Epileptic psychosis—often termed psychotic epileptic disorder—is a condition where epilepsy intersects with psychotic symptoms. This essay explores its classification, clinical features, real-life examples, and correlations to historical cases misinterpreted as demonic possession requiring exorcism. Through rigorous review, I aim to highlight medical realities over stigma, advocating for integrated care in mental health and neurology.
Psychotic epileptic disorder, or epileptic psychosis, refers to psychotic episodes occurring in individuals with epilepsy, where symptoms like hallucinations and delusions arise in temporal relation to seizures (Mental Health, 2025). It affects 3-7% of epilepsy patients, significantly higher than the 1% schizophrenia prevalence in the general population, with elevated risk in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and uncontrolled seizures (Mental Health, 2025; Epilepsy Action, 2025a).
Classification includes pre-ictal psychosis (PrP), occurring hours to days before seizures with anxiety and derealisation; ictal psychosis (IP), during seizures featuring fear and automatisms; interictal psychosis (IIP), between seizures resembling schizophrenia but with better prognosis; postictal psychosis (PIP), following seizures after a lucid interval with emotionally charged delusions; and forced normalisation (FN), paradoxically triggered by seizure control (Wang et al., 2024; Epilepsy Action, 2025a).
Clinical features encompass delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, social withdrawal, disorganised thinking, and mood swings (Mental Health, 2025; Epilepsy Foundation, n.d.). For instance, in PIP—the most common type—symptoms like violent behaviour or self-harm emerge 12-72 hours post-seizure, lasting up to two months (Epilepsy Action, 2025a). Causes involve neurobiological mechanisms: structural changes like hippocampal volume loss, neurotransmitter imbalances (e.g., reduced glutamate and GABA), neuroinflammation via cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), and genetic factors such as mutations in GRM1 or CNTNAP2 (Wang et al., 2024). Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) like topiramate or levetiracetam can precipitate psychosis, especially in those with family history (Epilepsy Action, 2025a). Diagnosis requires specialist assessment, including EEG to link symptoms to seizure activity, distinguishing it from primary psychoses (Mental Health, 2025).
Treatment emphasises coordinated neurology-psychiatry care, balancing seizure control with antipsychotics. For IP and PrP, seizure management suffices; PIP often resolves spontaneously but may need benzodiazepines; IIP and FN require antipsychotics like olanzapine or risperidone, with ASM adjustments (Mental Health, 2025; Wang et al., 2024). Early intervention teams and psychosocial support—case management, vocational rehab—aid functioning, as untreated episodes worsen cognition and independence (Mental Health, 2025).
Historically, epileptic psychosis has been misinterpreted as demonic possession, leading to exorcisms instead of medical intervention. In ancient times, epilepsy—termed the “sacred disease”—was attributed to supernatural forces, with seizures and psychotic symptoms seen as divine or demonic invasions (Trimble and Reynolds, 1976). This persisted into modernity, correlating with cases where TLE-induced hallucinations were deemed possession. The most infamous is Anneliese Michel (1952-1976), a German woman diagnosed with TLE and psychosis at 16, experiencing convulsions, hallucinations of “devil faces,” auditory commands of damnation, self-harm, and aversion to religious objects (Wikipedia, 2025). Despite treatments like Dilantin, Aolept, and Tegretol for five years, symptoms worsened, leading her devout Catholic family to interpret them as possession by demons like Lucifer and Hitler (Wikipedia, 2025; Goodman, 2005).

Michel underwent 67 exorcism sessions from 1975-1976 by priests Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz, authorised by Bishop Josef Stangl, involving rituals where she growled, screamed curses, and refused food, dying of malnutrition at 30kg (Wikipedia, 2025; Duffey, 2011). Autopsy confirmed dehydration, pneumonia, and broken knees from genuflections, not supernatural causes (Wikipedia, 2025). Her 1978 trial convicted her parents and priests of negligent homicide, with probation, as experts attributed symptoms to untreated epilepsy and psychosis exacerbated by religious upbringing (Wikipedia, 2025; Getler, 1978). This case, inspiring films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, exemplifies how TLE’s temporal lobe involvement—causing religious delusions and hallucinations—mimics possession, delaying care (Forcen, 2016).

Modern examples show the impact of the disorder. In postictal psychosis, a patient experiences confusion, delusions, and hallucinations after partial seizures, resembling schizophrenia and causing social isolation if it happens often (Mental Health, 2025). Ictal psychosis occurs briefly during seizures, showing symptoms like auditory hallucinations and agitation in TLE cases, resolving after the seizure but can recur without treatment (Mental Health, 2025). Interictal psychosis, common in chronic uncontrolled TLE, leads to persistent threatening voices and cognitive decline, especially in patients with hippocampal sclerosis who show EEG abnormalities and need long-term antipsychotics (Wang et al., 2024). A Korean family with a specific genetic deletion showed epilepsy and schizophrenia-like psychosis, pointing to genetic factors (Wang et al., 2024). After temporal lobectomy, about 7% of patients over 30 experience temporary delusions that can be treated with medication adjustments (Mental Health, 2025).
Other historical examples include 17th-century European “possession” epidemics, where convulsive symptoms now recognised as epilepsy or conversion disorder led to exorcisms (Schwarz, 2014). In Christian contexts, epilepsy’s association with demons stemmed from biblical accounts, like Yeshua casting out spirits causing seizures (Mark 9:14-29, n.d.; KJV), influencing interpretations (Young, 2016). A 2013 thesis links such misdiagnoses to cultural fears, with “demonic” behaviours aligning with PIP’s aggression or IP’s automatisms (Snyman, 2025). In non-Western cultures, similar correlations persist, with epilepsy stigma leading to spiritual interventions over medical (Trimble and Reynolds, 1976).
Forensic profiling reveals these misinterpretations stem from limited medical knowledge, cultural-religious frameworks, and stigma, profiling “possession” as undiagnosed epileptic psychosis (Epilepsy Action, 2025b). Modern neuroimaging confirms brain-based origins, advocating evidence-based treatment over exorcism (Wang et al., 2024).
In conclusion, psychotic epileptic disorder underscores epilepsy-psychosis interplay, with real examples like post-surgical flares and historical cases like Michel’s highlighting risks of misdiagnosis. This should be profiled as a call for destigmatisation and integrated care, preventing tragedies through science over superstition.
References
Duffey, J.M. (2011) Lessons Learned: The Anneliese Michel Exorcism. Wipf and Stock Publishers. Available at: https://wipfandstock.com/9781608996643/lessons-learned/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Epilepsy Action (2025a) Psychosis and epilepsy. Available at: https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/living/psychosis-and-epilepsy (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Epilepsy Action (2025b) The history of epilepsy. Available at: https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/what-is-epilepsy/history (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Epilepsy Foundation (n.d.) Psychosis. Available at: https://www.epilepsy.com/complications-risks/moods-behavior/psychosis (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Forcen, F.E. (2016) Monsters, Demons and Psychopaths. Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315382760/monsters-demons-psychopaths-fernando-espi-forcen (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Getler, M. (1978) ‘Cries of a Woman Possessed’, The Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/04/21/cries-of-a-woman-possessed/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Goodman, F.D. (2005) The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel. Wipf and Stock Publishers. Available at: https://wipfandstock.com/9781597524322/the-exorcism-of-anneliese-michel/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Mark (n.d.), Chapter 9, Verses 14-29, King James Version, Bible Gateway. Available at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209%3A14-29&version=KJV (Accessed 22 October, 2025)
Mental Health (2025) Epileptic Psychosis. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.com/library/epilepsy-with-psychosis (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Schwarz, H. (2014) Beware of the Other Side(s). transcript Verlag. Available at: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-2488-5/beware-of-the-other-side-s/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Snyman, M. (2025) ‘Hall of Horror: The Tragic Exorcism of Anneliese Michel’, Monique Snyman. Available at: https://moniquesnyman.com/hall-of-horror-the-exorcism-of-anneliese-michel/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Trimble, M.R. and Reynolds, E.H. (1976) ‘Epilepsy, behaviour and cognitive function’, John Wiley & Sons. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8051941/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Wang, Y. et al. (2024) ‘Psychosis of Epilepsy: An Update on Clinical Classification and Mechanism’, PMC. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11762389/ (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Wikipedia (2025) Anneliese Michel. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_Michel (Accessed: 14 October 2025).
Young, F. (2016) A History of Exorcism in Catholic Christianity. Palgrave Macmillan. Available at: https://link.springer.com/book/9783319291116 (Accessed: 14 October 2025).







