Studia Koszalińsko-Kołobrzeskie

Mental illnesses are an enormous problem in the contemporary world. An increasing number of people suffer with psychiatric disorders and almost every family has members with some such difficulty. This dissertation presents an analysis of the mental state of Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul’s case is certainly complex, and simultaneously provides a greater certainty of the first king of Israel’s psychological problems. Three illnesses appear to be most likely in his case: schizophrenia, a delusional syndrome, or bipolar disorder. Three criteria have been adopted to make a better identification of the illness that affected Saul. The first criterion is related to the subject’s age at the onset of symptoms. This criterion eliminated schizophrenia as the first symptoms of Saul’s illness appeared after he was thirty, which does not usually occur in cases of schizophrenia. The second criterion pertains to the type of delusions experienced by Saul. They were paranoid, relatively logical and without hallucinations. This type of delusion attests to the likelihood that Saul suffered from paranoid syndrome. The final criterion is related to the changeability of the king’s behaviour. Consequently, it revealed that the changes were not significant enough to be identified as a bipolar affective disorder. Since a direct confrontation with the patients and observation of their behaviour is impossible, these considerations are only an analysis of symptoms described in the Bible. It is unknown how accurately they were described by the author, and thus a diagnosis cannot be certain in the end. The case of Saul also reveals that rejection and isolation are at the foundation of psychological illnesses. The risk of mental illnesses significantly increases in the contemporary world when so many people do not feel accepted or loved.