How to Tell if Someone is Possessed

How can you tell if someone is possessed? Does possession really happen, or is it a myth?

When we mention possession most people express skepticism or fear. Thanks to scary movies and novels, demonic and spirit possession seem like either science fiction, or something one has no control over.

We’ve found in over 20 years of empirical research that demonic and spirit possession is neither of these things once you understand the concepts, and it’s far more common than most people realize.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who runs an exorcism school in Italy, says that there is one major indication someone is possessed rather than being mentally ill.

Father de Meo says it’s important to differentiate between the two, and that prayer can help shine a light on the problem. He uses a “prolonged prayer to the point where if the adversary (demon) is present, there’s a reaction.”

“A possessed person has various general attitudes towards an exorcist, who is seen by the Adversary as an enemy ready to fight him,” he said. Reactions include ”facial expressions, threatening words or gestures and other things - but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady.”

We’ve noticed the same thing; a violent reaction to the idea of God, prayer or religion in general is a sign that demons might be present. A disinterest or dislike of organized religion, however, usually isn’t.

Freedom of religion or to be atheist or agnostic is a right in the USA. However, we believe some atheists go too far.
We understand many people have had bad experiences with religion, but when they use it as an excuse to be rude or even violent, they might have demons onboard fueling their hatred. At the same time, we’ve found that religious extremists can also be possessed.

We believe that someone can be mentally ill without being possessed, but that possession can cause mental illness, and mental illness, or what caused it in the first place, can open the door to possession.

Other indications someone is possessed include a negative reaction to the idea of a Spiritual Detox (which might be the reaction of a lost soul or dark energy; it’s easy to confuse their thoughts with your own), feeling blocked, drug use or alcohol abuse, sex addiction, depression, thoughts of suicide, reckless behavior (especially while under the influence), feeling drained, and nightmares (especially of being chased or watched).

Father de Meo says that one must be trained by the Catholic Church in order to conduct depossessions, but their procedure is only one way. Those not trained by the Church clear lost souls and demons from people and places just as successfully with different methods, but most of them usually involve calling in powerful helpers of the Light to assist in the process. You don’t need to be religious to ask for and receive the help of God, Archangels, spirit guides, or other helpers of the Light, which all existed long before organized religion.

He also blames the increase of possession cases on the rise in popularity of the occult. We agree that using black magic and negative spells, or any agreements with dark energy are to be avoided at all costs. However, we strongly believe that astrology, numerology, palmistry, energy healing, Spiritual Detox, meditation, tarot cards, mediumship (as long as you stay in the Light and protect yourself during the process), and other metaphysical tools are harmless and can be very valuable.

Possession is a serious and often overlooked problem, but once you accept that it’s real, it’s much easier to identify and remove the spiritual troublemakers.

Copyright © Stephen Petullo, Scott Petullo