Paris syndrome
Encyclopedia
Paris syndrome is a transient psychological disorder encountered by some people, in most cases from Japan
, visiting or vacationing in Paris, France. It is similar in nature to Jerusalem syndrome
and Stendhal syndrome
.
Japanese visitors are observed to be especially susceptible. It was first noted in Nervure, the French journal of psychiatry
in 2004. From the estimated six million yearly visitors, the number of reported cases is significant: according to an administrator at the Japanese embassy in France, around twenty Japanese tourists a year are affected by the syndrome. The susceptilibity of Japanese people may be linked to the popularity of Paris in Japanese culture, notably the idealized image of Paris prevalent in Japanese advertising, which does not correspond to reality.
Mario Renoux, the president of the Franco-Japonaise Medical Association, states in Libération
s article "Des Japonais entre mal du pays et mal de Paris" (December 13, 2004) that [Japanese] magazines are primarily responsible for creating this syndrome. Renoux indicates that Japanese media, magazines in particular, often depict Paris as a place where most people on the street look like stick-thin models and most women dress in high-fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton
, while in reality French high-fashion brands are mainly for foreign consumers, and the French population are far more overweight than the Japanese population.
s, feelings of persecution
(perceptions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization
, depersonalization
, anxiety
, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness
, tachycardia
, sweating
, etc.
In fact, the observed clinical picture is quite variable, but it has the characteristic of occurring during trips which confront travellers with things they have not previously experienced and had not anticipated. Principal to the diagnosis is that the experienced symptoms did not exist before the trip and disappear following a return to the sufferer's familiar surroundings. This differs from a 'pathological voyage', in which psychiatric disorders are pre-existing.
, indicates that Paris Syndrome is "a manifestation of psychopathology related to the voyage, rather than a syndrome of the traveller." He theorized that the excitement resulting from visiting Paris causes the heart to accelerate
, causing giddiness and shortness of breath, which results in hallucinations in the manner similar to the Stendhal syndrome
described by Italian psychologist Graziella Magherini
in her book La sindrome di Stendhal.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, visiting or vacationing in Paris, France. It is similar in nature to Jerusalem syndrome
Jerusalem syndrome
The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem...
and Stendhal syndrome
Stendhal syndrome
Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art...
.
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
in 2004. From the estimated six million yearly visitors, the number of reported cases is significant: according to an administrator at the Japanese embassy in France, around twenty Japanese tourists a year are affected by the syndrome. The susceptilibity of Japanese people may be linked to the popularity of Paris in Japanese culture, notably the idealized image of Paris prevalent in Japanese advertising, which does not correspond to reality.
Mario Renoux, the president of the Franco-Japonaise Medical Association, states in Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
s article "Des Japonais entre mal du pays et mal de Paris" (December 13, 2004) that [Japanese] magazines are primarily responsible for creating this syndrome. Renoux indicates that Japanese media, magazines in particular, often depict Paris as a place where most people on the street look like stick-thin models and most women dress in high-fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, while in reality French high-fashion brands are mainly for foreign consumers, and the French population are far more overweight than the Japanese population.
General characteristics
Paris Syndrome is characterized by a number of psychiatric symptoms such as acute delusional states, hallucinationHallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s, feelings of persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
(perceptions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization
Derealization
Derealization is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring and depth. It is a dissociative symptom of many conditions, such as psychiatric and...
, depersonalization
Depersonalization
Depersonalization is an anomaly of the mechanism by which an individual has self-awareness. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Sufferers feel they have changed, and the world has become less real, vague, dreamlike, or lacking in significance...
, anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness
Dizziness
Dizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. The term is somewhat imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....
, tachycardia
Tachycardia
Tachycardia comes from the Greek words tachys and kardia . Tachycardia typically refers to a heart rate that exceeds the normal range for a resting heart rate...
, sweating
Sweating
Perspiration is the production of a fluid consisting primarily of water as well as various dissolved solids , that is excreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals...
, etc.
In fact, the observed clinical picture is quite variable, but it has the characteristic of occurring during trips which confront travellers with things they have not previously experienced and had not anticipated. Principal to the diagnosis is that the experienced symptoms did not exist before the trip and disappear following a return to the sufferer's familiar surroundings. This differs from a 'pathological voyage', in which psychiatric disorders are pre-existing.
Triggers
The authors of the journal cite the following matters as factors that combine to induce the phenomenon:- Language barrierLanguage barrierLanguage barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other...
- few Japanese speak French and vice versa. This is believed to be the principal cause and is thought to engender the remainder. Apart from the obvious differences between French and Japanese, many everyday phrases and idioms are shorn of meaning and substance when translated, adding to the confusion of some who have not previously encountered such. - Cultural difference - the large difference between not only the languages but the manner. The French can communicate on an informal level in comparison to the rigidly formal Japanese cultureCulture of JapanThe culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
, which proves too great a difficulty for some Japanese visitors. It is thought that it is the rapid and frequent fluctuations in mood, tense and attitude, especially in the delivery of humour, which cause the most difficulty. - Idealised image of Paris - it is also speculated as manifesting from an individual's inability to reconcile a disparity between the Japanese popular image and the reality of Paris.
- Exhaustion - finally, it is thought that the over-booking of one's time and energy, whether on a business tripBusiness tripA business trip or official trip is a travel/journey caused by business necessities. The place of employment is left temporarily, e.g.* to visit customers, suppliers or a trade fair* to visit another location the company has, e.g...
or on holiday, in attempting to cram too much into every moment of a stay in Paris, along with the effects of jet lagJet lagJet lag, medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms; it is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders...
, all contribute to the psychological destabilization of some visitors.
History
Professor Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, is credited as the first person to diagnose the condition in 1986. However, later work by Youcef Mahmoudia, physician with the hospital Hôtel-Dieu de ParisHôtel-Dieu de Paris
The Hôtel-Dieu de Paris is regarded as the oldest hospital in the city of Paris, France, and is the most central of the Assistance publique - hôpitaux de Paris hospitals. The hospital is linked to the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes...
, indicates that Paris Syndrome is "a manifestation of psychopathology related to the voyage, rather than a syndrome of the traveller." He theorized that the excitement resulting from visiting Paris causes the heart to accelerate
Tachycardia
Tachycardia comes from the Greek words tachys and kardia . Tachycardia typically refers to a heart rate that exceeds the normal range for a resting heart rate...
, causing giddiness and shortness of breath, which results in hallucinations in the manner similar to the Stendhal syndrome
Stendhal syndrome
Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art...
described by Italian psychologist Graziella Magherini
Graziella Magherini
Graziella Magherini is an Italian psychologist, at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy.-Biography:Graziella Magherini is most well known for her 1989 book La sindrome di Stendhal , which introduced this term to indicate a psychosomatic illness affecting individuals when exposed to art...
in her book La sindrome di Stendhal.
See also
- Culture shockCulture shockCulture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
- DelusionDelusionA delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
- PsychosisPsychosisPsychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
- Jerusalem syndromeJerusalem syndromeThe Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem...
- Mean World SyndromeMean World Syndrome"Mean world syndrome" is a term coined by George Gerbner to describe a phenomenon whereby violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe that the world is more dangerous than it actually is. Mean world syndrome is one of the main conclusions of cultivation theory...