Is It Mental Illness Or Demonic Possession?

By Dr. Peter Sealy
Contributing Writer

There are many African Canadians who on learning that a person has a mental illness will tell them to pray about it. Certainly individuals should pray about it but they should also seek professional mental health treatment. Within the same context, many would also say that the person needs Jesus and view the mental illness as some form of demonic possession. Mental illness is a disease and not a demonic possession and we should be able to distinguish between the two.

I am not a Christologist neither is the Bible a mental health information database. However there is an understanding in the Bible that “various diseases” differs from demon possession. There is mention of people who were “demon possessed”. Some individuals take this to mean a person having a mental illness. An example that quickly comes to thought is the demon referred to as “Legion”. Incidentally, African Canadians hearing voices which is a symptom of schizophrenia refer to the voices as “evil spirits” otherwise understood as demons.

African Canadians living with the disease of mental illness should know that they do not have “a demon” in them. For the Bible differentiated between the “various diseases” and “the demonic possessed” in the following way: “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill and who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them” (NIV Mathew 4:24).

We see an example of mental illness in the Bible when King Nebuchadnezzar went insane and would later recover his sanity. “He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored” (NIV Daniel 4:33-34). So we know that mental illness existed in biblical times and is not some new idea.

In examining the Bible, there appears to be no clear demonic behaviour that exactly has the symptoms of schizophrenia like hearing voices, seeing things, paranoia etcetera to my knowledge. Moreover, biological susceptibility and the stress of racism, discrimination, prejudice, incarceration, unemployment, cultural fallout, violence, poverty, bullying and bereavement are all factors contributing to the destabilization of African Canadians mental health rather than being possessed by a demon.

People living with manic depression, schizophrenia or otherwise mental illness do not react to the name of Jesus like demons do nor do they have supernatural knowledge. So therefore people with a mental illness could not have “a demon” in them. Take for example the way demons reacted to Jesus: “When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way! ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, ‘if you drive us out; send us into the herd of pigs.’ He said to them, ‘Go!’ So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men” (NIV Matthew 8: 28-33).

There are other reasons why people with a mental illness do not have demons in them. Take for example that demons want to have no dealings whatsoever with Jesus. On the other hand, many African Canadians like other people with a mental illness are deeply spiritual. Additionally, New Testament stories about demons showed that they talked in a sensible fashion. People with schizophrenia when they are experiencing a split from reality often speak in a gibberish manner. Also as described in the New Testament, demons could talk through the possessed to communicate knowledge the possessed could not normally have known. People with a mental illness do not have such supernatural capacity. Demons are fallen angels and followers of Lucifer otherwise known as the devil.

There are people who veer towards the dark side and spend a considerable amount of time plotting evil deeds against others to hurt them. These “individuals of darkness and evil” output of lies, backstabbing, malice, vengeance, jealousy, bitterness, bullying, manipulation and control invite the devil into their lives. Some of them even dabble into the occult or witchcraft in their merciless pursuit to hurt and also damage people’s livelihood. We can defeat their “devilish” work by staying steadfast in prayer. The devil is a defeated foe and works by putting evil thoughts into people’s minds. Indeed, when people act on these evil thoughts, it can bring about a lot of pain. This is why asking God who has defeated the devil, for the power of spiritual discernment or to make good judgement is so important. We can rest assured that God has not only conquered evil but has also delegated this power to us. Remember though that faith and trust in God is the key to the riddance of evil.

The “individuals of darkness and evil,” that lives among us and bring about so much tribulation, are sometimes referred to in dialect as “the devil himself”. But fear not, rather let the one who is called, “The Light” and “The Prince of Peace”, shield and comfort you. Moreover, allow God to illuminate your life with his majesty and glory. Still, the evil individuals referred to here are not demons for believe it or not; many of them sit in the front pew of the church.

It is important for African Canadians living with a mental illness to be able to clearly distinguish between mental illness and demonic possession because it can impact on whether they seek professional mental health treatment and ultimately their recovery. Too many African Canadians are warehoused in jails living with a mental illness and perhaps if the psychiatric system was doing a better job the numbers would not be so high. Nonetheless, we cannot discount the role that the Church can play in helping African Canadians and all people living with a mental illness to recover.

There are many African Canadians who I know that attend church and are living with a mental illness. They tell me that they shudder on hearing the Pastor referring to mental illness as demonic possession.  We should know though that the “Good Shepherd” does not want his “Sheep” to be led astray. On the other hand, a young African Canadian man who is a devout Christian told me that his now former Psychiatrist told him that there is no God. In patois, I would say that this psychiatrist has “pass his place”.

Today, there are some African Canadian parents, on noticing that their son or daughter is behaving in a manner that suggest mental illness, still believe that he or she has “a demon” in them. So they will take them to see a pastor to pray for them. If the behaviour does not stop they may then take the child next to see an “obeah man”. The problem here is that during all of this time the child is getting sicker and sicker from likely schizophrenia or other serious mental illness. The fallout could mean police intervention, a long and difficult recovery journey or even death.  We as African Canadians need to properly identify and address mental illness in our homes and broader communities.

The golden rule should be that if you take your child dealing with a mental illness to see a pastor, ask him or her if they see mental illness as a sin or a disease. If the Pastor sees it as a sin then we have a big problem. Individuals living with schizophrenia, manic-depression and other mental illnesses may let their altered thinking during a split from reality get the best of them and behave in a sinful manner. But this doesn’t mean that having a mental illness is tantamount to a sin.

A few years ago, I attended a church and it didn’t take me long to notice a young woman who congregants avoided. I would overhear a few people make comments in patois like “her head not right”. It was very sad to hear such comments and to see that people did not want to sit beside her. I started to sit beside her and she expressed how happy she was that I joined her. One particular day at church, another church member passing by our aisle pointed to the young woman and said in patois, “see di mad gal deh”. I saw a tear dropped from the young woman’s eyes. I felt very sad. The church member walked a little closer to the young woman and said “go to the altar and asked the Pastor for prayer to get that demon out of you”. The young African Canadian woman got up but she didn’t go to the altar. Instead she headed straight for the exit door and I never saw her again. The notion that a person with a mental illness has “a demon” in them is false. Neither is the person with a mental illness a child of a lesser God.

We can support people living with a mental illness by allowing them to have the hope that can be found in God. In the same vein, recognize that mental illness is a disease and not demon possession. Let us give God the praise and glory and walk not in the flesh but in the spirit my friends.

Dr. Peter Sealy received The Public Service Award for Outstanding Work In The Interest Of Mental Health from the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in 2007.