Musar zu Hoschea 9:7

The prophets mentioned there all experienced a weakening or complete loss of their bodily functions at the time they received prophetic insights. This process has been described by various commentators. This is the reason a prophet is frequently called mentally disturbed, משוגע, a description of the sage Ben Zoma who entered the פרדס "had a look" and was hurt, i.e. became of unsound mind. The prophets were on a higher level than Ben Zoma because of the cumulative nature of their prophetic insights. The mental disturbance experienced by prophets or the death experienced by the elders are basically of the same order, the result of visions by the soul when the body has not reached a spiritual level to match that of the soul. This is why the Mishnah puts the elders and the prophets in the same category.