In this bonus episode we continue our discussion of the fascinating and baffling practice of exorcism.
If you haven’t already, we do recommend that you check out the flagship episode—Episode 37—The Exorcisms of Emily Rose and Anneliese Michel, wherein we discuss the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the horrifying historical case of Anneliese Michel—on whom Emily Rose was supposedly “based” (although, as we acknowledge in this episode, the film plays fast and loose with the truth, so much so, that we would suggest it shouldn’t even really be considered to be “based on a true story”).
In this bonus episode we extend our discussion.
Alejandro draws upon the work of RD Laing and his foundational text The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness, and in particular a case study of a girl who seemed to have split her personality into a number of partial systems.
Tobias draws parallels between possession and anorexia nervosa, and outlines a hypothesis whereby a particular kind of traumatic incident where a sense of personal autonomy and psychological sovereignty is challenged may lead to the kinds of experiences that can be associated with possession and in certain cultures, lead to attempts at treatment with exorcism.
It’s a challenging conversation—not just because of the often dark material but also as your two hosts seem out of alignment on a few fundamentals. Perhaps be careful with this one folks, as there are dark spirits abound…
References
RD Laing (1960) The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness
John Adlam (2013) Refusal and coercion in the treatment of severe Anorexia Nervosa: The Antigone paradigm
Onno van der Hart, Ruth Lierens and Jean Goodwin (1996) Jeanne Fery: A Sixteen Century Case of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Altered Mates — Episode 30 — Where are my minds? On the Left Brain / Right Brain Divide.
BMJ Case Reports—Practicing exorcism in schizophrenia
Links
Altered Mates Substack
Altered Mates Patreon
Music for the show by Si Mulumby
A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama
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