Symptoms of Demonic Influence / Attack

Demonic manifestations or influences can come about in many forms and for many reasons. When they happen they can be disruptive and possibly harmful. Satan is our enemy. He will use any opening we give Him. The purpose of this article is to help you understand if you have a door open through which  Satan and his helpers can enter, they can cause problems in your life. It isn’t a complete inventory or assessment.

Demons are real. We have to face the fact that the spiritual world does contain demonic beings. And they are not your friends. They want you sick, confused, fearful, angry, not in the Word, isolated and maybe dead. For sure they do not want you worshiping the one true God.

As stated above, two of the ways the demonic can take hold or influence a person is through repetitive, unrepentant sin or through an activity that opens a doorway for the demonic to come in.  Drug abuse is another example of this.

A demon is any entity which is not of the light.  Usually this means the entity is influencing those around him in a negative way.  A demon does NOT have to look like a big scary monster with horns and a tail!  Many demons may be small, some may be large, most cannot be seen at all.  Yet their affect and influence are very real.

In the movies we see scenes of demons attacking humans, throwing them through the air with the powers of their mind, causing crosses to turn upside-down, causing possessed people to experience various “phenomena”.  Some examples of movies which show these very extreme effects include The Exorcist series and Constantine.  These phenomena are real and have been documented in many cases of exorcism.

However, in actual fact most demonic attack is far more subtle!  Think of it this way: why would a demon spend all their energy to throw you off a building when instead they can infiltrate your mind, causing you to feel depressed and causing you to think you are worthless so that YOU throw yourself off the building all by yourself!   This is truly the way of demons.

Many symptoms of demonic attack “look” a lot like psychological illness, and in fact it can be challenging to differentiate between psychological illness and outside influence, i.e. attack.  The following is a partial list of the symptoms of demonic influence and attack. By examining them you should be able to get a sense if you or your loved one is being affected. Please consider them thoughtfully and prayerfully. Any one of them may be a reason for concern. But there may be medical causes. Real medical issues, that need the attention of your doctor, may be the source of your problems. It is when one suffers from multiple symptoms that we can be relatively confident that the demonic is involved.

There are many reasons or possible causes of demonic attacks. The person being attacked may be involved in some sort of activity that is allowing or inviting the spiritual negativity in. It may be caused by someone close to you, that may be opening a spiritual doorway. It also could be the result of a demonic curse or jinx of some sort. We’ll be covering many of the possible sources of spiritual attacks in a later posting. It is not necessarily important that you try to determine the source of the harassment. Dealing with it in the proper way can eliminate it and protect you in the future.

The below  list is a partial list of changes in behavior or thinking that can occur after one has started or been involved in an activity that opens Satan’s doorway. But we should also understand that these same symptoms may have a medical cause. If any of these are particularly bothersome, controlling or persistent it is always recommended that you see a medical doctor.

Symptoms of Ghost Infestation

• Unexplained noises
• Doors, cabinets, drawers opening and closing
• Lights turning on and off
• Items disappearing and reappearing
• Objects moving by themselves
• Unexplained shadows
• Animals behave strangely
• Feelings of being watched
• Feelings of being touched
• Cold or hot spots

Symptoms of Demons or Ghosts Infesting Land or a Building

• Somewhere that feels really creepy.  You might feel like you really don’t want to be there all alone although you can’t quite figure out why.
• A place where there have been many deaths.  The deaths might be suspicious (e.g. multiple murders) but not necessarily so!  A place where there are suddenly several bad traffic accidents, for example, might have been suddenly infested by a demon.
• A place where many businesses have started and gone bankrupt – over and over in the same location.
• A place where various phenomena happen.  Thumping noises, remote controls flying across the room, the power cutting off, whining or howling sounds, and so on.
• A place where people who normally feel fine instead feel lots of negative emotions – heavy, depressed, thinking lots of negative thoughts about themselves, and so on.  If you notice that you were happy and then you walked into a place and suddenly felt negative – then walk back out and feel fine shortly thereafter – this is a great clue that demons of some kind are there!

Symptoms which Might Indicate Demonic Attack / Possession

• Thinking thoughts which are “not like you” or which “seem to come from somewhere else” or which “come out of the blue”.
• Sudden depression.  Sometimes the depression is severe, sometimes it is very subtle.
• Feeling like suicide, like life is not worth living or wondering why you are here.
• Having severe arguments with your spouse or friends.
• Feelings of hopelessness.

Symptoms which Likely Indicate Demonic Attack / Possession

• Feeling like someone or something else is controlling you.  You may feel controlled all the time or only some of the time.
• Feeling like someone or something is pressuring you to do certain acts.
• Feeling something touch you, scratch you, or otherwise attack you.
• Hearing one or multiple voices in your head that are negative, persuasive, or commanding you to do something. For example, hearing a voice persuade you that a certain friend should be avoided, or asking you to let them “in” to your life in some way.
• Deep personality changes.  For example, someone stays at home all the time when they used to be very gregarious.
• Creepy feelings.
• An area of your house or your neighbourhood which feels negative or oppressive.
• Any kind of phenomena.  For example, scratching sounds, things falling off walls or shelves, religious or spiritual items being moved or changed.
• Feeling attacked when others do not see or experience anything.  Sometimes this feeling of being attacked may come with physical pain that is medically inexplicable.  Usually it will come with psychological pain of some sort – terror or anguish for example.
• An aversion to prayer or an inability to pray.
• Being unable to stand any contact with religious or spiritual items.  For example, sudden strong aversion to going into a church or temple, aversion to being touched by a crucifix, and so on.

If you have just one of the above symptoms it could be caused by many things and we do not want you to get alarmed. Some medical conditions can cause similar conditions.  It could be from a new bad habit or an encounter with a sinful situation or circumstance. If this is true, you know what to do. Repent and move on with your life.

If you have or are experiencing multiple symptoms from the above list or if one of the above mentioned symptoms is causing problems in your life it may be time to take action. You are very possibly under a demonic influence or attack.  Most of these attacks occur from sin in our lives,  lifestyle issues or incorrect teachings. All of these can be dealt with so that you are free from the evil thoughts or influences. But they must be dealt with. Repentance is the answer to our own sin and self spiritual warfare works most of the time.

Please remember to consult your doctor to make sure there aren’t any physical or serious mental or emotional issues that need addressing.

There is another category of demonic attack that we need to be aware of. if the symptoms started AFTER you started practicing a new type of meditation or any other activity I encourage you to address the issue immediately. Stop doing what you are doing NOW.