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Especially at Easter, tourists in Jerusalem believe they are saints or a biblical figure. The “Holy City” becomes the trigger for a temporary mental disorder.
Time and time again, people are moved by the holy aura of Jerusalem into a profound religious excitement: a Canadian tourist firmly believed he was “Samson the Strong” from the book of Judges and had to move a stone from the Western Wall.
The Mother of God appeared to a teacher from Copenhagen on the dome of the Dome of the Rock. He punched the attendant of the cathedral, now a mosque, for refusing to receive the Blessed Virgin properly.
An Argentine woman danced naked on the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. According to her statement, she wanted to fertilize the parched soil of Israel. Three recent examples. But even the crusaders reported an almost enraptured overwhelming feeling when they arrived in Jerusalem after a long journey.
Diagnosis «Jerusalem Syndrome»
Year after year need at least a hundred travelers in the acute admission of the psychiatric hospital in West Jerusalem be briefed. The diagnosis: “Jerusalem Syndrome”. Many of them had previously wandered the streets and alleyways of Jerusalem, distraught. Some preached to themselves, reciting psalms or Bible verses.
Men often believe they are Jesus, Moses, John the Baptist or God himself. Women often identify with Mary Magdalene. Some think they are the wife of Jesus and are waiting for their husbands. Mainly white people of Christian or Jewish faith are affected. The former tend to choose a character from the New Testament, while Jews use the Old Testament.
The diagnosis of Jerusalem syndrome is divided into three types. Travelers who have already dealt with a religious idea in their home country and now want to fulfill a mission. Tourists without a clear mental illness but suffering from a mental disorder. The third type has no previous mental illnesses or religious ideas, they spontaneously fall victim to a psychotic episode. They recover just as spontaneously after a few days, at the latest after departure.
Not just in Jerusalem
In the British Journal of Psychiatry In an analysis based on clinical experience, the authors describe Jerusalem syndrome as a unique, acutely psychotic condition.
The reason is apparently the proximity to the holy sites of Jerusalem and a profound religious experience. The change in daily routine during the trip or the cultural difference to the home country can also contribute to the Jerusalem syndrome.
However, other historic sites can also unnerve travelers. Sigmund Freud, for example, reported experiencing a sense of derealization when visiting the Acropolis in Athens.
The feelings that overwhelmed Sigmund Freud in Athens are also Florence/Stendhal Syndrome known. The French author Stendhal was the first to describe the effects and causes: Overwhelmed by the cultural diversity in Florence, the tombs of Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei and Michelangelo, he became short of breath and his pulse increased.
Also here: A temporary psychosomatic disorder caused by too much cultural stimulus. Today, American tourists occasionally get sick with it.