Talk:Jerusalem syndrome

message: One: "Obsession" points to a disambiguation page. I went to fix it, but don't have the technical knowledge to feel comfortable dong so. Should it point to obsessive-complusive disorder, or was the word "obsessive" just pulled from the general lexicon?
Two: Type one seems to be the real deal, but type 3 is under some debate. Perhaps we need to stick an 'expert wanted' template on it? Again, I don't know enough about the subject to know wheather this is appropriate.Sim 04:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Minor things to add? 

message: "About 2 million tourists visit Jerusalem each year". Sorry, but not even half that! Acmthompson 17:51, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Source? Timbudtwo 17:52, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

text: I stand corrected, as according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics http://www.cbs.gov.il/yarhon/e7_h.htm (hebrew site) the total number of entries to Israel on tourist visas during 2006 came to 1,825,863 including several thousands of Jordanian and Egyptian citizens. Most tourists would not leave Israel without seeing Jerusalem, so it would be indeed fair to say close to 2 million, especially as the tourism in  2006 was marred by the 2nd Lebanese War.Acmthompson 17:01, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Number of tourists

message: Some of Bar-El et al.'s "seven clinical stages of type III", quoted verbatim in our article, are positively surreal. Apparently one of the earliest signs of this terrible psychosis is when an otherwise sane, healthy tourist exhibits a desire to separate from a tour group to visit parts of the city solo. To anyone except Bar-El et al., this would seem to be a perfectly common and sane behaviour. Oh, you think, this is just one of many signs to be taken in conjunction with others, right? Nope, Bar-El et al. actually recommend that at this "stage" of the "syndrome" the tourist be referred to a psychiatric institution!!!! At this point I checked to see if the paper was submitted or published on April Fool's Day (it wasn't).
Next, cutting up the hotel bed-linen to make a toga seems pretty wacky (unless actually participating in a toga party, of course) but oddly hotel staff are not expected to notice this, so perhaps it doesn't always happen, or the toga isn't actually worn, or something (they don't really go into details). On the other hand, singing hymns is a definitely a sign of psychosis according to Bar-El et al., who recommend that the hapless soul at this point be taken (not referred) to an institution as the final, dire phases of the illness are now inevitable!! It would almost be an amusing joke about cacophanous blue-noses if not for the fact that these quacks are actually recommending the involuntary committal of persons for being found singing hymns in Jerusalem. At this point I begin to wonder about those 42 "Type III" cases over 13 years; how many were actually ill, how many just religious people in high spirits? (Presumably less high in spirits after being bundled into a white van.)
And what is this dire seventh stage? It is publicly making a "confused and unrealistic plea to humankind to adopt a more wholesome, moral, simple way of life". Gosh. Lucky we caught that one in time.
:This has to be some kind of wind-up!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 51kwad (talk • contribs) 15:38, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Seven signs of madness. (Hymns, etc.) 

message: I don't see how to fit this into the article at the moment, but there is a review of exhibitions in the Guardian newspaper's arts section which includes mention of a "video segment" which is all about Jerusalem syndrome.
In the article: " The Jerusalem Syndrome is the subject of a two-part video projection by Nathan Coley, the most interesting segment of which is the interview with the city's district psychiatrist, who describes the variety of symptoms displayed by some visitors to the city (invariably, he observes, these are Christian and Jewish rather than Muslims), whose delusions are often what lead them to take their pilgrimage in the first place."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1531260,00.html
Just in case anyone can do anything with that. As I say, I don't see where any of it can be worked in. 
Telsa 09:02, 19 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Jerusalem syndrome in contempory show

message: Because mentally normal people do not come to a given historical place and start yelling about those things. I was in Jerusalem for Passover and Easter. I left thinking the world was crazy. This is bare editorial, so go ahead and take it out: My dream is that one day Jerusalem becomes known as a historical place where religions once had their center, back when people thought organized religions were a tenable idea. "How quaint," visitors will say, "I am glad we are no longer deluded." Anyway, more substantively, this article should not be stewarded by a religious project, because it it is on a medical issue precipitated by religion, but is not about religion.
I too, thought this was a hoax on first reading this article.  It certainly needs more of a criticism section or somethingMerkinsmum 01:02, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: lol

message: Hello hello!
I'm going to try to fix this intro a bit.  Not my first edit, but my first with a real login.  Pls be gentle :) P.S.  Not sure if "weasel wording" is the right term (Is it still weasel wording if the source is cited?), but it still sounded bad.
Original 4th ¶:
It has been claimed[1] that there is a specific syndrome which emerges in tourists who have no previous psychiatric history. However, this has been disputed[2][3] They stressed that nearly all of the tourists who demonstrated the described behaviours were already mentally ill prior to their arrival to Jerusalem. Further, of the small proportion alleged to have exhibited spontaneous psychosis after arrival in Jerusalem, there was no evidence presented that they had previously been well.
New 4th ¶:
In a 2000 article in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Bar-El et al.[1] claim to have identified and described a specific syndrome which emerges in tourists with no previous psychiatric history. However, this claim has been disputed by M. Kalian and E. Witztum[2][3]. Kalian and Witzum stressed that nearly all of the tourists who demonstrated the described behaviours were mentally ill prior to their arrival in Jerusalem. They further noted that, of the small proportion of tourists alleged to have exhibited spontaneous psychosis after arrival in Jerusalem, Bar-El et al. had presented no evidence that the tourists had been well prior to their arrival in the city.
I also changed the first sentence of History section: 
"It was previously regarded as a form of hysteria," changed to
"Jerusalem syndrome has previously been regarded as a form of hysteria,"
I'm not sure if my new first sentence is very good, either, but at least it identifies the subject. 
I made a few minor copy edits, too (hopefully non-rotsky!). Please revert anything I made worse.  You won't hurt my feelings. WarEqualsPeace (talk) 19:26, 30 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Weasel wording &c. in the intro 

message: The two syndromes are not the same. The research cited in thsi article makes that clear: "...The religious focus of the Jerusalem syndrome distinguishes it from other phenomena, such as the Stendhal syndrome, which is reported in Florence, Italy, or the Paris syndrome, which has been reported predominantly in Japanese individuals. In a 2000 article in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Bar-El et al.[1] claim to have identified and described a specific syndrome which emerges in tourists with no previous psychiatric history. However, this claim has been disputed by M. Kalian and E. Witztum[2][3]...etc" IZAK (talk) 06:10, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jerusalem syndrone cannot be merged with Paris syndrome 

message: This just doesn't make sense: 
"Jerusalem syndrome has previously been regarded as a form of hysteria, referred to as "Jerusalem squabble poison," or fièvre Jerusalemmiene.[4]"
I googled "squabble poison" and the only references to it were quotes from this article. I think it's a made-up expression. I can't find the book this contributor was quoting from, but I'm going to guess that since the French expression is "fièvre," the English expression needed here is almost certainly "fever." Not to mention, it makes a hell of a lot more sense than "squabble poison." Dr spork (talk) 03:04, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: A reference to this poem? Jerusalem Squabble Poison. --Auric talk 21:51, 16 January 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Here is "Jerusalem squabble poison" used in The New York Times in 1989 (in a review of the book we currently use as a reference), so we didn't make it up ourselves at least. I agree it's a very surprising phrase with the feeling of an awkward translation. › Mortee talk 06:02, 14 June 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Squabble Poison"? 

message: I would expect this could be easily explained for example as the result of inhaling the spores of a fungus species only found in that area (the same way not everyone reacts the same to many medications, not everyone would react the same, or at all, when in contact with such element). Has there been no studies looking for this type of explanation for the syndrome? --TiagoTiago (talk) 22:44, 22 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  No studies about the possibility of a physical cause for this? 

message: Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions, or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected Jews, Christians, and Muslims of many different backgrounds. It is not listed as a recognised condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Diseases.
Man who claims to be a Messiah in Tel-Aviv, 2010
The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem.[citation needed] The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area. The religious focus of Jerusalem syndrome distinguishes it from other phenomena, such as Stendhal syndrome in Florence or Paris syndrome in Paris.
In a 2000 article in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Bar-El et al. claim to have identified and described a specific syndrome which emerges in tourists with no previous psychiatric history.[1] However, this claim has been disputed by M. Kalian and E. Witztum.[2][3] Kalian and Witztum stressed that nearly all of the tourists who demonstrated the described behaviours were mentally ill prior to their arrival in Jerusalem. They further noted that, of the small proportion of tourists alleged to have exhibited spontaneous psychosis after arrival in Jerusalem, Bar-El et al. had presented no evidence that the tourists had been well prior to their arrival in the city. 103.141.175.166 (talk) 06:48, 8 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jerusaelem