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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
If it weren't for bad sleep I'd have none at all.	Antegin	Monday, March 31, 2008
Question: I have been bi-polar for 13 years now and successfully treated for more than ten. I hold down 2 jobs, care for a disabled non-relative ward, live with her in a quiet suburb. I am an active member of my parish. A year ago I began experiencing vivid dream/hallucinations. I would see "demons" sitting on my chest. I couldn't move and was powerless. I prayed the prayer to St. Michael and the Hail Mary. The "demon" seemed unmoved. My first thought was this has to be a psychiatrict/neurological problem because hell can't resist the names of Our Lord and His Mother so I went to the appropriate doctors. They had a great explaination that really set my mind at ease. They could not explain why the apnea occurred during rem and theta sleep instead of delta but I figured if it did not bother the doctors it was ok. But instead of getting better, I have been experiencing delusions of abandonment that have been very dark. For some reason, many mornings at 3 AM I am awakened and "hearing things" like laughter, someone in the house, someone calling my name... My doctors think I am having an adverse reaction to a medication the neurologist gave me. I am not so certain this was a medical problem to begin with. I decided to go to my parish priest. Thats when I dreamed that he was visiting my apartment when this shelf holding a heavy piece of crystal fell over and beaned him in the head. I woke up horrified, it was 3:00 am. Now I'm coming to you. I have done alot of research on line looking at both medical and spiritual remedies. One of the points that seems to be disputed is weather people suffering from mental illness can be bothered by evil. If this is all chemical imbalance caused by the recent changes to my medication regiment, my doctors can correct it, but I am not sure that is the case and thought it was time to consult a different specialist.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Antegin: Well, what you are describing can indeed be explained by medical/psychiatric means. The not being able to move when you awaken out of REM sleep is called cataleptic somnambulism with a sensed or visual phantasmic perception. The abandonment delusions may be just that -- psychological delusions. While there may be natural explanation to all this, that does not mean that demonic presence is not possible. Demons often like to "hitchhike" on natural problems to exploit them for their own purposes or make them worse than they otherwise would. Beyond any natural phenomena going on the "hearing things" at 3 AM is of note. While this too may be psychiatric or medical in origin, it may be a clue to something else. As for whether or not people with mental illness can be bothered by evil, they most certainly can. Demons can exploit the vulnerability of the mentally ill for their own agenda and pleasure. They can also interfere with medical and psychological therapies to make it more difficult to recover. In any event, you should follow your doctors instructions and take your medication. If you feel there is more involved then also begin spiritual warfare prayers. Take a look at our Spiritual Warfare Catalog for any prayers that may be useful to you. Ask God to remove from you any demonic presence, if there is any. Ask Him to help you heal from your illness. We will be praying for you. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

If it weren't for bad sleep I'd have none at all.

Antegin

Monday, March 31, 2008

Question:

I have been bi-polar for 13 years now and successfully treated for more than ten. I hold down 2 jobs, care for a disabled non-relative ward, live with her in a quiet suburb. I am an active member of my parish.

A year ago I began experiencing vivid dream/hallucinations. I would see "demons" sitting on my chest. I couldn't move and was powerless. I prayed the prayer to St. Michael and the Hail Mary. The "demon" seemed unmoved. My first thought was this has to be a psychiatrict/neurological problem because hell can't resist the names of Our Lord and His Mother so I went to the appropriate doctors. They had a great explaination that really set my mind at ease. They could not explain why the apnea occurred during rem and theta sleep instead of delta but I figured if it did not bother the doctors it was ok.

But instead of getting better, I have been experiencing delusions of abandonment that have been very dark. For some reason, many mornings at 3 AM I am awakened and "hearing things" like laughter, someone in the house, someone calling my name...

My doctors think I am having an adverse reaction to a medication the neurologist gave me. I am not so certain this was a medical problem to begin with.

I decided to go to my parish priest. Thats when I dreamed that he was visiting my apartment when this shelf holding a heavy piece of crystal fell over and beaned him in the head. I woke up horrified, it was 3:00 am.

Now I'm coming to you.

I have done alot of research on line looking at both medical and spiritual remedies. One of the points that seems to be disputed is weather people suffering from mental illness can be bothered by evil. If this is all chemical imbalance caused by the recent changes to my medication regiment, my doctors can correct it, but I am not sure that is the case and thought it was time to consult a different specialist.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Antegin:

Well, what you are describing can indeed be explained by medical/psychiatric means. The not being able to move when you awaken out of REM sleep is called cataleptic somnambulism with a sensed or visual phantasmic perception.

The abandonment delusions may be just that -- psychological delusions.

While there may be natural explanation to all this, that does not mean that demonic presence is not possible. Demons often like to "hitchhike" on natural problems to exploit them for their own purposes or make them worse than they otherwise would.

Beyond any natural phenomena going on the "hearing things" at 3 AM is of note. While this too may be psychiatric or medical in origin, it may be a clue to something else.

As for whether or not people with mental illness can be bothered by evil, they most certainly can. Demons can exploit the vulnerability of the mentally ill for their own agenda and pleasure. They can also interfere with medical and psychological therapies to make it more difficult to recover.

In any event, you should follow your doctors instructions and take your medication. If you feel there is more involved then also begin spiritual warfare prayers. Take a look at our Spiritual Warfare Catalog for any prayers that may be useful to you.

Ask God to remove from you any demonic presence, if there is any. Ask Him to help you heal from your illness.

We will be praying for you.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.