By Abby J

Art By Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之) (scanned from ISBN 4-3360-4187-3.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The case of Anneliese Michel is another example of religious blinding and has impacted how people see mental illness today.

The Affected Without Knowing

In an article by NAMI, 43.8 million which is 1 in 5 adults, are affected by mental illness. An estimate of 50% are  diagnosed and receive help for their illness. The other half have been recorded to abuse substances to cope with their illness says an article by UBH. Also, of that 50%, 29% abuse drugs and alcohol.

Mental illness is more common than others think and a lot don’t even know they have one. Most blame it on stress but others become more serious and blame it on the supernatural.

Anneliese Diagnosis and Symptoms Background

At the age of sixteen, Anneliese had her first epileptic seizure. Though, she had many, they were not consistent. In fact, Daniel J. Castellano, an author and researcher on the topic, noted that the seizures happened only between 1968 through 1972, 4 years prior to her death. Later on, Anneliese was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. A condition in which the symptoms describe having abnormal sensations inside the stomach or chest, hallucinations, the recalling of memories or emotions, or sudden intense feeling to an event unrelated to what is happening at the time. Patients also can experience vivid realities. This would explain the intense behavioral habits Anneliese experienced with her hallucinations of demonic faces during her prayers.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Later on, Anneliese was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. [/perfectpullquote]

The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli, Public Domain

It also has been speculated that Anneliese also suffered from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is the mental condition that includes speaking in a strange or scrambled way, a change in appearance and hygiene, irrational responses to loved ones, inappropriate behavior, hearing or seeing something that isn’t there, and being engrossed with personal beliefs. This would explain why Anneliese would be erratic with her behavior. It would also explain why she thought she was possessed in the first place. Her strict catholic background gradually affected her mental state causing her to become more barbaric.

Demonic Possessions Impact on Parents and Children

In a recent article by The Telegraph, a government statistic states that demonic possession has been linked to almost 1500 child abuse cases a year. The article tells of a situation about a family in which the parents wanted to “exercise the devil out of them” which involved them drowning their son in a bathtub. It should be widely noted that this article was published in 2017.

Though, these examples are horrid, they get worse. In a article by ABC News, it describes how a 17 year old was suffocated by a plastic bag as her mother held it on her head in a try to deliver the so called “demons” out of her daughter. It also goes on to tell about a 5 year old girl who was poisoned by having to swallow a mixture of ammonia and vinegar as her mouth was taped shut. This article was published in 2018.

The phenomenon of exercising children is gradually growing today as more parents turn to exorcisms to deal with their children’s issues. The confusion of mental health with religion is also present in Anneliese’s story as her and her parents try whatever they can to relieve her of the “demons”.

The Parents Confusion with Anneliese

Anneliese was born on September 21st, 1952, to Josef and Anna Michel. They were a heavily religious catholic family with her father, prior to her birth, studying to become a priest. Though they seemed as a normal family, her family had a what they would call a “shameful” secret. Her parents had Anneliese’s older sister, Martha, before marriage which was a huge disgrace to their family. The family would continually repent for the actions of their mother and felt the guilt along with it. Later, Martha died due to kidney problems and Anneliese was engulfed with the repentance for her mother’s sins.

Picture By Offenbacherjung [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]She eventually stopped eating, convincing herself that it would give the demons more power. Instead, it sadly led to her death.[/perfectpullquote]

 Brian Dunning explains that she began to start growling at family and priests, urinating all over the floor and then would proceed to lick it up. She was also covered in scratches which she gave herself, and was horribly bruised. She eventually stopped eating, convincing herself and the people who surrounded her, that it would give the demons more power and control. Instead, it sadly led to her death.

Her parents and the priests were later convicted of negligent homicide due to the fact that they allowed her to starve herself with them knowing of what was going on.

Real Accounts of Demons

Though, Anneliese’s case was a because of mental illness, that does not mean all cases of demonic possessions are not true.

In most cases, they mostly all are mistaken as demonic, but there are few in which some the evil is really there. Dr. Richard Gallagher was interviewed by CNN in a segment about science and demonic possession. In the interview, he was asked about one particular story, about a victim named “Julia”.

Gallagher is widely known has a highly educated psychiatrist who teaches at Columbia University and at the New York Medical College. He also describes himself as a man of science which is why he was so interest in in the practice of exorcisms. Though, he has proven many to be false claims, one victim stuck out from the rest in which he believes is an actual account of demonic possession.

Photo by Elyaqim Mosheh Adam אליקים משה אדם

In the interview, Gallagher gives a quick background on Julia stating that she was also known as the “Queen of Satan” because of how she was a big part of the Satanic church at the time. Though she enjoyed the church, she had a problem. She believed she was being attacked by a demon. Gallagher explains that the girl was conflicted on whether or not she wanted to be free or not but she agreed to be exercised on. As they continued on with the exorcism, it was noted that books and other things would fly off shelves and she could recall events in Gallaghers own life that no one could recall except for himself.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Books and other things would fly off shelves and she could recall events in Gallaghers own life that no one could recall except for himself.[/perfectpullquote]

Though, those are valid contributions, there was one action that really shook Gallagher. In one instance, he could hear Julia on the phone when talking with other people and also with being thousands of miles away. He explains that he had heard demonic voices from Julia and still even heard them when she decided to quit exercising herself. To Gallagher, this is an actual account of demonic possession.

Julia had no account of mental issues in her records and being part of the Satanic Cult, most likely did not help her either. With Annaliese, she had traces of mental illness which again, is commonly misunderstood as demons. There are also no accounts of any books flying off the shelves or any recounts on others past events. Also, Anneliese was keyed on the idea of being possessed based off of her and her families beliefs in where Julia was not sure if she was actually possessed or not and took it into consideration for some time. Supporting this, Julias churches main views, from reverend Ashley S. Palmer eyes, is that they do not believe in satan and more or less see him as a symbol for their faith. In Julia’s case, her faith is not dependent on believing in such things like demons and devils hence why she was skeptical in believing that she had a demon inside her. Therefore, Anneliese’s case ties back to her having a psychosis that was unbelievably fueled by the church and religious figures.

The Shocking Response from Churches

Photo by MAKY_OREL

Most of the time in church, people with mental disorders or the spread of mental awareness are often forgotten or looked down upon. In one example is with Andrea Jongbloed, in where her church denied her in leading her bible study that would talk about her book about mental health and faith. Now why would her church deny teachings on the matter of mental health?

The answer is their afraid. They see many victims as different and in some cases, demonic. The church even preaches about symptoms of being possessed which are usually a lot similar to most mental illnesses symptoms. In the case of Anneliese, it was her active seizures and symptoms of schizophrenia.

Anneliese needed medical help but she was blinded by the churches words and it affected her well being. It also affected her parents on a level too. One of the things they said during court was ‘God told us to exorcise my daughter’s demons. I don’t regret her death’ which is bizarre. To watch your child literally starve in front of you and ignore them because you believe that eating would strengthen an evil being is a serious crime that deserves punishment and thankfully in this case justice was served.

What is the Future for Demons and Mental Illness?

Concluding, the misconception of mental illness is dangerous and is shockingly still happening today. Even with the many pieces of evidence, some churches still believe in the dark customs and discriminate people with mental illness. Along with this, more unnecessary pain and time are endured and more people die due to becoming blind to other possibilities. Though, many people are helped by organizations like ADAA, MHA, and NAMI which are succeeding in stopping this phenomenon by spreading awareness and helping people with mental illness.

The only problem is that a lot of people do not know these organizations exist, but that can change with becoming part of events that help raise awareness.

NAMIWalks, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month , and Mental Illness Awareness Week are all ways to get involved with spreading the news of mental illness.

Help change the future of how our society views mental illness and stop the abuse of using the act of exorcism as an excuse for someone’s mental state.

Featured Image: Donations_are_appreciated  Via. Pixabay