Investigation of the cerebral blood flow of an Omani man with supposed ‘spirit possession’ associated with an altered mental state : a case report

Guenedi, Amr A; Hussaini, Ala'Alddin Al; Obeid, Yousif; Hussain, Sufyan; Al-Azri, Faisal; Al-Adawi, Samir

doi:10.1186/1752-1947-3-9325

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The selected studies were published between 1994 and 2013 with the majority after 2003 and differed in study design, sample size, methods, assessment instruments, locations, and research questions (see Table 1 ). Four studies were case reports (Guenedi et al, 2009 ; Hale & Pinninti, 1994 ; Khan & Sahni, 2013 ; Szabo, Jonsson, & Vorster, 2005 ) presenting single individuals with spirit possession. Four other articles were case reports presenting 2–10 patients (Brewster et al, 2012 ; Castillo, 1994 ; Pereira et al, 1995 ; Schieffelin, 1996 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communication theory suggests that the possession phenomenon serves as a way for the oppressed and the marginalized to express their inner difficulties and problems when the political or cultural situation may not have allowed them to express their discontent directly. Furthermore, one article debated the possibility of neurobiological reasons, related to an accidental brain injury (Guenedi et al, 2009 ), while another author considered high altitude sickness as an underlying factor (Khan & Sahni, 2013 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession

Hecker

Braitmayer

Duijl³

2015

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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BackgroundWe present a literature review on trauma exposure and spirit possession in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite the World Health Organization's objective of culturally appropriate mental health care in the Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020, and the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to consider local idioms of distress and to collaborate with local resources, this topic still receives very little attention. Pathological spirit possession is commonly defined as involuntary, uncontrollable, and occurring outside of ritual settings. It is often associated with stigmatization, suffering, and dysfunctional behavior. While spirit possession has been discussed as an idiom of distress in anthropological literature, recent quantitative studies have presented support for a strong relationship between traumatic experiences and pathological possession states.ObjectiveThe aim of this review was to investigate this relationship systematically in LMICs, in view of the debate on how to address the mental health gap in LMICs.MethodsTwenty-one articles, published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 1994 and 2013, were identified and analyzed with regard to prevalence of possessive trance disorders, patients’ sociodemographic characteristics, and its relation to traumatic experiences.ResultsThe review and analysis of 917 patients with symptoms of possessive trance disorders from 14 LMICs indicated that it is a phenomenon occurring worldwide and with global relevance. This literature review suggests a strong relationship between trauma exposure and spirit possession with high prevalence rates found especially in postwar areas in African countries.ConclusionsMore attention for possessive trance disorders in mental health and psychosocial intervention programs in humanitarian emergency settings as well as in societies in transition in LMICs is needed and justified by the results of this systematic literature review.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession

Hecker

Braitmayer

Duijl³

2015

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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“…Due to the lack of direction in past literature, we agreed that the present case series from Oman would t the criteria of a manic episode, unspeci ed (F309) or brief psychotic disorder (F24) since our hospital codes all diagnoses using the ICD-10. In a traditional society such as Oman, something akin to delirium, mania or mutism symptoms is likely to be attributed to spirit possession (Guenedi et al, 2009) or lunar cycles. The fact that most cases appear to be amnesic to their altered state further cements the ideas of an incarnating spirit being the main culprit and its monthly occurrence appears to echo the role of lunar cycles (Guenedi et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric, Cognitive Functioning and Socio-cultural Views of Menstrual Psychosis in Oman: An Idiographic Approach

Al‐Sibani

Al-Maqbali

Mahadevan

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract Background: Most documented cases of menstrual psychosis have been from Euro-American populations with reports from cross-cultural populations being only a few in number. Objective: To determine whether the cyclical/episodic nature of menstrual psychosis among case series observed at a tertiary care unit in Oman fulfills the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and diverge into Brockington’s sub-types (World Psychiatry. 2005;4(1):9-17). Related aims were to solicit measures of psychometric functioning of those with menstrual psychosis and narrated idioms of distress. Results: The spectrum of distress among people with menstrual psychosis does not fit existing psychiatric nosology. Evaluations revealed that a majority of the participants displayed something akin to morbid phenomena relating to manic and psychotic symptoms. In the parlance of traditional Omani society, this would be termed “spirit possession”. In terms of classification by timing within the menstrual cycle as expounded by Brockington, the present case series in Oman fulfilled the definition of catamenial psychosis and paramenstrual psychosis. With regard to psychometric function, all participants performed adequately on indices of intellectual functioning but appeared to have impairments in neuropsychological functioning, including the dimensions of processing speed, episodic memory, and executive functioning. Within the given society, the periodicity of mind alteration has been attributed to spirit possession. Conclusions: This is one of the first case series of its kind in the country elucidating whether the manifestation of menstrual psychosis among individuals in Oman fulfills the subtypes postulated by Brockington. The present case series suggests that menstrual psychosis is marked with neuropsychological impairments that were previously observed in other phasic manic episodes or brief psychotic disorders.

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“…Due to the lack of direction in past literature, we agreed that the present case series from Oman would fit the criteria of a manic episode, unspecified (F309) or brief psychotic disorder (F24) since our hospital codes all diagnoses using the ICD-10. In a traditional society such as Oman, something akin to delirium, mania or mutism symptoms is likely to be attributed to spirit possession (Guenedi et al, 2009) or lunar cycles. The fact that most cases appear to be amnesic to their altered state further cements the ideas of an incarnating spirit being the main culprit and its monthly occurrence appears to echo the role of lunar cycles (Guenedi et al, 2009).…”

Section: Findings Such As Reduced Dexamethasone Suppression Disturbementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a traditional society such as Oman, something akin to delirium, mania or mutism symptoms is likely to be attributed to spirit possession (Guenedi et al, 2009) or lunar cycles. The fact that most cases appear to be amnesic to their altered state further cements the ideas of an incarnating spirit being the main culprit and its monthly occurrence appears to echo the role of lunar cycles (Guenedi et al, 2009). Spirit possession is one of the common "idioms of distress" or culturally salient indicators of distress in Oman.…”

Section: Findings Such As Reduced Dexamethasone Suppression Disturbementioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric, Cognitive Functioning and Socio-cultural Views of Menstrual Psychosis in Oman: An Idiographic Approach

Al‐Sibani

Al-Maqbali

Mahadevan

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background : Most documented cases of menstrual psychosis have been from Euro-American populations with reports from cross-cultural populations being only a few. Objective : To determine whether the cyclical/episodic nature of menstrual psychosis among case series observed at a tertiary care unit in Oman fulfills the diagnosis criteria of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and diverge into Brockington’s sub-types (World Psychiatry. 2005;4(1):9-17). Related aims were to solicit measures of psychometric functioning of those with menstrual psychosis and narrated idioms of distress . Results : The spectrum of distress in people with menstrual psychosis does not fit into existing psychiatric nosology. Evaluations revealed that a majority of the participants displayed something akin to morbid phenomenon related to manic and psychotic symptoms or, in the parlance of Omani society, spirit possession. In terms of classification by timing within the menstrual cycle as expounded by Brockington, the present case series in Oman fulfilled the definition of catamenial psychosis and paramenstrual psychosis. With regard to psychometric function, all participants performed adequately on indices of intellectual functioning but appeared to have impairments in neuropsychological functioning, including dimensions of processing speed, episodic memory, and executive functioning. Within the given society, the periodicity of mind alteration has been attributed to spirit possession. Conclusions : This is one of the first case series of its kind in the country elucidating whether the manifestation of menstrual psychosis among individuals in Oman fulfills the subtypes postulated by Brockington. The present case series suggests that menstrual psychosis is marked with neuropsychological impairments that were previously observed in other phasic manic episodes or brief psychotic disorders.

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Investigation of the cerebral blood flow of an Omani man with supposed ‘spirit possession’ associated with an altered mental state : a case report

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession

Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession

Psychiatric, Cognitive Functioning and Socio-cultural Views of Menstrual Psychosis in Oman: An Idiographic Approach

Psychiatric, Cognitive Functioning and Socio-cultural Views of Menstrual Psychosis in Oman: An Idiographic Approach

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