Thinking it over, I left the spelling as “exorcized” because I thought that the sense of “worked up about” related better to “the casting out of demons” than it did to “doing calisthenics.” Looking up the two words online, I was mildly surprised not to find either definition suiting the exact sense I was intending, that of seeming unduly agitated about something, to which either definition seems equally suitable or unsuitable.
Was I simply misusing the word entirely? Or is there a definition of the word that roughly conforms to the sense of getting unduly worked up about something? All the definitions I saw related either to physical exercise or to casting demons.
This seems to be the meaning you are going for, although in this case, the agitated person is the subject of the verb with a clear subject.
I feel like I’ve definitely seen it used the way you did, “He was exercised”, meaning, “He was unduly agitated”, but I suppose in that case “He” is still the object, with an implicit and ambiguous subject.
Either way, yes, “exercised”, not “exorcised”.
Look at it this way, if someone’s been “exorcised”, they shouldn’t be agitated anymore. An exorcised person should be at peace - their demons are gone.
I admit that I ain’t no angel
I admit that I ain’t no saint
I’m selfish and I’m cruel and I’m blind
If I exorcise my devils
Well my angels may leave too
When they leave they’re so hard to find