Observations on Mind over Body Essay (2001)

The medical model of psychology has been conceptualised and redeveloped extensively since its advent. Where there were once misconceptions and misdiagnoses now lie redefinitions and new techniques to better understand the intricacies of mental illnesses. Psychosis is one such illness that has been shrouded in misunderstanding. This illness can be the result of varying disorders and can lead the sufferer to behave irrationally and without any sense of reality. For this reason, many sufferers were once seen to be demonically possessed, because of a lack of understanding concerning mental disorders. This has placed a stigma on sufferers, putting them under the definition of deviant or insane. The Western medical model is now more capable of defining and treating psychosis through medication and therapy and also by looking at the correlation between physical and mental health. By looking at representations of psychosis and demonic possession in such texts as The Exorcist, Girl Interrupted and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc as well as arguments formed by practitioners and theorists, it will become more evident how the mental state of the sufferer could possibly relate to their physical well being and how this may be misconstrued as possession.

Psychosis stems from various mental disorders which can include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. It can present itself through the sufferer’s delusions or irrational behaviours which have an adverse effect on their everyday functioning. Because of an impaired perception of reality, the sufferer can experience hallucinations which include any sensory perception that has no outside stimulus. Therefore, the sufferer can see visions or hear voices that would be considered by others to be inside their head. Delusions formed by psychotics are the result of fixations that are deemed unrealistic by others. This includes paranoia, delusions of grandeur, or the belief they are suffering from a terminal illness (Psychosis, pg. 1, 2001, http//www.aacap.org/about/glossary/Psychosis.htm).

These symptoms can be related to reports of possession. Melissa A. Bromwell illustrates these notions in her essay on demonic possession which explains in medical terminology how the sufferer is seen to be under the influence of an evil entity. She points out in the essay:
[g]eneral psychotic episodes . . . can also closely simulate a state of demonic possession by hallucinations or delusions. The delusions can be ones of thought insertion . . . delusions of guilt, delusions of grandeur, such as being God (or a demon), or delusions that God (or a demon) is speaking to the person and giving commands for a special mission. (Demonic Possession, pg. 1, 1999, http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neauro/neauro99/web3/
Bromwell.html).
These notions are evident in The Messenger where Joan believes she is acting on a mission sent to her from God. Her hallucinations and delusions were seen to make her act irrationally, but because this could not be extensively proven through medicine, many believed she was a messenger from God.

Bromwell also illustrates how psychotics react to religious artifacts or symbols because of their demonic delusions. Examples of this can be seen in The Exorcist, in which it becomes evident that the character Regan is actually possessed by the devil and her mother’s only final option is to consult a priest to perform an exorcism. Bromwell makes mention of this phenomenon in which family members can also come under the delusion that the sufferer is possessed when no other treatment for them is effective. (Bromwell, pg. 2, 1999).

The character of Regan has become a stereotype for demonic possession and her reactions to certain religious symbols not only demonstrates aspects of this stereotype but perpetuates them as well. It is interesting that Regan is known to have been suffering flu symptoms before any of the manifestations of the devil present themselves. The other interesting fact is that she has also reached the point of puberty, and her hormonal changes were argued to account for her erratic behaviour. The study carried out on menstrual functioning and psychopathology proved that menstruation does affect psychological disorders like depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. (Bisaga, K., et al. pg. 1, 2002)

The representation of Regan as a possessed woman, as argued by Creed, “becomes the excuse for legitimising a display of aberrant feminine behaviour which is depicted as depraved, monstrous, abject - and perversely appealing.” (1993, pg. 31). Regan’s physical debilitation and hormonal maturation, as well as her innocence, are seen to make her vulnerable to demonic influences, but Creed is arguing against this negative depiction, saying that the representation of Regan as the possessed monster seems to justify her behaviour as an erratic woman. The film sets up the dichotomy between psychology and religion because of science’s inability to fully explain Regan’s conditions in relation to the bizarre occurrences in the house. In this case the film seems to be saying that since psychology could not always explain the erratic nature of women, perhaps religion has the only answers.

Susanna Kasen’s story of her time in a mental institution which was adapted into the film Girl Interrupted illustrates not only the operations of the sixties mental asylum for women but also the disassociation the women have from the rest of the world because of the diagnoses that have been placed on them. It takes Susanna’s view of the other girls to bring them out of themselves to make a recovery and she eventually considers each of them and herself to be sane in their own rights. The character Daisy is repulsed by eating with the other girls because she believes “it’s like being in a room full of people all taking a dump at once.” Her somatic disorder comes about from her human need for privacy, but because the patients at hospital have to be watched over she cannot function correctly within the hospital. Her character demonstrates how beliefs can be strong enough to disrupt the body’s regulatory functions and Daisy has conditioned her body to become sick when ingesting anything other than chicken.

The other instance where the mind’s functioning can be seen to directly impinge on the body through belief alone can be seen with the notion explored by Hirst and Woolley concerning voodoo death. This presented the “possibility that death could occur as a consequence of beliefs”. (1982, pg. 26) The sympathico-adrenal system can be over-worked by beliefs to the point where blood pressure eventually drops causing the body to fall into a comatosed state. These beliefs or fears were instigated by the threat of a curse or foretelling that supposedly could not be avoided. The possibility that the mind can actually “think” the body into a coma is a strong example of how psychology can relate to physical functioning.

It is reasonable to say that emotional stress can affect the body’s nervous system to the point where nausea, vomiting, and dizziness can ensue. Case studies on psycho-somatic disorders documented by psychiatrists often reiterate the common symptoms of depression and psychosis. These symptoms can include the previous mentioned, plus constipation, urinary complications, decreased or increased appetite, dehydration and sleep impairment. Psychosis can almost always lead the sufferer to disregard their normal functions to the point where they shut down. Inactivity during moments of lucidity can slow metabolism causing digestive problems. Holly McCord has studied how people have a tendency to eat more during times of depression and mentions in her study that: “Depressed or anxious women tend to eat less fruits and vegetables. . . try to trade one high calorie snack for a low calorie one.” (pg. 1, 2002). Part of some therapies now is to work on the body through exercise and proper diet and information on maintaining a healthy body is now giving out in acute therapy sessions for patients to consider.

The side effects of drugs used to treat psychosis such as Rispidal and Haloperidol can be dizziness and fainting, nausea, dehydration and swelling of the tongue, constipation, blurred vision and urinary impairment, as well as acute memory loss which are similar symptoms of the illness being treated. These particular side effects wear off in one to two weeks, leaving the patient with a “deadened feeling” within themselves. Their thinking is no longer impaired by the chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters and they are able to carry out normal lives.

Michael Lesser has covered some specific examples of how vitamin therapy has helped people suffering from psychosis and depression to reorder their mental health so they can cope with their lives. He mentions a case of one woman suffering from psychosis after a nervous breakdown and was receiving tranquillisers and other medications for her condition. It is interesting that when she came to visit him, she considered him the devil and that drawing blood would kill her. Her diet included high amounts of fatty red meat, beer and coffee. Once this diet was altered to exclude these elements and she was put on niacin supplements, she slowly recovered and was weaned off her tranquillisers. When she failed to take the niacin supplements and reverted to drinking beer, her mental health regressed, so it was evident her change in physiological functions worked to alter her psychological imbalance. (Nutrition and Vitamin Therapy, 1980, pg. 58). In the cases that Michael Lesser displayed, his patients often came out with a better sense of wellness within themselves after their medication was lowered and they changed their diet, while patients under heavy medical treatments complained that they felt flat and unmotivated. (Lesser, pg. 39, 1980).

While exorcisms were considered a last resort, to view them as a treatment would seem somewhat unfounded. It is true, however, that some African tribes still rely on a voodoo priest or witch doctor to perform exorcisms on sufferers of physical disorders like pain and illness. They see the sickness to be the result of an evil force or entity and the only means of curing the sufferer is to drive the spirit out of the body. Once this has occurred, the body will instantly be well again. In Japan, depression was described as “the soul catching a cold” to make the illness sound more acceptable. In describing the illness as something spiritual, the manufacturers of Prozac managed to alleviate the stigma of mental illness and encouraged more people to seek medical advice. (Landers, pg. 2, 2002).

Western doctors still firmly believe in their chemical treatments because of the definitive proof that they work. While this is largely true that Western medicine can most of the time effectively treat illnesses, be they psychological or physical, there has already been some basis for the mind’s ability to believe the body into a state of sickness through stress and over-excitation. In this case, if certain beliefs can have an adverse affect on the body, so to could the belief that the body has been exorcised of any demons causing the illness. Banishing bad spirits or praying for the sick can also work as a means of comfort for family members, so Western medicine has in some ways tried to be more accepting of other culture’s beliefs about the body and spirit or soul.

In The Exorcist, Regan is taken to various psychologists and psychiatrists who speak to her and the devil that is communicating through her. The doctors all meet to discuss her symptoms, only to have one sheepishly suggest the possibility of demonic possession. The threat to their ordered state of medical model is presented in Regan, so the notion of her actually being possessed is deemed preposterous. They consider the mother to be actively hallucinating when she recounts the episode with the moving bed. As it has been mentioned, Regan’s possession seems to be an excuse for her physiological differences as a woman. Since the film is a work of fiction, Creed’s case can be argued against on the basis of the murders Regan commits while she is possessed. In the real world, she would be tried for the murders if no evidence arose of demonic possession, and all she could do is plead insanity.

The Mission displays Joan of Arc’s life as a descent into madness and guilt. Her English enemies refused to consider her anything but a witch who was acting under the influence of evil while priests’ judgment was impaired by fear that Joan was a messenger from God and any harm that they placed on her would lead to their punishment. Beliefs in that period were also subject to mass hysteria and the idea that witchcraft and other secular practices were always seen to be evil was hard to dispel. The film did not touch upon any real evidence that Joan may have suffered from a physical malfunction in the brain that caused her to hallucinate manifestations of God, or to hear the voices she called her “counsel” (Dittman, M., pg. 1, 1999), but the evidence in her history cannot disprove this possibility. This particular version of Joan’s story largely depicted her as mentally unstable, perhaps as an intention of proving she was in some way psychotic.

Hallucinogens have also been used in ritualistic ceremonies and spirit invocations. With these specific uses it became acceptable in these cultures to use these drugs as it was believed they would allow for some access to a spirit realm. Practitioners of Sufism were known to use deprivation of food and water to achieve contact with spirits as part of their enlightenment. The deprivation of water and food can be known to cause hallucinogenic and manic episodes that can work to make the sufferer believe their reality has been altered in some way. This is another form of evidence that can back the claim that the mind’s stability is dependent on the proper functioning of the body.

The process of sublimation or detachment of the brain and its higher functioning from the lower more animalistic processes of the lower body is more a Western preposition that works to cover the fact that the mind and body dualism is actually extremely important. In the past, western medicine has worked extensively on the body without regard to how the mind may have come to effect it. Only recently have doctors been able to acknowledge psycho-somatic disorders, but there is still some reluctance to say whether or not the relation between mind and body chemistry can be the direct cause of physical stress such as ulcers or even tumours. Patients are more likely to visit the doctor with a physical problem, and when all other treatments fail, the psychology of the suffer may be taken into consideration. Rod Giblett has mentioned in Postmodern Wetlands:
"The process of sublimation can be seen to be the extension of the symptom in that it moves the subject further away from the unconscious." (pg. 34, 1996)
In saying this it becomes clearer that unconscious thoughts or stresses, if not discussed, can adversely effect the body through ignorance of the illness as a whole. Because the study of psychosis and the workings of the brain is still in development it is too soon to rule out or set in stone claims that the body could have a direct link to the functioning of the mind. The study of the chemistry of the body and the brain would have to be further developed to make this relation clear.

Western medicine has a firm foothold in reality which means demonic possession is seldom brought into consideration when treating the sufferer of psychosis. The processes involved in bringing the psychotic back to a state of sound mental health does now rely on some notion of the health of the body, and taking care of both seems to be the best means to a full recovery. It is evident now that drugs and certain foods can adversely effect the functioning of the brain. Patriarchal thinking has placed women similar to Joan, Regan and Susanna in the realm of the mentally unbalanced or possessed because of this lack of understanding towards the mind/body dualism that seems integral for the continuance of a fully healthy body. Their representations, especially in the case of Joan, may then have done them an injustice. The body must include the mind and the brain as part of the whole, and once that notion is set in place, it would be much easier to see any underlying problems that can be treated correctly and with minimal damage or deprivation of liberty to the sufferer of psychosis. In this instance, generalisations would cease to be made by society. Psychosis therefore needs to be better understood and even more accurately presented as an illness before it can be treated effectively and without the stigma of public ignorance acting as a hindrance.






References
Bromwell, M. A. (1999) Demonic Possession 1999 Final Web Reports on Serendip Biology 202 (pgs.. 1, 2)
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neauro/neauro99/web3/Bromwell.html

Bisaga, K. et al. (2002) Menstrual functioning and psychopathology in a country-wide population of high school girls in Journal of American Academy of child and adolescent psychiatry (pg. 1) http://proquest.umi.com

Creed, B. (1993) Woman as Possessed Monster; The Exorcist in The Monstrous Feminine; film feminism psychoanalysis. (pg. 31) Lancen, Routledge

Dittman, M (1999) St Joan of Arc in The Catholic Encyclopaedia vol VIII Robert Appleton Company New York (pg. 1) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409c.html

Foucault, M. (1977). The body of the condemned. In his Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Sheriden, A. (Trans.) London: Penguin (pp. 3 - 31)

Giblett, R. (1996)Post Modern Wetlands : Culture , History , Ecology Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh (pg. 34)

Hirst, P. and Wooley, P (1982) The social formation and maintenance of human attributes. In their Social Relations and human attributes (pg. 26) London: Tavistock

Hislop, J (1991) Stress, distress and illness. (pgs. 111-113) Australia: McGraw-Hill Company

Jefferson, P. (2001) Demonic Possession on The Psychics Spot (pg. 1) http://www.thepsychicspot.com/demonic_possession.htm

Landers, P. (2002) Waiting for Prozac. Drug Firms push Japan to change view of depression. (pgs. 1-4) http://proquest.umi.com

Lesser, L. M. (1980) Nutrition and Vitamin Therapy Grove Press New York (pgs.. 39, 58)

Author withheld, (2001) Psychosis - from the Glossary of Symptoms and Mental Illnesses Affecting Teenagers (pg. 1) http://www.aacap.org/about/glossary/Psychosis. htm

Movies
Girl Interrupted D: James Mangold
The Exorcist D: William Friedkin
The Mission: The Story of Joan of Arc D: Luc Besson