Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort
Tue, 06/24/2008 - 16:43Has 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 Michael Igoe on Sat, 2009-09-26 - 08:30
Michael
I don't want to cause offence with what follows, but it's important to say it. Despite what the Good Book may or may not say, epilepsy is no more spiritual than flu or dandruff. You can't suppose what was believed in the First Century CE must apply now. This point was made in the earliest known work on epilepsy, The "Sacred" Disease (meant ironically), from around 400 BCE, which I've translated myself. It's among the most sensible books ever written, and it condemns the same attitudes, imaginary demons, as we're finding again. I had in-laws with the same superstition. It broke my marriage. And be careful: in Germany, in 1976, two clergymen 'exorcised' a boy of epilepsy, using the same biblical passage. He was ordered to stop his medication, because God had cured him. A week later, he was dead - of an uncontrolled brain seizure. Both priests went to prison. The message: keep demons for Hallowe'en, and keep taking the tablets. They work, sometimes only slowly; laying on hands instead can do great harm.
Michael
I don't want to cause offence with what follows, but it's important to say it. Despite what the Good Book may or may not say, epilepsy is no more spiritual than flu or dandruff. You can't suppose what was believed in the First Century CE must apply now. This point was made in the earliest known work on epilepsy, The "Sacred" Disease (meant ironically), from around 400 BCE, which I've translated myself. It's among the most sensible books ever written, and it condemns the same attitudes, imaginary demons, as we're finding again. I had in-laws with the same superstition. It broke my marriage. And be careful: in Germany, in 1976, two clergymen 'exorcised' a boy of epilepsy, using the same biblical passage. He was ordered to stop his medication, because God had cured him. A week later, he was dead - of an uncontrolled brain seizure. Both priests went to prison. The message: keep demons for Hallowe'en, and keep taking the tablets. They work, sometimes only slowly; laying on hands instead can do great harm.
Re: Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort
Submitted by maBenzi on Sat, 2009-09-26 - 09:43
Please tell them to stop it! Now! It is a positively mediaeval attitude to have. We are not living in the stone age. We have epilepsy and the neurologists are doing their best to help us. In some parts of the world people with epilepsy are beaten to within an inch of their lives to get rid of "demons". Do not encourage this attitude. My mom would have flown into a total rage and berated anyone who as much as hinted such nonsense to her. And frankly I would declare a theological debate if this was thrown at me. So what about diabetes, asthma, etc. With respect, please educate your Dad.
We have enough problems. We don't need the pious to make our lives a living hell.
Please tell them to stop it! Now! It is a positively mediaeval attitude to have. We are not living in the stone age. We have epilepsy and the neurologists are doing their best to help us. In some parts of the world people with epilepsy are beaten to within an inch of their lives to get rid of "demons". Do not encourage this attitude. My mom would have flown into a total rage and berated anyone who as much as hinted such nonsense to her. And frankly I would declare a theological debate if this was thrown at me. So what about diabetes, asthma, etc. With respect, please educate your Dad.
We have enough problems. We don't need the pious to make our lives a living hell.
Re: Epilepsy and Demonic Possession...or something of the sort
Submitted by zealot on Fri, 2009-10-16 - 07:32
Vintag... Please find a new neuro. One who actually know what TLE is and the medication of choice for treating it. Lamictal is not the first choice. TL seizures are CPs. This means "altered" consciousness. Déja vu. The "lost" days. The search for deeper meaning. The internal splitting. Watching your own life as if it were a movie. When it happens for the first(?) time. And again. And again. Be careful about EFT. Despite the pseudo science used to explain it, it is a repackaging of some very powerful Eastern Yoga/Shiatsu/Accupressure techniques. I advise you from personal experience as well as orders from one of the only doctors I have ever trusted in my life. You could trigger more seizures. Please don't let your condition go untreated. Especially with 2ary TCs. If they are from limbic system involvement, I know why you won't stop the ride. As far as I know, it's the best one there is. But you will crash. Maybe you'll have to learn how to write again (LTL). Maybe you'll be stuck with the same song on "perma-loop" going 'round and 'round in your head so you can't even sleep (RTL). Maybe you'll start "losing" weeks instead of days. Maybe you'll find yourself out on the fire escape having broken the window and the police will haul you away in handcuffs because a neighbor called the police. That was a friend of mine, but we both ENDED UP IN THE BIN!!! Have I scared you yet? Good. You know what you have. Now go and find a neuro who knows what it is and how to treat it. Please learn as much as you can about your condition and how to treat it. That will help you find the right neuro and make informed treatment decisions. This site is a good place to start. Please don't start worrying about lives, past or future, until you have this one in order. You have to figure out what "now" is. Because without the present, there is no past and there is no future because it's all relative to now. I have been up all night, unable to sleep. I poured some cold sparkling mineral water so I could take my meds. Two hours later and the water was warm and flat and I hadn't taken my meds. At least I was still in my room. I have sometimes found myself in the next County. If this the life you want, go ahead. Don't take any meds. I didn't have the choice. I have had seizures from infancy most likely due to head trauma from parental abuse. So I was never treated. You have the choice. Please choose wisely. Zealot