See a Neurologist Before Calling an Exorcist
What some consider signs of the demonic may actually be something worse.
A friend or even a spouse relates to you a strange story and you do not know what to do.
The story may go: “It was five o’clock and there I was preparing supper. Suddenly, I turned around and saw it as bright as day: a demon standing there next to my stove in my kitchen. I swear to you it was a demon.
“It had the horns, the ugly appearance, I was in shock and then I looked away to see if there were any other demons behind me. None, thankfully, but I looked back and this creature was gone. No sign of it anywhere. But now, what do I do?”
As a Catholic priest, people bring this type of episode to my attention from time to time. It can be a family member or friend who relates that the loved one saw something unusual such as a demon near the stove, an angel at the foot of the bed and they contact me to find out what action they should take next; usually they ask for some form of house blessing. The assumption they also have is that I should refer them to see an exorcist.
My struggle is trying to convince them of what may be closer to the truth. That vision of the demon in the kitchen, or an angel or some other worldly or otherworldly creature, is a classic symptom of some forms of epilepsy. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy often manifests symptoms exactly as you see above.
It is a great mystery to me why some people are so afraid to go see the doctor, especially when something like this issue happens. A neurological examination is a fairly simple process and in Massachusetts the health insurance mandate is older than Affordable Health Care Act.
A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in the biochemical realities of the brain and the nervous system. This specialist will be able to determine whether someone may have a disease like epilepsy or something else. The process may be simple, but the dangers of not getting this checked out are real.
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A neurological issue can only be treated medically, despite symptoms that seem to be related to spiritual visions. You cannot treat it with holy water and the Rite of Exorcism. One exorcist emphasized that if you are dealing with someone who has a brain tumor, despite displaying symptoms that some would interpret as of a spiritual origin, and you treat the person for possession, the patient will die of a brain tumor. This is why the Catholic Church always requires a full neurological and physical examination prior to considering anything to do with possession. Possession is actually a diagnosis of exclusion, which means, doctors rule out all other possible causes first. If symptoms exist that are unique to possession they will include actions that do not mimic a neurological disorder. I know an exorcist who experienced a book suddenly falling and hitting him on his head after he demanded a sign from the entity. That is not indicative of a neurological disorder.
I never saw a case of possession, but once I dealt with a family whose mother acted bizarrely especially as, at her family’s request and in their presence, I did some prayer over her. She spoke some seemingly oriental language that she did not know and was getting anxious and irritated as I continued the prayer. If this was a normal situation, she would have just told me to stop and kicked me out of the house as she yelled at her family for calling me. This is not what happened here and her actions at my prayers were not a normal reaction, especially as she spoke this language she apparently did not know.
The family watched, questioning what they witnessed and worried about this matriarch of the family. I could not say what it was, but I did recommend her to be examined by a doctor. The emergency room doctor, I understand, just dismissed her as a case of possession. He had no business treating her so casually. No one, even with such symptoms, can be evaluated so quickly as being possessed.
I spoke to an exorcist later about it and he told me that two things bothered him intensely: priests who always dismiss actual signs of possession as a psychiatric problem and doctors who dismiss symptoms of mental illness as possession without either one doing a full examination.
The same exorcist told me that the symptoms I just described probably were not indicative of possession. One pharmacist told me they could have been caused by prescription medication interactions.
It is essential that one understands the need to see a neurologist with any unusual symptoms including visions, auras, audio, visual or even sentient hallucinations of any type. Concerned sufferers of these episodes can always see a member of the clergy or other counselor in the church, but he or she would be foolish not to recommend a neurological examination.
I had the experience of suddenly seeing a huge bright light when I was awaiting a subway train in Boston. It was in my left eye. Immediately, I changed my plans and went to see my primary care physician who was not far from the subway station. I was afraid this hallucination was the sign a detached retina. I learned it was a visual migraine. I never heard the term before, but he had me checked out by a specialist and they both agreed: a visual migraine.
Related to the fear of not seeing a doctor is people’s fears that they will be labeled crazy. Sorry for the politically incorrect term, but that is literally what people express to me will happen if they see a neurologist. “That means I might be crazy.”
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Crazy is not a medical term, it is a popular slang term for any behavior that is outside the norm, whatever that may be. You can be perfectly healthy, put ketchup on pizza — a common practice in some cultures, and be labeled crazy. When you are talking about what could be a serious but treatable physical disease, being labeled crazy should not be part of your decision making process at all. Having an undiagnosed neurological problem that can get worse if not treated should be your greatest worry. In fact, if you want me to use the word ‘crazy’ in a sentence, here it is: It is crazy not to get checked out by a medical professional.
So if you or a loved one sees a demon in your kitchen, or an angel in your bedroom, don’t be afraid, just go to a neurologist first. He or she may protect the patient from something truly scary: an untreated neurological condition.