Posts by silentsurfer70

Manipulation just pisses me off. It triggers an emotional response and insults my intelligence if I catch on—and if I don't, it’s just as irritating. Bottom line: don't do it. I don't see any point to it other than realizing it's time to walk away. In my experience, women tend to do this more often and then act shocked when they get a taste of their own medicine. It feels like a desperate grab for power and control, usually from insecure, deeply flawed people trying to weigh someone else down. Once they succeed, they lose all respect for that person too. There's no fair play here, just a long, exhausting game of mind games. Best to steer clear entirely. 😉

First thing you need to do is pick up this book: "walking on eggshells". 😉

David Barrett6 said:From what I know, doctors and priests actually work together.
I have a book by Gabriele Amorth called *Exorcists and Psychiatrists*. It covers discussions from seminars where doctors shared their own experiences and perspectives.
Dr. George Muller, a clinical psychologist and Catholic priest who has practiced psychotherapy in Minneapolis near Munich for 24 years, suggests that doctors are facing a genuine puzzle here. He notes that the Church in certain parts of Europe still struggles with cases where people are sent to psychiatrists, yet no real healing occurs.
In the US, exorcisms are typically only performed after a doctor provides clearance.
I completely agree with that last point. An experienced exorcist usually figures out the situation pretty quickly...

Yeah... you often see it at spiritual retreats where people fall into a trance and all these issues surface that clearly require an exorcist. As far as I know, the Bishop appoints them, but apparently, there are very few of them. And regarding how well it works—well, some people just need one session, others need it repeatedly over several years, and some get so stuck that even the exorcists eventually give up.

Thomas Bailey59 said:So, if I'm following you, you're saying there are forces out there surrounding us that can actually get inside our bodies and minds to torture us. Are we talking about invisible entities, or what exactly are these evil forces? 😲

Exactly 😁 and like I said, these forces are exactly what Christianity describes them as. It makes sense since they also provide the "cure." Sounds like rambling at first... but look at it this way:

The universe is 15 billion years old, Earth is about 5, and Homo sapiens only showed up a few hundred thousand years ago. Now, imagine a civilization that was, say, a billion years old. Those beings probably wouldn't even live in the material world. We can't even wrap our heads around what they'd look like given that evolutionary advantage; basically, they'd be God to us. You really think beings like that couldn't trigger something as simple as possession?

Look, we don't understand much with our current science. These things fall under mystical experiences, and science doesn't really mess with that. The Church, however, has more experience with it, and after all, one of its missions is exorcism.

Modern relativism has called everything into question—like the whole concept of good and evil. Psychiatry doesn't have diagnoses for "evil"; they just label everything similar as sociopathic disorders, BPD, etc. It's as if every bad person is just a victim of their own illness, as if they don't have free will... let alone dealing with an external evil that can trap a living person.

I'm telling you, I didn't believe in possession at all, even as a Catholic. I went agnostic, then atheist, then back to being Catholic 😁 until I started digging through some literature and it really shook me...

restlessfox29 said:Hey everyone, I was wondering how psychologists typically view people who feel like they're being obsessed over or targeted in some way? Is that usually linked to a specific disorder, or could it just be someone having an overactive imagination? Aside from that, there aren't really any other symptoms present—unless you'd consider a total lack of interest in things to be a symptom too🤷 If there are any professionals in the group, I’d love to hear your thoughts😳

Since I've been digging into this lately, I'll try to answer. Most psychiatrists and psychologists dismiss the idea of possession entirely, and honestly, plenty of theologians and priests feel the same way. Still, you do have some psychiatrists who refer patients to an exorcist, and vice versa.

I used to be a skeptic myself, until I stumbled upon St. Peter's book, "Liar." It dives into the phenomenon of evil and details two exorcisms he personally witnessed. He argues that the signs of possession align perfectly with Christian descriptions—things like speaking foreign or forgotten languages, superhuman strength, knowing secrets, or even levitation...

The fact that these cases aren't as rare as you'd think is backed up by the most famous exorcist in Rome, Gabriele Amorth. The man performed tens of thousands of deliverance prayers.

My take? Possession is real and goes beyond what psychiatry can handle. The tricky part is that the symptoms often mimic mental illness, and things like superhuman strength usually only show up during the actual exorcism, rarely before that...

Bottom line: see a psychiatrist first. If they can't help, then maybe talk to a priest. They say an experienced exorcist can spot a possessed person instantly...