Stendhal Syndrome: When Beauty Becomes Dangerous

Walking through museums, we are in awe of the talent of great artists who anticipated their time. The work of the masters is amazing, and many people stand near the paintings for a long time, admiring the filigree strokes, amazing detailing and accurate transmission of emotions. But if you look at the picture for a long time, then the picture begins to look at you. Anyone who has had Stendhal syndrome will tell you that. What is it and why you need to be careful in the museums of Florence, read in this article.

• Stendhal Syndrome: A History of an Unusual Disorder
• 5 interesting facts about Stendhal syndrome
• How to deal with this disorder

Stendhal syndrome: a story of an unusual disorder

The psychiatrist Graziella Magherini has been working for several decades at the Santa Maria Hospital in Florence. In due time, she noticed some similarities in the symptoms of patients coming to her. They were all foreigners;

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Graziella began collecting information on similar cases and soon came to the conclusion that all of these people had a common mental disorder. The psychiatrist called it Stendhal syndrome and even wrote a book describing more than 100 such cases. So, she tells the story of the Scandinavian Inga, who turned to her after a strange incident in one of the cathedrals of Florence. The girl was admiring the "Last Supper" when suddenly her heart began to beat, flashes of light appeared before her eyes, and she saw herself in the picture, carrying fruit to Jesus.

Stendhal Syndrome manifests itself as a reaction to an overabundance of emotions from works of art.

Also, according to Graziella, it is associated with some experiences and mental traumas. Pictures can become the very trigger that triggers a stress reaction that has been successfully suppressed before. Therefore, some museum visitors who have been diagnosed with this disorder have tried to destroy the paintings, seeing them as the source of their torment.

Read also: Properties of a person's character that speak of mental disorders

5 interesting facts about Stendhal syndrome

This syndrome itself is quite unusual, and even found its reflection in the cinema (the film of the same name tells about a police girl suffering from this disorder). During the study of this disorder, a lot of information has been collected and the following interesting facts have been revealed:

1. Never Stendhal's Syndrome has been diagnosed in Asians. This is due to the fact that European culture is alien to and does cause such spiritual resonance.

2. The most "dangerous"  — these are paintings by Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio. It was looking at them that tourists most often experienced symptoms of disorder.

3. Stendhal himself felt the symptoms of this disorder, looking at the frescoes in  the Basilica of Santa Croce.He described this state: "Coming out Santa Croce, I experienced a heartbeat, what  "Berlin is called a nervous attack."

4. Italians are not susceptible to Stendhal's syndromebecause they live among numerous cultural monuments and have  immunity'; to art.

5. Paintings by contemporary artists, and art works, don cause such seizures.

Stendhal syndrome is also called the Florentine syndrome, because it was most often observed in Florence. But similar symptoms also appear in tourists in other countries, for example, Paris and Jerusalem syndromes are known to psychiatrists. Getting into places historically considered great, tourists fall into a state of exaltation and instead of a long-awaited vacation, they find themselves in a hospital bed.

Read also: Phobias in humans: 10 weirdest fears you didn't know

How to deal with this disorder

Stendhal syndrome is not an independent disease. All treatment is aimed at relieving unpleasant symptoms (dizziness, palpitations, weakness). Most often, it is enough just to wait, to fill the day with walks in the fresh air and rest.

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Graziella Magerini came to the conclusion that most of the patients with Stendhal syndrome — impressionable people with a fine mental organization, believers, introverts and fatalists.

Loners who live in their own little world are also prone to the appearance of this disorder. Such tourists, who are in the  risk group, should not pounce" to museums and galleries, you also need to reduce the degree of admiration. Any great painting — it is primarily canvas, oil and wood frame, and not a portal to another world.

Special attention should be paid to cases when Stendhal's syndrome occurs as a side effect of the underlying, latent disease. It can be depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, manic-depressive psychosis, and others. Therefore, it is important not to let everything take its course, but to have the opportunity to talk with a psychologist. Acclimatization, high density of impressions, unusual environment, all this can become a trigger for a new round of illness. Our worries travel with us. Remember this, and don don let your emotions take over your mind.

Read also: The deja vu effect: insight or brain failure

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