Possession trance is characterized by a transient alteration in identity whereby one's normal identity is temporarily replaced (possessed) by a spirit, ghost, deity, or other person. The experience of being "possessed" by another entity, such as a person, god, demon, animal, or inanimate object, holds different meanings in different cultures and therefore the diagnosis for this disorder may be culturally bound. While possession is a common experience in many cultures, in Western industrialized cultures, such experiences are not the norm.
Associated Features
Subjects often complained of a variety of associated symptoms
- Loss of control over one's actions.
- Behavior change or acting differently.
- Loss of awareness of surroundings.
- Loss of personal identity.
- Difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy at the time of the possession.
- Change in tone of voice.
- Wandering attention.
- Trouble concentrating.
- Loss of sense of time.
- Loss of memory.
- Belief that one's body changed in appearance.
