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Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort

Tue, 06/24/2008 - 16:43

Has anyone had problems with religious family members whipping out Mark 9 (the chapter where Jesus heals a boy who apparently is having seizures of some sort), then declaring that you must have demons in you, or you have spiritual unrest, or are somehow "not right" with God?

My father did that to me recently. When he started talking about it, I was afraid he was going to try an exorcism on me right then and there. But he didn't - he just prayed. Ever since then he's been pushing me to talk to my minister about my alleged spiritual unrest. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that - soon we'll have a new minister and I can just see me going in on his first day on the job and saying, "O hi, sometimes I wake up at night with a yell and then I shake. Can you help me? I must not be right with God."  The poor minister would probably put a request in for a transfer that same day.

I mean, I do have Demons. I really do. And I have Crime and Punishment and The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov and most of Dostoevsky's works. (Sorry - had to get a book nerd joke in there.)

Seriously, I thank this very same Deity (with whom I am supposedly not right) that I'm an adult and live a few states away from my father. But this still bothers me because I have to deal with my father's pestering me to talk to the minister. Truly, I think it goes beyond just a religious matter and it's more a question of my father's sanity.

So has anyone else dealt with this demons issue?

Comments

Re: Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort

Submitted by vintagemaude on Mon, 2009-09-07 - 15:00

Hello. I really think this is an interesting subject. I was just diagnosed in May with epilepsy. I had a huge tonic-clonic seizure on May 21 2009. Up until this point, I have been having these intense dejavus which I now know are Simple Partial Seizures.  My tonic-clonic seizure I had they call a Secondary Generalized tonic-clonic seizure

 

I am not on medication. My dr. wants me to be on Lamictal. I just really believe that these meds cause a whole new set of problems that I am just not ready to deal with.  I also think that I need to keep good track of my seizures (now that I know what it is) for at least a year, so that I can know how huge of a presence it is in my life. I know this all sounds very cavalier, and I am sure I am in a bit of denial. But at the same time- these experiences with deja vu are so unique and baffling (and physically sickening...) A huge part of me wants to explore this before I completely numb myslef with meds.  Please do not take offense to this- I really think meds are important for a lot of people. Possibly for me too, in the future. I am just not ready.

 

So, I am not a religious person in the traditional sense. In fact, being in a  religious service makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortabe. I don't go to church, but have been to a few funeral services and weddings in churches over the last 10 years. I have done flowers for some of these events, and have been in the church completely alone and felt very  calm and quite wonderful. But as soon as the service starts, I get elevated heartbeat, extreme anxiety and anger and i usually leave because I don't want to participate. Even if if it a family members service...

Thought that might be important to mention, for some reason...

 

My deja vus are very intense, and although I know it is epilepsy, I also feel like there is a whole other world out there that I am somehow closer to during these experiences.  I have spent 2 full days recently (each a week apart from each other) feeling as though I had experienced the ENTIRE day before. I even what was going to happen in a tv show that was airing for the first time. I kept on running into people I knew all day, and almost everyone I saw that day I knew I had seen before. Like 6 degrees of seperation, and we are all revolving around each other in this world as though it is a movie I have seen before.

 

Lately, when I have my SPS/deja vus, I also seem to have a glimpse or memory of when the original memory came to me.  If the deja vu is from a dream it is impossible to place. But if it is a fleeting thought I had in the past, I can picture myself and what I was wearing during the original thought, when I am in the present moment with the deja vu. It is all very trivial stuff, but there is a definite connection, down to the smells, sounds and visual picture.  This used to leave me feeling like something bad was going to happen, and this was a sign to change my path. When nothing bad would happen that day, I was always surprised, becasue I couldn't figure out why I so intensely felt like it was a bad sign. Now I am trying to look at it positively, and look for a hidden meaning in all of it.   Even if it is just a simple lesson. Needless to say, my SPS make me question EVERYTHING. 

 

So last week, I was at a yard sale. (Let me add that this is one of the 2 days described above, where I was SURE it had already happened) I was looking at these books, all very interesting. Books on past lives, astrology, out of body experiences. Healing herbs, astral projection,  even one called Absent minded? explantions for our brief lapses in memory.  These topics are a little out there for me- I am a massage therapist though, so I do have some capacity for this stuff. Then I starting thinking, ok this is why everything is familiar today! I am supposed to be here, some of these books may give me another perspective.  At that point,  I overheard the lady who was running the sale, having a deep conversation with another shopper. I approached her a little later and let her know I had overheard her telling someone that she does spiritual healing.  (Apparently her dad was a well known psychic, and these were his books) I asked her if she does readings, etc. She told me that she does, and that she uses a form of tapping called EFT to treat people. (Emotional Freedom Technique- all very interesting stuff) Another huge sign for me!!   I then told her that I have epilepsy and very intense deja vus that are simple partial seizures.  She got very serious and looked me deep in the eyes and said with such conviction- You suffered a very long fall in another life. I got very emotional right away. She asked me if I have a fear of heights.  I told her no, but I do have a fear of falling. For a very long time now, whenever I go down stairs, I can picture and feel myself falling. So much so, that I really hang onto the walls when I go up and down stairs.   Then she asked me- Do you feel like you are 2 different people? And a floodgate of tears came out, no control. Lots of peole there around me, and I could not stop this from coming out. I said YES! I do feel like 2 people, these deja vus make me feel like there is a whole other world out there that I am not a part of.  In fact, just last week, a friend gave me a painting called 'Reunion'. It is a painting of me looking at myself and our hands are ALMOST touching.  It is all about finding your true self, and how very close we feel to our trueselves, and how evasive it can be.   This was such a huge sign, it cannot be just a coincidence.  I am really looking forward to talking with her. 

 

All in all, epilepsy is very serious. But we also would be fools to deny there is something very esoteric about this experience. If this is the good that comes of this awful burden, then I guess I will need to be ok with that. 

 

Thanks

 

Hello. I really think this is an interesting subject. I was just diagnosed in May with epilepsy. I had a huge tonic-clonic seizure on May 21 2009. Up until this point, I have been having these intense dejavus which I now know are Simple Partial Seizures.  My tonic-clonic seizure I had they call a Secondary Generalized tonic-clonic seizure

 

I am not on medication. My dr. wants me to be on Lamictal. I just really believe that these meds cause a whole new set of problems that I am just not ready to deal with.  I also think that I need to keep good track of my seizures (now that I know what it is) for at least a year, so that I can know how huge of a presence it is in my life. I know this all sounds very cavalier, and I am sure I am in a bit of denial. But at the same time- these experiences with deja vu are so unique and baffling (and physically sickening...) A huge part of me wants to explore this before I completely numb myslef with meds.  Please do not take offense to this- I really think meds are important for a lot of people. Possibly for me too, in the future. I am just not ready.

 

So, I am not a religious person in the traditional sense. In fact, being in a  religious service makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortabe. I don't go to church, but have been to a few funeral services and weddings in churches over the last 10 years. I have done flowers for some of these events, and have been in the church completely alone and felt very  calm and quite wonderful. But as soon as the service starts, I get elevated heartbeat, extreme anxiety and anger and i usually leave because I don't want to participate. Even if if it a family members service...

Thought that might be important to mention, for some reason...

 

My deja vus are very intense, and although I know it is epilepsy, I also feel like there is a whole other world out there that I am somehow closer to during these experiences.  I have spent 2 full days recently (each a week apart from each other) feeling as though I had experienced the ENTIRE day before. I even what was going to happen in a tv show that was airing for the first time. I kept on running into people I knew all day, and almost everyone I saw that day I knew I had seen before. Like 6 degrees of seperation, and we are all revolving around each other in this world as though it is a movie I have seen before.

 

Lately, when I have my SPS/deja vus, I also seem to have a glimpse or memory of when the original memory came to me.  If the deja vu is from a dream it is impossible to place. But if it is a fleeting thought I had in the past, I can picture myself and what I was wearing during the original thought, when I am in the present moment with the deja vu. It is all very trivial stuff, but there is a definite connection, down to the smells, sounds and visual picture.  This used to leave me feeling like something bad was going to happen, and this was a sign to change my path. When nothing bad would happen that day, I was always surprised, becasue I couldn't figure out why I so intensely felt like it was a bad sign. Now I am trying to look at it positively, and look for a hidden meaning in all of it.   Even if it is just a simple lesson. Needless to say, my SPS make me question EVERYTHING. 

 

So last week, I was at a yard sale. (Let me add that this is one of the 2 days described above, where I was SURE it had already happened) I was looking at these books, all very interesting. Books on past lives, astrology, out of body experiences. Healing herbs, astral projection,  even one called Absent minded? explantions for our brief lapses in memory.  These topics are a little out there for me- I am a massage therapist though, so I do have some capacity for this stuff. Then I starting thinking, ok this is why everything is familiar today! I am supposed to be here, some of these books may give me another perspective.  At that point,  I overheard the lady who was running the sale, having a deep conversation with another shopper. I approached her a little later and let her know I had overheard her telling someone that she does spiritual healing.  (Apparently her dad was a well known psychic, and these were his books) I asked her if she does readings, etc. She told me that she does, and that she uses a form of tapping called EFT to treat people. (Emotional Freedom Technique- all very interesting stuff) Another huge sign for me!!   I then told her that I have epilepsy and very intense deja vus that are simple partial seizures.  She got very serious and looked me deep in the eyes and said with such conviction- You suffered a very long fall in another life. I got very emotional right away. She asked me if I have a fear of heights.  I told her no, but I do have a fear of falling. For a very long time now, whenever I go down stairs, I can picture and feel myself falling. So much so, that I really hang onto the walls when I go up and down stairs.   Then she asked me- Do you feel like you are 2 different people? And a floodgate of tears came out, no control. Lots of peole there around me, and I could not stop this from coming out. I said YES! I do feel like 2 people, these deja vus make me feel like there is a whole other world out there that I am not a part of.  In fact, just last week, a friend gave me a painting called 'Reunion'. It is a painting of me looking at myself and our hands are ALMOST touching.  It is all about finding your true self, and how very close we feel to our trueselves, and how evasive it can be.   This was such a huge sign, it cannot be just a coincidence.  I am really looking forward to talking with her. 

 

All in all, epilepsy is very serious. But we also would be fools to deny there is something very esoteric about this experience. If this is the good that comes of this awful burden, then I guess I will need to be ok with that. 

 

Thanks

 

Re: Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort

Submitted by crashbang on Tue, 2009-09-15 - 13:09
such an interesting and thought provoking post.

Re: Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort

Submitted by stephsobota on Tue, 2009-09-15 - 15:34

You're right, vintagemaude - there is something esoteric about e.  I find my seizures annoying/embarrassing/frightening...but at the same time they're really, really interesting. It's a completely different way of being - one rarely-visited spot in the spectrum of the human condition.

It's interesting that you talk about feeling like you're 2 different people. I've started reading "Dostoevsky and the Healing Art," which talks about D's life & his e, and how it affected his work. I was just at the place where the the book talks about the internal fragmentation of Dostoevsky's characters, a fragmentation which was most likely influenced by D's experience of epilepsy and its probable bifurcating affects on his own personality. That's why I like studying Dostoevsky - he took his debilitating disorder and turned it around to work for him. If he hadn't been an eppy, could he have created such fascinating characters and ideas in his novels?

I hope everything goes well with you! I'm glad you can see the good that can come out of e. It does make us question ourselves and the world around us...which can be a very, very good thing.

You're right, vintagemaude - there is something esoteric about e.  I find my seizures annoying/embarrassing/frightening...but at the same time they're really, really interesting. It's a completely different way of being - one rarely-visited spot in the spectrum of the human condition.

It's interesting that you talk about feeling like you're 2 different people. I've started reading "Dostoevsky and the Healing Art," which talks about D's life & his e, and how it affected his work. I was just at the place where the the book talks about the internal fragmentation of Dostoevsky's characters, a fragmentation which was most likely influenced by D's experience of epilepsy and its probable bifurcating affects on his own personality. That's why I like studying Dostoevsky - he took his debilitating disorder and turned it around to work for him. If he hadn't been an eppy, could he have created such fascinating characters and ideas in his novels?

I hope everything goes well with you! I'm glad you can see the good that can come out of e. It does make us question ourselves and the world around us...which can be a very, very good thing.

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