Signs Your Loved One Is Possessed

Originally written by Paul Geraghty, updated by the editorial team on 25th October 2026

What some people believe

Some spiritual practitioners claim that changes in behaviour or mental health can be caused by spirits of the dead that have stayed on earth instead of moving on. This explanation is not based on evidence.

Possession beliefs vary widely between religions, cultures and individual practitioners. In one version, the spirit works quietly in the background, shifting a person's moods, habits and outlook over months or years. Other versions describe complete control.

There is no reliable scientific evidence that spirits cause these changes. Healthcare professionals may assess experiences described as possession for medical or mental health causes. This does not mean they recognise a supernatural cause.

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Changes that deserve support

Some believers point to sudden mood swings, low mood, anxiety, impulsive behaviour, heavier drinking or drug use, unexplained physical complaints, or a shift in personality or the way someone speaks. There is no agreed checklist, and none of these changes shows that a person is possessed.

These experiences can have medical or psychological causes, or be linked to alcohol or drugs. A GP can assess mood changes, depression, anxiety and concerns about alcohol use. Unexplained physical symptoms deserve proper investigation, because blaming a spirit can mean a treatable condition goes unnoticed.

How quickly a change happens matters. Gradual changes in memory, mood or behaviour can come from thyroid problems, medication side effects or, in older people, dementia, and are worth raising with a GP. Sudden confusion is different. It can follow a head injury, or be a sign of delirium caused by infection, a reaction to medication or another acute illness. Call 999 for sudden confusion, suspected stroke or any other immediate medical emergency.

Anyone taking prescribed medication should not stop or change it without speaking to the prescriber.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

How to respond

If the person believes they are possessed, listen calmly. Avoid arguing, ridiculing them or agreeing that a spirit is responsible. Saying "I can see this is frightening. Let's get some help" can keep the conversation open.

Offer to help book a GP appointment or go along, if they want that. Respect their choices. Relatives should not arrange rituals or share someone's health information without consent, except in an emergency or where there is a safeguarding concern.

Spiritual beliefs can be important to people, and many combine faith with medical care. They should not delay healthcare.

Where to get help

Emergencies: if someone is in immediate danger or has seriously harmed themselves, call 999 or go to A&E.
Urgent mental health support: in England, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. In Wales, call NHS 111 Wales and choose option 2. In Scotland, call NHS 24 on 111. In Northern Ireland, 111 is not the equivalent route; Lifeline offers crisis support on 0808 808 8000. Check your local NHS or HSC website for current details.
Someone to talk to: Samaritans offers free, confidential listening support on 116 123, day or night. It is not an emergency service.
Information: Mind and Rethink Mental Illness explain conditions and treatments in plain language and offer guidance for families.
Drugs and alcohol: FRANK offers confidential drug advice, and Drinkaware has information on alcohol and local support.
Carers: Carers UK can help if looking after someone is taking its toll on you.

If spiritual support matters to you or your loved one, speak to a recognised faith leader. In England, the Church of England has specialist diocesan deliverance ministry advisers or teams. Consent, safeguarding and appropriate medical involvement should be treated as essential safeguards, not optional extras. Other faiths and other parts of the UK have their own arrangements.

A religious affiliation does not guarantee safety. Restraint, beating, starving, threats, humiliation, isolation, sexual contact and pressure to stop treatment are abuse, whether or not money changes hands and whatever reason is given. Be especially wary of anyone offering exorcism or "spirit removal" who discourages medical care.

If a child or vulnerable adult is in immediate danger, call 999. For other concerns about a child being harmed because of a belief in possession or witchcraft, contact the police on 101 or children's services; the NSPCC helpline can also advise. Concerns about an adult can go to adult safeguarding. In England, Scotland and Wales, these teams sit with your local council. In Northern Ireland, contact your Health and Social Care Trust.

If someone you love has changed in a way that worries you, arrange a health assessment. If the change is sudden or anyone is in danger, get urgent help.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Haunted Location Finder lets you search for reported haunted sites near a UK postcode or town. Try it now →

5 questions

Ask Spooky Stuff a Question

val 25/01/2021 at 11:22 am

I noticed a big change in my girlfriend and I can only think something dark is attached to her.
About 2 years ago she seemed so full of life her house was very cozy and welcoming. After about 2mo in she asked me to move in. Soon later she explained to me how spiritual she is and how she can communicate with people which she called spirit walkers. Soon later we had separated for about 2 months. She had called me out of the blue to come over. So I did. When I walked in the house I noticed the house seemed cold and smelled of weeks old dirty cat litter and wet dog. It seemed as if no one in the house had been down stairs and the animals had taking over the house. Her two younger children one was 14 at the time the other 20. Had not come out of they're rooms. It turns out my ex had been yelling and arguing with her self for weeks. Plants were all dead dirty dishes piled up I couldn't believe what I had witnessed . It broke my heart. I tried my best to help. The more I cleaned the worse it got. It got so bad. It made me do things I am not proud of like became aggressive with her. She would be little me yell at me it got so bad I tried to comment suicide and she would sit there laughing at me. I would pray and she would get angry the only time she was nice if she needed something like money to buy drugs. She said it was the only thing that kept her in communication with what she was dealing with. And she called it work. I could never talk and it was hard for me to come across anything good. I lost my job my two kids and if anything good was about to happen the worse she got so it never did happen. It hurts me see the woman I once loved this way. And to top it off I find out she has been secretly in love with another man that is currently in prison.

Kessa 07/08/2020 at 10:52 am

My husband has been acting strange for a lot of years. It started when he had a near death exsperience since then when he is injured or ill he turns into a very unplecent person. I even believe I know who the spirite is. His old friend that died suddenly. I try to fix with sage and compation. Cheers Kerry.

dutch diva 03/08/2018 at 8:10 pm

Im sorry to be making this so long,this is continued page 3,,The bag in the closet was tied at the top and it looked familiar and wasnt there before when I was looking for the fireworks ,,sure enough there they were,,Paul still didnt believe me,,very frutsrating,,I think its possible his son and friends broke into the closet,,or it was a poltergeist?,hows that possible?I dont know Another very disturbing incident happened one day after paul got home from a couple days at his cabin it was mid day and he was in his girl clothes and wig crawling on floor going forwards and backwards banging his head into the furniture trying to get up but couldnt and tried getting on the bed also and counldnt manage that either,,this went on and on for hours. hed fall asleep for several minutes or a half hour and start doing his crawing all over again He seemed blinded and he did not respond to me when I talked to him and when I waved my hand in front of his face he didnt see me ..This was a major stressful horrible experience and just wreaked my nerves to no end ,,i didnt know what to do,,I left a few times just to collect myself it was out of control he wass banging his hands on the floor and babbled and grunted but made no sense,,he finally exhaused himself when he woke up in the morning he looked in the mirror saw his bruieses on his face match them to a wooden paddle in the room and accused me of stricking him he showed it to everyone there and was totally convinced i did that to him,,so I told him to call the police so they could do forensics on it and he refused,,I am am still not ok about him believing I would do that,,it so so hurtful to be accused of this crazy stuff by my husband that I love and all I want is for him to think good of me ,,I go way past the extra mile to do everything to help him and please him when hes happy im happy,,Its just one thing or another at this unpredictable mad house,,So maddening ,,my reward is lies and evasive unaccountability ,,my emotions are so raw Im dismantled picked apart,,Im the scapegoat ,,The more i did to be nice and helpful and keep the order and functioning, trying to keep the whole existence stable, the more I felt like a target and vunerable Im so glad Im not there anymore, I get cringes when I have to pick my husband up there its so weird he lives there in a large art studio in the backyard on the same premises that his ex wife lives in the front house,,theyve been divorced for over twentyfive years and paul works just down the street from his house in bayarea and im three hours away,,what a nightmare,,,Could this be a demon thats influencing my husband

dutchdiva 03/08/2018 at 7:22 pm

Some of my comment was cut off so Im continuing,,,Another strange thing about all this is that everything that happened was predicted by a relative of Pauls at least six months before my husband moved his ex wife in, and even before that I had been getting the exact same esp or intuition way before Paul even brought up renting the house. Is it possible that evil people that are possessed can have control over other peoples decisions and invade their wills? Or can it be that possessed people can be vunerable to the control of evil peoples manipulation? I was intrigued by your article about spirit releasement therapy. My husbands issue with his wanting to be a woman is simular to your story also.All Pauls family that lives at the house we once lived at have a lot of resentment for his choices to marry me and also are very open about how theyre embaressed by his crossdressing and disfunctional behavior. They even tried to convince Pauls mom as she was dying not to will anything to Paul but to will everything to them instead. That did not happen.Paul did get most of the estate. Paul was furious at their mallicious attempts and now they persuaded Paul into letting them live there and move me out,,It makes no sense. Pauls Mother promised him everything if he stayed with her and take care of her and he honored his commitment to his mother. Can you imagine being on your death bed and these horrible people are turning this sacred departure into a bashing of your son. Its evil sinister manipulation. I read something about these entities in your comments that the possessed victims views and life can become warped. Im also wondering, if maybe since they all lived in that house a long time ago if theyre all possessed. Ive also heard that a haunted house can cause its inhabitants to have an addiction or a very strong desire to return to the house. While living there for four years I was under tremendous anxiety ,I could not sleep unless everyone else was sleeping also,, I even woke up scared to death screaming when Pauls son was standing next to me over the bed. Some of Pauls art has devil faces and horns and very creepy monster heads that are put together from animals bones and teeth he dug up.The feeling I got from these particular pieces did not appeal to me,,It gave me a very dark heavy feeling, There were days the entire house smelled like moldy rotten spoiled food, thick stuffy thick grey air, and the toxic fumes of the lacquer and other products he used. Some of the odors where of very cheap perfume, I had many severe headaches. Fireworks that paul bought came up missing and I was blamed for that for over a year I looked so long for them, Paul believed his son and friends when they said I gave to one of there friends. The craziest thing is one day I was so hurt from paul badgering me about it I decided to pack and leave for a few days and when I went into my locked closet and there was a huge black garbage bag that looked very familiar tied at the t

Annie 15/04/2015 at 2:50 am

Heavy furniture is always being moved around in my Sons room. During the night. I'm right across the hall and I don't hear a thing. ( despite having very keen hearing ). I will find his dresser for instance inside his closet, facing the back of it, still with all of the drawers full. It takes three of us to move it out of there. ( you can't even empty it first because as I said, it's facing the back ). This is one example which has happened several times. I have gone in a few minutes after him to find his bed completely upside down. He has gone through several beds as they are completely skinned.,right down to the springs ( quickly and quietly ). None of us have ever been physically hurt, but it is very stressful for my Son, and also very expensive to replace things.

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