A mother-of-two who went into a “trance” state every time there was a full moon has been diagnosed with a rare mental health disorder.
The woman was reportedly “acting strangely” during a full moon event and began speaking in a different voice, sat unusually still, and sobbed uncontrollably.
The episodes often began without warning, her family said, and lasted up to two hours, with the woman appearing to be “possessed.”
The 55-year-old housewife, originally from India, was treated by local alternative medicine practitioners for seven years before finally being admitted to hospital.
Doctors performed tests on his liver, kidneys and brain, which came back normal, but a psychiatric evaluation revealed that he had been suffering from depression since his teenage years.
He also told doctors he suffered from a lack of energy, feelings of hopelessness and social withdrawal. This, combined with his erratic behavior, led to a diagnosis of “trance and possession disorder” (TPD), a state of altered consciousness and inconsistent behavior, with dysthymia, a moderate form of depression.
The woman began taking antidepressants and attended weekly psychotherapy sessions to help improve her symptoms.
Over the next few months, her condition gradually improved and periods when she seemed “possessed” became less frequent.
Woman in India who said she was “possessed” has been diagnosed with mental illness (file image)
Revealing the case report in the magazine CureusHer doctors, from the Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education in Maharashtra, India, said: ‘Psychotherapy played a crucial role in helping her understand the link between her depressive tendencies and trance episodes.
“She learned effective coping strategies and assertiveness skills to manage stress and emotional triggers, which contributed to her overall well-being.”
They added: “Delay in seeking treatment for TPD, secondary to stigma (seen primarily in rural areas), may worsen a patient’s symptoms.”
TPD is a rare condition and there are no known estimates of how many people have it.
It is often characterized by patients experiencing extreme narrowing or loss of awareness of their surroundings, leading to a lack of responsiveness and uncontrollable movements of the limbs or fingers and toes.
In the codes of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the global system used to define diseases, TPD is described as when an individual’s sense of personal identity “is replaced by an external identity of ‘possession’ and in the that the behaviors or movements of the individual are experienced as controlled by the possessing agent.
The woman in the case report was taken to the hospital by her daughter, who said her mother was also experiencing regular headaches, bad mood, difficulty performing daily tasks, difficulty sleeping, and withdrawn behavior.
He had no history of drug abuse, according to members of his family and close social circle.
His “possession” episodes most commonly occurred during the full moon, the family said, but could occur at any time during the day.
Some studies have suggested that the full moon affects sleep, possibly leading to less sleep overall and less deep and REM sleep.
This disruption can make someone much more tired during the day, increasing the risk of problems with concentration, exhaustion, and conditions such as psychosis (or losing touch with reality).
However, a larger 2015 study involving 2,125 people found no association between sleep and lunar cycles.
In 2022Scientists revealed a similar case of TPD in a woman from Poland.
The woman, who was Roman Catholic, suffered at times from lack of control over sexual impulses and disturbances in consciousness and underwent an exorcism before seeking help from doctors.
In revealing the case, the doctors warned other doctors to avoid using the word “possession”, saying it was “fraught with social consequences” and can “reinforce patients’ beliefs in the supernatural”.