Paris syndrome symptoms, causes and treatment

The Japanese have always identified France, especially Paris, as a cultural symbol. In recent years, the number of Japanese travelers who travel to Paris has increased. France maintains the highest rate of people suffering from psychopathological disorders at European level. However, it offers medical assistance to the Japanese in their own language, with a cooperation between the Japan embassy in Paris and the Sainte-Anne hospital, being the only European country that offers this function.

The disease called "Paris Syndrome" was recently identified as a cultural shock suffered by Japanese travelers when visiting the Parisian city. The intensity of the cultural shock is different in many people, sometimes requiring psychological and/or medical assistance. If you want to know the peculiarities of this syndrome, in this Psychology-online article, we will explain the Paris syndrome: symptoms, causes and treatment.

1. Paris Syndrome
2. Paris Syndrome Symptoms
3. Causes of Paris Syndrome
4. Paris Syndrome Treatment

Paris Syndrome

¿What is Paris syndrome? Paris has been considered by the Japanese a city with a power of magical attraction, due to the consideration of the city as a symbol of European culture. This idealization has been magnified by the media. The main focus of tourists in the Parisian city focus on culture, language, visits to emblematic places, fine arts, music, kitchen and fashion. However, it maintains a very different culture from that established in the Japanese population. In front of the expectations that the Parisian city represents, with the emblem of the city of romanticism, Travelers experience disappointment derived from the inability to reconcile the romanticism associated with the city, with reality. Because of this, many Japanese tourists have required hospitalization, sent by an emergency service, by the center of psychiatry (CPOA) or by psychiatric nursing. In any case that occurs, you must contact the Japan Embass. This syndrome must differentiate from Stendhal syndrome, with which it presents similarities but is not the same.

Paris Syndrome Symptoms

The symptoms of Paris syndrome can be very different in the various cases presented. However, it is often characterized by an acute character, which can manifest violent behaviors. The symptoms that may appear in Paris syndrome, in different cases, can be the following:

• Behavioral alteration: Psychomotor agitation, walk, self -harm or heteroagrés or suicide attempt.
• Delusions: delusional ideas may appear, often with a theme of persecution, megalomaniac delusions, erotómanos and mystics.
• Staff of anxiety: This high state of anxiety, tends to be accompanied by feelings of desertation, depersonalization and sometimes dissociation.
• A resignation may occur, that is, an extremely exaggerated opposition to cultural differences and understanding difficulties.

On the other hand, the different diagnoses presented, which have been derived from the Paris syndrome, are the following:

• Schizophrenia
• Schizofreniform disorder
• Schizoecctive disorder
• Acute delusional state
• Substance induced psychotic disorder
• Major depression
• Manic state
• Anxiety disorder
• Social phobia
• Disorder due to a general medical condition

Causes of Paris Syndrome

The symptomatology presented by Paris syndrome is associated with the cultural shock experienced by Japanese tourists by frequenting the city and these cultural differences can be reflected in different cultural concepts in particular:

• One of the main difficulties facing Japanese tourists, is The linguistic barrier. There are few Japanese who know how to speak French and minimum the French who speak the Japanese. Limitation in the language can quickly create the inability of communication or produce language errors that produce feelings of anguish, isolation and strangeness.
• The way of relating Interpersonally also represents a strong impact for Japanese society. They come from a culture rooted to the community, based on relevance in a group. In the West, individuality highlights and in the face of this cultural difference, take refuge in silence or behind a false smile, often reaching isolation. Our open behavior, with humor fluctuations, direct interventions, interindividual attitudes, ... they can baffle them and generate poor interpretations.
• As we have previously commented, The disappointment of reality everyday city and its expectations, also produces a stressful factor of anxiety and misunderstandings, disappointment and, sometimes, reaching depression. Japanese tourists maintain a stereotyped vision of the city, such as a luxury city, a vision far away from reality where not all citizens are dressed in the great fashion designers, with gallantry.
• In those travelers who decide to emigrate to the city they also find many Difficulties to adaptation To the world of work, due to excess work, very short leisure times and overloaded schedules. Which leads to psychological destabilization.

Paris Syndrome Treatment

Treatment towards Paris Syndrome, It will depend on the symptomatology presented and the associated disorder. Faced with a schizophrenic or psychotic disorder, the most frequent is the administration of antipsychotic drugs, as well as in mood disorders, anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs are used, including tricyclic antidepressants, for treatment for treatment. In addition to pharmacological treatment, therapeutic interviews with psychiatries and psychologists linked to the Sainte-Anne hospital are established, since they are offered therapeutic help in their language, allowing them to express themselves, keep their culture in mind and be calm in the process therapeutic.

However, most travel patients suffering from this syndrome in the city, do not have medical insurance in France. Faced with this, an average of two weeks of stay has been established. Before finishing this period of time, the Japan embassy, ​​contacts the relatives of the patients and organizes their return to the country.

The treatment offered from French hospital services contributes to Symptomatological improvement presented at the present time. However, given the presentation and diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder, the patient should follow a psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment in its place of residence, through psychological therapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and psycho-drugs, with the aim of sending the disorder.

In summary, there is no treatment associated with the Paris Syndrome because this is not a psychopathological entity, but that the certain psychopathology present by the patient is from a certain psychopathological disorder, which is why it should be treated according to said disorder.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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