Paris syndrome

The syndrome is characterized by symptoms such as acute delusional states, hallucinations, feelings of persecution (perceptions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, hostility from others),[2][irrelevant citation] derealization, depersonalization, anxiety, as well as psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating most notably, but also others, such as vomiting.

A 2004 paper by Viala et al[4] in French medical journal Nervure[5] suggests a number of factors that may be behind the syndrome among Japanese tourists: Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist working at the Sainte-Anne Hospital Center in France, coined the term in the 1980s and published a book of the same name in 1991.

[6][7] Katada Tamami of Nissei Hospital wrote of a Japanese patient with manic-depression, who experienced Paris syndrome in 1998.

In the article, Mario Renoux, the president of the Franco-Japanese Medical Association, states that media and touristic advertising are primarily responsible for creating this syndrome.

[17] In this view, the disorder is caused by positive representations of the city in popular culture, which leads to immense disappointment, as the reality of experiencing Paris is very different from expectations.