Since most European travel plans are on hold, you have time to acquaint yourself with a newly coined illness that isn’t virus related. The Stendhal Syndrome was coined by a physician in Italy and described the effect great artworks have on the human psyche.
It began when the doctor identified many people hospitalized after close encounters with Florence’s monuments, art galleries, and art galleries. The feelings were similar to what French writer Stendhal described in an 1817 travel memoir about heart palpitations when viewing art monuments. The doctor published her research in The Stendhal Syndrome in 1989.
Yes, this is an actual psychiatric phenomenon, and no, there is no reference to it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, examples continue to make headlines amongst seniors. A 72-year-old man experienced a panic attack once he arrived at his cherished destination, the Ponte Vecchio, in Florence. Two years ago, a man experienced a heart attack while viewing the “Birth of Venus” at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
So seniors beware! Read HERE to learn more about the Stendhal Syndrome, why it applies to foreign tourists, and how to avoid it once your European travels begin again.
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