Date: 10/04/23
Author Name: Sareem Athar
Qualifications: BA (Psychology, Mass Communication & Journalism, Literature), MSc Clinical Psychology, Diploma in Child Psychology
Designation: Former Admin Head, ACRO Mental Health Services.
Word count: 427 words
Reading time: 6 minutes
Reviewed & edited by: Ayesha Begum & Mariyam Mohammed.
Introduction:
Have you ever heard voices in your head? For many people with schizophrenia and possession, auditory hallucinations are a common and terrifying experience (1). These voices can be relentless and frightening, leaving individuals feeling powerless and alone (2). In this blog post, we will explore the link between schizophrenia and possession and the experience of auditory hallucinations. We will also examine the psychological and spiritual perspectives on this phenomenon.
Psychological Perspective:
Schizophrenia is a severe and persistent mental illness that alters a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (3). Auditory hallucinations are a hallmark symptom of schizophrenia (4). These hallucinations can be perceived as voices that speak to the person, make comments about their behaviour, or give instructions (5). They frequently come with additional symptoms, like delusions and jumbled thinking, which can cause major distress and functional impairment (6,7).
Several theories have been put forth by researchers to explain how auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia first came to be (8). The "inner speech" model, a well-known theory, contends that people with schizophrenia have trouble telling their own thoughts apart from outside stimuli, which causes them to experience their own thoughts as external voices (9,10). The "hyper-activation" model is a different hypothesis that claims abnormalities in the brain's language processing regions cause internal voices to be heard as external voices (11,12).
Spiritual Perspective:
Hearing voices is perceived as being possessed by spirits or demons in some cultures (13). Possession is a phenomenon where it is believed that a spirit or demon, for example, is controlling a person's behavior or mental state (14). In these cultures, exorcisms—which are thought to drive away the possessing entity and restore the person's mental and physical health—are frequently used to treat possession through religious or spiritual rituals (15,16).
Western psychiatry does not recognize possession as a legitimate diagnosis, so people who claim to have had possession experiences may instead be given a mental illness diagnosis, like schizophrenia (17,18). In light of this, it is crucial to consider cultural context when attempting to comprehend the experience of auditory hallucinations and possession (19).
Conclusion:
In schizophrenia and possession, auditory hallucinations can be a terrifying and isolating experience. Numerous theories have been put forth by research to explain the psychological basis of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia (20). Hearing voices is perceived by some cultures as being possessed by spirits or demons from a spiritual point of view. When attempting to comprehend the experience of auditory hallucinations and possession, it is critical to recognize the cultural context. We can comprehend this complicated and frequently misunderstood experience better by investigating both the psychological and spiritual perspectives on it (21).
AUDIO-VISUAL CREDITS
Photo by Camila Quintero Franco on Unsplash
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
REFERENCES
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Auditory hallucinations elicit similar brain activation in psychotic and nonpsychotic individuals. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38(5), 1074–1082. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbs004
(6)Bourguignon, E. (1976). Possession. San Francisco: Chandler & Sharp.
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