Exercising the Demons
So I finished The Exorcist a few weeks ago in preparation to discuss it for class. I have to say that I found it disappointing. But that is for another entry. Today, i will talk about exorcising demons.
I'm to preface things by saying that I do not believe in demonic possession. I have seen enough mental illness in my life that i can account for most everything. I also know the bible well enough that if demons still roamed the earth that a way of casting them out would be listed in scripture.
I have myself conducted an "exorcism". We had a patient on our unit, named "Suzie". This patient is nonresponsive to medications. One a past admission, she stated that she was possessed. This was behavior so behavioral modification was used. I performed an exorcism using bits and pieces from what I know about witchcraft and vampire lore.
I circled her bed with salt, laid holly leaves at the corners of her bed. We said some things and then she lay there for two hours not moving. She didn't complain of voices or othewise. This was a form of operaant conditioning. But it worked temporarily.
I've never exorcised another demon.
