Jerusalem Syndrome

DisclaimerThis page is not here to be used as a self-diagnosis, self-identification, or promotion - it's simply here to be informational. Whether or not one self-diagnoses, self-identifies, and/or seeks a professional diagnosis is up to them.UnrealityThe following page includes discussions of unreality, including delusions, hallucinations, derealization, and depersonalization. If you are uncomfortable or get triggered by this topic, it is recommended to not read this page.

**Jerusalem Syndrome** is an acute psychotic state observed in tourists who visit Jerusalem. In the early 1980s, psychiatrists and psychologists began to notice a growing number of tourists from around the world, who during their visit to Jerusalem, suffered an outbreak of psychotic episodes.

Psychotic manifestations related to places such as Mecca, holy places in India, Christian holy places where the Virgin Mary is worshiped, and evangelical rallies may resemble that description of Jerusalem syndrome, and some similar experiences will also be discussed on this page.

## Types of Jerusalem Syndrome

There has been three identified main types of Jerusalem Syndrome.

### Type I

Type I refers to individuals already diagnosed with a psychotic disorder before their visit to Israel. Their motivation in coming to the city is directly related to their mental condition and to the influence of religious ideas, often reaching delusional levels, compelling them to come to the city and do something there. Type I can be divided into four subtypes.

#### Subtype I(i)

Individuals with this subtype strongly identify with characters from and Old or New Testament or are convinced that they are one of these characters.

#### Subtype I(ii)

Individuals with this subtyep strongly identify with an idea, usually of a religious nature, sometimes of political nature, and arrive in the city to act on this idea.

#### Subtype I(iii)

This subtype consists of individuals with 'magical ideas' concerning sickness and health and healing possibilities connected with Jerusalem.

#### Subtype I(iiii)

This subtype comprises individuals whose mental disturbance is expressed in terms of family problems. This subtype is problematic because, under the influence of the psychosis, it is usually impossible to identify the core meaning of Jerusalem to the individual or the motive for their traveling.

### Type II

The type II subgroup involves individuals with mental disorders such as personality disorders or an obsession with a fixed idea, but who do not have a clear psychotic or delusional disorder. Type II can be divided into two subtypes.

#### Subtype II(i)

This subtype consists of individuals belonging to a group.

#### Subtype II(ii)

This subtype consists of individuals traveling alone.

### Type III

The third type of Jerusalem syndrome describes individuals with no previous history of mental illness who fall victim to a psychotic episode while in Israel, recover fairly spontaneously, and then, after leaving the country, do not experience any changes in their mental state.

#### Diagnosis Criteria for Type III

First criterion: Subjects have no previous history of psychiatric illness, no prior psychiatric episodes, no significant problems regarding work or family, and no drug use.

Second criterion: Subjects arrive in Jerusalem as regular tourists, with no special mission or specific purpose in mind.

Third criterion: Subjects have, upon arrival to Jerusalem, an acute psychotic reaction that develops in a consistently characteristic sequence of seven identifiable clinical stages.

##### The Seven Clinical Stages

1. Anxiety, agitation, nervousness and tension, plus other unspecified reactions.
2. Declaration of the desire to split away from the group to tour Jerusalem alone. Tourist guides aware of the syndrome may refer the tourist to a psychiatric evaluation in an attempt to pre-empt the subsequent stages of the syndrome. If unattended, these stages are usually unavoidable.
3. A need to be clean and pure.
4. Preparation, often with the aid of bed-linen, of a long, ankle-length, togalike gown, which is always white.
5. The need to scream, shout, or sing psalms, versus from the Bible, religious hymns or spirituals. Manifestation of this type serves as a warning to hotel personnel and tourist guides, who should attempt to have the tourist taken for personal treatment. Failing this will lead to the last two stages.
6. A procession or march to one of Jerusalem's holy places.
7. Delivery of a 'sermon' in a holy place. The sermon is usually very confused and based on an unrealistic plea to humankind to adopt a more wholesome, moral, simple way of life.

## Airport Syndrome

Airport syndrome is a condition found among tourists who get lost and experience psychotic episodes in airports. However, unlike Jerusalem syndrome, those who develop airport syndrome forget their identity, are unaware of where they come from or where they are going and bump into others. Recovery is usually spontaneous after minimal assistance, like a drink or a short rest.

## Stendhal Syndrome

Stendhal syndrome describes an acute psychotic reaction among art-loving tourists visiting Florence. French writer, Stendhal, described feelings of déjà vu and disquiet after looking at works of art in Florence. Cases usually come from a small detail in a famous painting or sculpture that evokes an outbursts of anxiety, reaching psychotic dimensions. Such reactions are usually associated with a latent mental or psychiatric disturbance that manifests itself as a reaction to paintings of battles or other masterpieces and culminates in the syndrome.

## References

Bar-El, Y., Durst, R., Katz, G., Zislin, J., Strauss, Z., & Knobler, H. (2000). Jerusalem syndrome. *British Journal of Psychiatry*, 176(1), 86-90. doi:10.1192/bjp.176.1.86

Prochwicz K, Sobczyk A. Syndrom jerozolimski. Objawy, przebieg i kontekst kulturowy [Jerusalem syndrome. Symptoms, course and cultural context]. Psychiatr Pol. 2011 Mar-Apr;45(2):289-96. Polish. PMID: 21714216.

https://slavaguide.com/blog/jerusalem-syndrome-10-insights-that-may-completely-drive-you-crazy