By The psychotic break happens when tourists come into contact with historic buildings and works of art in Florence, Italy.
Florence, capital of tuscany, in Italy, is a paradise for art lovers. Surrounded by tourist attractions of inestimable historical value, the city that was the birthplace of the Renaissance enchants visitors from all over the world. However, its beauty is so surreal that it has caused health problems for some tourists – and this is not a current problem.
The “Florence Syndrome” Tourists Develop Psychosis
It was in 1817 that the first evidence of visitors with psychotic breaks caused Florence's beautiful beauty. At the time, the illness, known as “Florence syndrome”, was reported by the French writer Stendhal after a tour of the city.
Photo: Pixabay
The outbreak happens when tourists come into contact with historic buildings and works of art that are found throughout the city. Symptoms begin with hallucinations, disorientation, loss of identity and, in some more severe cases, even attempts to destroy the property in question.
According article published in the Journal of USP, Valéria Barbieri, from the Center for Applied Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, all tourists are at risk of developing the disease. However, women aged 26 to 40 and single people are more at risk of having the problem.
Photo: Olivier Bruchez/ Flickr
Also according to the researcher, the symptoms, in most cases, usually disappear between two and eight days. Despite not yet having a clinical cause revealed, it is suspected that the syndrome is triggered by cultural factors, historical importance of the city and the extremely realistic works of Florence.
according to a BBC report, similar cases of the disease have also been reported in Jerusalem and Paris.
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