Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - City Syndromes

Starting point is 00:00:00 Psychologists have identified hundreds of different psychological disorders and conditions. Some of them are rather common conditions that affect large segments of the population at one time or another. And others are quite rare, only coming up in certain circumstances or even in certain places. And within that, there's a rare subset of psychological conditions that only tend to appear in certain cities or were named after cities where they first appeared. Learn more about psychological syndromes named after cities on this episode. episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story

Starting point is 00:00:54 that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. This episode is going to be something a bit different. I want to focus on what is actually a rather small category of psychological conditions. These legitimate psychological disorders have been identified by psychologists and academic papers have been written about them. But as a caveat, I should note that not all professionals

Starting point is 00:01:29 agree that the things I'm about to cover are actual clinical disorders. These conditions are fascinating, and they've been documented. But given the circumstances under which they occur, they've only affected a small number of people. Moreover, all the psychological conditions I'll be covering in this episode have one thing in common. They were named after cities. So I might as well start with the one city syndrome that most of you have probably heard of Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological response in which hostages or victims of kidnapping develop a bond, sympathy, or even affection towards their captors. This phenomenon can occur over a period of time when the

Starting point is 00:02:12 victims start to feel a sense of empathy and positive feelings towards their abductors, despite the danger or the threat that they're under. Stockholm syndrome was coined from a 1973 bank robbery that took place in Stockholm, Sweden. The bank robber was a convict on parole by the name of Jan Eric Olson. He went into a bank called the Credit Bonkin and wound up taking four people hostage. The most notable aspect of the bank robbery was that it was the first time such an event had been broadcast live on television in Sweden. The hostage situation went on for six days, and after the police finally entered the bank and ended the standoff, something remarkable happened. The freed hostages

Starting point is 00:02:53 refused to testify against Olson. Moreover, they began to raise money for his defense. A Swedish criminologist by the name of Niels Behirot was asked by the police to analyze the reaction of the hostages. He coined the term Stockholm Syndrome to describe their behavior. Stockholm Syndrome came to even greater prominence the very next year in 1974 with the kidnapping of Patty Hurst. Patty Hurst was the granddaughter of the publishing magnate William Randolphurst, one of the richest men in the world. She was kidnapped by a terrorist group known as the Simbinese Liberation Army on February 4,

Starting point is 00:03:31 1974. On April 3rd, just about two months after her abduction, she released an audio tape indicating that she had changed her name and had joined the Simbeneese Liberation. Army. Just two weeks later, she was seen on surveillance footage robbing a bank, holding a semi-automatic rifle. In September 1975, she was captured, and in court her attorneys argued that she had been brainwashed, or as psychologists later have argued, she was the most famous case of Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is the best known of the psychological disorders named after cities, but it's far from the only one. In fact, it isn't even the only one that deals with

Starting point is 00:04:11 hostages and kidnapping. The opposite of Stockholm syndrome is known as Lima syndrome. Lima syndrome is a psychological condition in which abductors develop sympathy, compassion, or even affection for their hostages. This phenomenon can lead to the captor showing leniency or even letting the hostages go free. This condition was named after an event that took place on December 17, 1996, when a terrorist group, known as the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took over 600 diplomat. Diplubley, and guests hostage at the home of the Japanese ambassador to Peru. The standoff lasted for four months, and during that time, the hostage takers kept letting hostages go, most of whom were released in the first few days. By the end of the standoff, there was only a single hostage left.

Starting point is 00:05:01 Lima syndrome isn't as well studied as Stockholm syndrome. One of the reasons why the captors became fond of their captives in this case may have been that most of the hostages were actually skilled at communication. Stockholm syndrome and Lima syndrome aren't mutually exclusive. They can both happen at the same time when both the captor and the captive suddenly become friends. In 1986, a 19-year-old man named Arthur Hamid Khan was kidnapped in Uttar Pradesh India. The group that kidnapped him were Dalits, members of the untouchable class, who were fighting to end the caste system. Arthur was targeted because he looked rich, but he actually wasn't. The kidnappers treated him well, allowing him to walk around the village where he was

Starting point is 00:05:45 kept. And likewise, Arthur began to sympathize with his captor's cause. Eventually, he was freed and actually given money to compensate him for his time. Arthur on his part began to advocate for Dalit rights and got into politics. However, there's another syndrome that's been identified that deals with hostages, London syndrome. This gets its name from a 1981 siege at the Iranian embassy, 26 people were held hostage, and one of them became extremely belligerent with his captors. When the hostage takers decided to kill one of the hostages to show that they were serious, they selected the one guy who was really annoying and belligerent. While this condition was given a name, it's even less understood than Lima syndrome. These syndromes were named after

Starting point is 00:06:34 cities where events took place. However, some conditions only occur in particular cities. Probably the best known condition to manifest itself in a particular city is Jerusalem Syndrome. Jerusalem is a city that's important to three of the world's great religions. Jerusalem syndrome is a psychological phenomenon involving religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions, and other psychosis-like experiences triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. The condition affects a small number of visitors and pilgrims to the city, particularly those with pre-existing mental health conditions, but it can also manifest in individuals with no prior history of mental illness. About 100 people per year are diagnosed with Jerusalem syndrome. It can manifest itself in

Starting point is 00:07:23 different ways. Some people believe that there are messengers from God and begin preaching in the streets. Others believe that they are literally biblical figures who have returned to the present day. One American man went to Jerusalem thinking that he was Samson from the Old Testament and he tried to move the Western Wall with his bare hands. He was unsuccessful. The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist are also popular figures who many people believe that they are. One of the most famous cases took place in 1969 with an Australian named Dennis Michael Rohan. He arrived in Jerusalem and believed himself to be a messenger of God and subsequently tried to burn down the El-Azka Mosque with kerosene. He was responsible for causing a major diplomatic incident.

Starting point is 00:08:09 About 80% of the people who suffer from Jerusalem syndrome have a history of mental illness, but the rest have never shown signs of mental illness in the past. Statistically, the most common victims of Jerusalem syndrome are men in their 20s and 30s from North America. While Jerusalem's syndrome manifest itself most often in Jerusalem, it has also been recorded as happening in other report in religious cities, such as Mecca and Rome. Jerusalem isn't the only city that can trigger extreme responses in people. Another city that regularly causes psychotic episodes is Paris. Paris syndrome is a psychological disorder primarily affecting tourists visiting Paris,

Starting point is 00:08:52 particularly those from Japan, but some have also come from China and South Korea. It's characterized by a range of psychiatric symptoms, including acute delusional states, solutionizations, feeling of persecution, and other manifestations of severe anxiety. The term paris syndrome was coined by Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist who was working in France in the 1980s. So, what exactly is the connection between people from Japan and the city of Paris? Why does it primarily affect mostly Japanese tourists and why in Paris of all the cities

Starting point is 00:09:26 in the world? Paris syndrome is believed to be an extreme form of culture shock. Some people in Japan have an idealized view of parents. They've seen media images showing Paris as a place of high culture where models can be seen on almost every street corner. When they arrive in Paris, the reality doesn't match their expectations. The city that they dreamt of doesn't exist. Instead, they find a modern city messy with crowds and severe language barriers. Once people experience this, they can suffer from paranoia and anxiety.

Starting point is 00:10:00 They may feel that everyone in Paris is out to get them. There are 1.1 million people from Japan who visit Paris every year, and the number who suffer from Paris Syndrome is exceedingly small. Only about two or three dozen people each year develop the symptoms, and of those only a handful or ever hospitalized. It's not a lot, but it's pretty consistent every year, and it's enough of a problem that the Japanese embassy in France has a special hotline for people who are having difficulty in Paris. The treatment is usually just to send people home as soon as possible. Paris isn't the only city that can bring about profound responses from visitors. Another condition documented in the early 19th century is Florence Syndrome, also known as Stendal Syndrome.

Starting point is 00:10:48 It was named after the French author Stendal, which was a pen name for Marie-on-Rie Bell. Florence Syndrome is a psychosomatic condition characterized by intense emotional and physical reactions when an individual is exposed to art, particularly when the art is exceptionally beautiful. Stendall visited Florence in 1817 and experienced Florence Syndrome himself. He was particularly overcome when he visited the Basilica of San Croce, the burial site of such people as Magellan and Galileo.

Starting point is 00:11:18 He wrote of his experience, quote, I was in a sort of ecstasy from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen, absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty, I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations. Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget, I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call nerves.

Starting point is 00:11:43 Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling. End quote. As with the other conditions, Florence syndrome is quite rare, but there are constant yet infrequent cases of people fainting or being overcome while in the present. of great art. Florence isn't the only city in Italy that has a psychological condition named after it. Venice syndrome is a term used to describe the phenomenon where individuals travel to Venice with the express intention of committing suicide. The association of Venice with themes of decay and

Starting point is 00:12:15 beauty, as well as its depiction in literature and film, attracts individuals with a sense of despair. The number of people diagnosed with Venice syndrome is about five to ten per year, and by far, the largest group is from Germany. This is probably due to the cultural impact of Thomas Mann's novel Death in Venice and its subsequent film adaptations. And Venice isn't the only city where this can happen. There are people who suffer similar suicidal thoughts when visiting San Francisco. There are a few other psychological conditions named after cities, but the link isn't quite so direct. Brooklyn syndrome is characterized by aggressive attitudes towards visitors displayed by the inhabitants of Brooklyn.

Starting point is 00:12:57 The term was first used during the Second World War by Navy psychiatrists who observed certain behavioral patterns among all the recruits from Brooklyn, initially interpreting these traits as psychopathological. Detroit Syndrome is a term that refers to an age-related discriminatory psychological condition, in which older employees feel and fear that they will be replaced by younger, more skilled workers. This phenomenon draws its name from the automotive industry, where new models always represent.

Starting point is 00:13:25 place older models. These psychological disorders that I've mentioned have very little in common other than the fact that they happen to have been named after cities, and they're all rather rare. Nonetheless, they're all actually quite interesting and give a unique glimpse into the human condition. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon,

Starting point is 00:13:55 including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere or daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - City Syndromes

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