The dozen inmates, whose violent fits stirred fears of “demon possession” in the Cebu provincial jail, had a scary episode of mass hysteria, according to a government psychsologist and at least one priest.
While spritual warfare is a reality, other explanations for the strange conduct have to be fully explored before calling in an exorcist.
It’s understandable that in the face of such a frightening scene of women convulsing, shouting in strange voices and stiffening up like boards, jail officials would quickly call in a priest and reach for rosary beads.
Deep-set Catholic beliefs about the reality of evil — plus the influence of horror movies — make it easy to conclude that some big, bad supernatural catastrophy has visited the jail.
It took some time to sift through the facts and establish that the first woman who went into hysterics had just given birth, and was “overwhelmed” by personal troubles.
The nature of mass hysteria involves a domino effect. The outburst of the first victim is “mimicked” by others. It’s not by design. Fear is contagious. So is extreme anxiety.
The emotional or psychological profile of people around the initial victim may be such that they too are vulnerable to harmful suggestions.
That said, it does no harm, and probably contributes a lot to peace of mind, to bring in a priest or other religious counselors to talk to the inmates and assure them that they are not going insane.
“Lying down and sitting all day inside a prison cell would probably drive anyone crazy,” said jail consultant Marco Toral.
While he personally believes some kind of dark religous event took place in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), Toral is the first to emphasize that the jail needs apsychiatrist on call.
As a former inmate who spent over 5 years behind bars on a drug charge, Toral knows how fragile the emotional and mental wellbeing of a detainee can be when he or she broods over the slow justice system.
Loss of hope and constant worrying is a deadly cancer in the thoughts of any CPDRC inmate.
The suicide last April of an Australian inmate facing a non-bailable case of child abuse and trafficking was a stark example of this sense of desperation.
After that tragic death, Toral renewed calls for para-legal volunteers to assist inmates. He also raised the need to take care of the emotional and mental health of detainees.
The jail’s in-house clinic currently employs one doctor, four nurses and a dentist of the Provincial Health Office.
With over 2,000 inmates in the congested facility, a psychiatrist on duty could ease the pressure of living in forced confinement. Or at least an expert could diagnose quickly whether the next round of hallucinations behind bars is a matter of disturbed human minds or it’s time to bring in holy water.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
