every day butwithout being involved in a religious community. Other authors have also pointed out that religious practices were common among psychiatric patients in Europe and in North America. However, spiritual and religious dimensions have yet to be fully considered in psychiatric research.
Also keeping in mind Anneliese was on anti-psychotics throughout, which were supposed to have suppressed these hallucinations. Yet it did not appear that way. They might even have aggravate
the other symptoms of possession. As during the time Anneliese was on various medications it was that
a first generation of antipsychotics, known as
typical antipsychotics, was discovered in the 1950s. Most of the drugs in the second generation, known as
atypical antipsychotics, were developed more recently, although the first atypical antipsychotic,
clozapine, was discovered in the 1950s and introduced clinically in the 1970s. Both generations of medication tend to block receptors in the brain’s
dopamine pathways, but atypicals tend to act on serotonin receptors as well. A number of
adverse effects have been observed, including extrapyramidal effects on motor control
– including akathisia (constant discomfort causing restlessness), tremor, and
abnormal muscle contractions, an involuntary movement disorder known as tardive dyskinesia
, and elevations in prolactin (resulting in breast enlargement in men, breast milk discharge
, or sexual dysfunction). Some atypical antipsychotics have been associated with
metabolic syndrome and, in the case of clozapine, lowered white blood cell counts.
· While some allege that Robbie Mannheim may have been sexually abused by Aunt Harriet, there is no evidence to support this assertion and moreover, with the prevalence of sexual abuse in society, most individuals who have been sexually abused do not delineate Robbie’s behaviour. Some critics also allege
group hysteriato explain the case of Robbie Mannheim. However, Robbie’s some forty-eight witnesses were spread out in different locations. For example, Robbie’s shaking bed was reported by numerous individuals both in
Washington D.C.andSt. Louis.
· Other medical experts who have examined Robbie’s case have suggested that he had
automatismorobsessive-compulsive disorderalthough the physicians and psychiatrists who examined Robbie Mannheim did not find any evidence to make these conclusions. As a new hypothesis, anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor encephalitis has been suggested to be the cause for acute devastating behaviour dyscontrol resembling demonic possession (G. Sebire, Annals of Neurology 2010;67:141-142).
Many who have claimed to be plagued by demonic forces or those have claimed to be possessed have also spoken of occurrences where they have woken from sleep or are in the process of waking and found that they were unable to move or felt as if they were being held down by an unseen force. Others have also stated that they have felt a weight on their chest as if someone were seated there. This could possibly be explained by sleep paralysis which is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. More formally, it is a transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It can occur at sleep onset or upon awakening, and it is often associated with terrifying visions, to which one is unable to react due to paralysis. It is believed to be a result of disrupted
REM sleep, which is normally characterized by complete muscle atonia that prevents individuals from acting out their dreams. Many people that experience sleep paralysis are struck with a deep sense of terror, because they sense a menacing presence in the room while paralyzed, known as the
intruder hallucination. This phenomenon is believed to be the result of a hyper vigilant state created in the midbrain. More specifically, the emergency response activates in the brain when individuals wake up paralyzed and feel vulnerable to attack. This helplessness can intensify the effects of the threat response well above the level typical to normal dreams; this could explain why hallucinations during sleep paralysis are so vivid.
Something else that I have been unable to find and explanation for is how people especially someone as young as Robbie Mannheim where able to speak not one or two other languages but nearly half a dozen others. One or two any ration person would concur could be learned even in a short period of time, but so suddenly with no evidence of how it being learned and neither any proof that the person displayed proficiency before strange occurrences.
Even the strange duel voice or guttural tone of possessed persons can be, in my opinion, partially explained.
The vocal cords or vocal folds are two sets of tissue stretched across the larynx. They can be placed in such a way that they vibrate when air passes through the larynx. This will produce sounds. Humans can use them to produce language. Men and women have different vocal fold sizes. Adult male voices are usually
deeper’ – males have larger folds. The male vocal folds are between 17mm and 25mm in length were as t
he female vocal folds are between 12.5mm and 17.5mm long.
Folds are pearly white – females have whiter cords than males. The difference in vocal fold size between men and women is what caused the difference in pitch. Each person’s voice is different and has a slightly different pitch. This is caused by genes that influence how the larynx is made. The vocal folds discussed above are sometimes called ‘true vocal folds’ to distinguish them from the
false vocal folds
. These are a pair of thick folds of mucous membrane. They sit directly above the true vocal folds, to protect them. They have a very small role in normal speech formation, but are often used in musical
screaming and the death grunt singing style, used in most rock music. They are also used in Tuvan throat singing
.
The false folds are also called vestibular folds and ventricular folds. Unlike the true vocal cords, the false ones grow back completely when they are removed by surgery. Under normal circumstances the false vocal folds cannot be used together with (at the same time) the true vocal folds.
In vocal training different sounds can be produces, this is called harmonics, or overtone singing. One set of tones is created with the vocal cords, there are seven places in the mouth and throat to essentially, whistle concurrantly. But there is an amazing vocal technique in which one singer can produce two stable notes at the same time while a third note varies on top. In other words, one person can sing in chords and can also provide a melody. The lowest note is so extremely low it sounds hoarse and raucous, stretching the limits of the human voice. In Touva and Mongolia the nomadic herders call it “Karguiraa” and they have been practicing it for over a thousand years. The monks of the monastery of Gy
�t� call it “Yang” style and the monks in Drepung Loseling call it “Zu-Kay”. The vocal technique is based on a very precise control over the vocal resonators so as to amplify specific overtones. The vocal cords are used in a special way that allows them to vibrate at two different frequencies at the same time. Western voice specialists are often perplexed by this technique.
In the Occidental tradition, (this is the sing we here everyday and produce ourselves) singing is the production of a complex but unique periodic vibration. Overtones are amplified as a whole (not individually) depending on the requirements of the text and of the musical score.Our literature describes three modes of vibration for the vocal cords: glottal fry, modal singing (i.e. chest
by safesaver” href=”http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm2-9/sm2-9Nomads.html”>register
) and falsetto. These sounds cannot be produced all at once.
In those who can, as stated above it has taken years of voice training under other masters of the technique but it has, as far as my research shows, been produced spontaneously outside of these cultures.
Ralph Allison, senior psychiatrist at the California state prison in San Luis Obispo stated:
“My conclusion after 30 years of observing over one thousand disturbed patients is that some of them act in a bizarre fashion due to possession by spirits. The spirit may be that of a human being who died. Or it may be a spirit entity that has never been a human being and sometimes identifies itself as a demon, an agent of evil
.“
Dr. Wilson Van Dusen, a university professor who has served as chief psychologist at Mendocino State Hospital, is another health care professional who has stated his opinion that many patients in mental hospitals are possessed by demons.
“I am totally convinced that there are entities that can possess our minds and our bodies,” Van Dusen said. “I have even been able to speak directly to demons. I have heard their own guttural, other-world voices.”
And all too often, some researchers say, those hellish guttural voices have commanded their possessed hosts to kill, to offer human sacrifice to Satan.
In a recent report released by the American Psychological Evaluation Corporation, Dr. Andrew Blankley, a sociologist, issued statements about the rise in contemporary sacrificial cults, warning that society at large might expect a “serious menace” to come. According to Blankley, human sacrifice constitutes an alarming trend in new religious cults: “Desperate people are seeking dramatic revelation and simplistic answers to complex social problems. They are attracted to fringe groups who provide the ritualistic irrationality that they crave. In the last ten years, fringe rituals often include the sacrifice of a human being.”
Dr. Al Carlisle of the Utah State Prison System has estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 humans are killed through ritual homicides in the
United States every year. In the
Las Vegas area alone, Carlisle asserts, as many as 600 people may die in demon-inspired ceremonies each year.
Based on a synthesis of the studies of certain clergy and psychical researchers, following is a pattern profile of what may occur when someone has become the unwilling host of an uninvited spirit presence and become possessed:
The possessed may begin to hear voices directing him/her to do antisocial or perverse acts that he/she had never before considered. He/she will claim to see the image of a spirit or demonic presence. In the weeks and months that follow, he/she may fall into states of blacked-out consciousness, times of which he/she later has absolutely no memory. On occasions, he/she will fall into a trance-like state. The possessed will be observed walking and speaking differently, and acting in a strange, irrational manner. He/she will begin doing things that he/she has never done before. In the worst of cases, the possessing spirit or demon will consume the victim’s life. It may reach to a climax where the possessed commits murder, suicide, or some violent antisocial act.
Healthcare professionals will point out that many of the above “symptoms” of possession may also indicate the onset of stress, depression, and certain mental illnesses.
There is much unreliable evidence which we can (or cannot) believe in yet there IS an unexplainable five per cent and a very puzzling ten per cent in cases which present very strange behaviour. As we have said, modern advancements in medical science, especially those in psychiatry, are often accepted as “explanations” for what in other times would have been seen as diabolical possession. Research into the subconscious has given many useful insights into the involved workings of the human mind. If on the other hand, possessing spirits do exist who have the ability to enter the mind of a living person, they must be dispossessed by exorcism before they can further control the activities of the victim. Here we come up against a problem: differentiation between an earthbound entity whose fundamental desire is to be freed from his “bound” state and between a malevolent being whose desire is to degrade humans and in the process revile God – whose natural element is Hell, the burden of the exorcist imprecations uttered in the course of the ritual. Basically, an exorcist seeks to direct an entity – correctly! the ritual in the present day needs the presence of a “team” of “assistants”: clerical, lay, medical, psychiatric, and a recognition that mistakes can be (and have been) made by single or duets of exorcists working alone. The process of “healing” (as distinct from mere expulsion) has nowadays greater emphasis in the Churches, RC and Anglican
.
There has been records of people being repossessed after exorcisms, quite a few in fact.
In truth who is to say this in not true or it is, as everything is in the mind of the perceiver. We can only judge for ourselves either on fact or faith.
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