Could demon possession be real? Couldn't the brain going awry in mental illness be caused by the demon? Psychiatry does not answer WHY the brain malfunctions, just that it does, which I am sure it does. Why the brain goes awry in mental illness could be that the demons made it go awry. I dabbled in the occult a bit and I think my problems are probably caused by something of a spiritual/demonic nature and I think this is probably true a lot of the time. I'm actually going to see a priest soon to try to get rid of whatever being is possessing me below my level of awareness (if that is indeed true). I'll let everyone know how it goes. I have been getting extensively into prayer and religion with some limited level of success.