Catholic priests allowed to exorcise demons in English

[The Grand Nudger]

So they get to act like they are doing something while actually not doing shit in English? BIG WHOOPTY SHIT.

Business as usual Brian.

The entire stupid idea of that crap stems from those in antiquity not understanding physical and mental maladies as far as things like epilepsy and mental illness.

-ish.  It stems more from the belief in the effectiveness of interceding supernatural forces.  The concept of one having "lost ones mind" predates christerism and exorcisms by a few thousand years.  The greeks may not have known what caused mental illness from a clinical or chemical standpoint...but they were content to assume it was internal.  Being driven mad by grief, as one example, is a recurring theme. While the greeks were amenable to the idea of internal and natrual forces driving people to insanity and aberrant behavior..they too felt that some ritual or some sacrifice might affect a cure. Consider the story of Hercules, driven mad by his family's death, or driven mad to murder his family....he was then instructed to perform his labors by the Oracle at Delphi. The labors themselves swirl around supernatural creatures and intercessionary gods, and at the end of his proscribed treatment he is healed, made whole, perhaps immortal.

If you have a loved one who looks like they are not well, a doctor or psychiatrist will help them, not a priest.

If you look at it from the angle of a priests ancient role in society...doctor and psychiatrist were commonly among their job duties.  Obviously they're insufficient in that capacity now...but once upon a time there was significant overlap. I'll say this..in favor of exorcism as it relates to purely psychological issues...if a person truly believes both that they have been possessed by demons and that priests possess the power of exorcism..it would be unsurprising to find that they also believe that they had been cured by exorcism. If their behavior was self reenforcement of some unresolved issue, they might not even understand the nature of their affliction or it;s cure beyond the context of their beliefs. Even the ritual burning of herbs and incense in exorcisms (not limiting myself to the catholic stripe here) is often just as accurately described as the application of sedatives.

[Cyberman]

If you have a loved one who looks like they are not well, a doctor or psychiatrist will help them, not a priest.

My Sam was a martyr to pseudo-epileptic seizures, which doctors and specialists were never able to diagnose with any certainty never mind treat. On the other hand, the idiot of whom I spoke previously who imagined he had healing powers did far worse than good. Once.

[The Grand Nudger]

My heart sinks everytime you mention that.  It's difficult to describe the terror and powerlessness you feel when you watch someone you love check out from behind her eyes, and then..bonus....you get to watch her body convulse. Nothing you can really do about it, but you feel like there should be. Inadequacy made corporeal.

[Cyberman]

Most of the time she had an early warning, when she felt her fingers tingling. Other times she could simply feel a fit coming on, and would warn me. "Ste, I'm shaking", she'd say. Then I would hug her as tightly as I could, basically squeezing it out of her. Or I would do something to make her laugh. Nine times out of ten it worked, but if not the best thing I could do was make her comfortable and ensure she was safe while her body rode it out.

[Harry Nevis]

If they really wanted to get with the times, they should have proposed doing their little incantations in txtspk or cat memes.

Go, Ceiling Cat, Go!

[The Grand Nudger]

Never any warnings with my ex.  She'd be mid sentence standing up and peace out - hell, it happened once with our daughter in her arms.  It'd be me diving under her and putting the heel of my hand in her mouth.  The thing that really sucked, was that she'd come to and ask what happened, I'd tell her, and she'd be legitimately hurt that I didn't call an ambulance, as if we hadn't gone through it before.  As if she weren't on the meds.  As if it would help, as if we hadn't already been told to expect it.  As if I wasn't busy trying to keep her from busting her skull or biting her tongue.

It became one of many wedges. I really didn't know what to do other than what I was told to do, ride it out, call an ambulance if it went too long, as soon as she wasn't a danger to herself. We always wound up at the doctor but I could feel the resentment, like she thought I was hoping she'd just die. You'd think she'd know better, what with me being a sniveling mess (and not exactly being a cryer, in any other circumstance) everytime she came back....but no.

I get it, she was terrified....but, otoh, I didn't get -that- response...you know?

[Harry Nevis]

Most of the time she had an early warning, when she felt her fingers tingling. Other times she could simply feel a fit coming on, and would warn me. "Ste, I'm shaking", she'd say. Then I would hug her as tightly as I could, basically squeezing it out of her. Or I would do something to make her laugh. Nine times out of ten it worked, but if not the best thing I could do was make her comfortable and ensure she was safe while her body rode it out.

I had them for about 16 years.  But 99% of the time, it was withing an hour after waking and, if I didn't have one within that time, I was good for the day.  And almost always had a warning.

I'm just glad I never had to watch myself.  Nowdays, I'm sure I would have been recorded on a cell phone and all over the Interweb.

---

I DID make a mean Seizure Salad. And Martinis, ala Bond, of course!

[The Grand Nudger]

It's not pretty.

[Cyberman]

Most of them were brought on by stress, particularly That Time Of The Month. I well recall one that she had after accidentally hitting her head on the underside of the communal stairwell here in the block, which was completely out of the blue, but fortunately short.

[The Grand Nudger]

I sometimes wonder if whatever stress in our marriage that existed and caused her to worry that I wanted her dead was a contributing factor.