Force psychosis

Force psychosis was a mental disease that began affecting several young Jedi during the time following the Second Galactic Civil War. The disease caused mental deterioration in the individual's brain which manifested itself as a paranoia resulting in the belief that everyone that the being knew—except for other affected beings—was an impostor. Several of the afflicted subjects were captured by the Jedi Order to be studied, and it was found that the Jedi who developed the psychosis were able to display rare Force powers that Jedi Knight Jacen Solo had learned, but the psychotic Knights could not have learned themselves. However, another afflicted Knight, Bazel Warv, showed the ability to alter the density of matter, a power that Solo never possessed.

Members of the Mind Walkers—a group of Force-sensitives who lived at Sinkhole Station, a space station in the Maw—had contracted and experienced similar symptoms earlier in their lives. However, after living at the station and traveling to a realm of the Force known as beyond shadows, their paranoia was replaced with a belief that nothing was real except for the Force itself. Eventually, Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, allied themselves with a group of Sith and embarked on a mission to the Maw to destroy Abeloth, a dark side entity whom they suspected was the cause of the psychosis. Despite the attempt of the Sith to betray the Jedi and force Abeloth to serve them, Skywalker defeated Abeloth, and the beings who had been affected by the psychosis were then instantly cured. As the Sith and Jedi continued investigating Abeloth, however, they learned that she had survived and fled.

When Sith High Lord Sarasu Taalon bathed in the Pool of Knowledge, he began to turn into the same kind of entity as Abeloth, until he was killed by Sith apprentice Vestara Khai, although Abeloth escaped once more. Since she was not dead, Luke suspected that keeping her weakened was the only thing keeping the minds of the formerly psychotic Knights free. However, following the rescue of Valin and Jysella Horn from carbonite, they retained their psychosis. Another battle with Abeloth freed the Horn siblings from her control. As Abeloth recovered, however, she was able to influence several Sith into betraying their Tribe and joining her.

Text and facts from the “Force psychosis” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.