Identification of Paris syndrome

Paris syndrome is a transient psychological condition reported among some visitors to Paris, especially Japanese tourists, who experience acute distress when the real city fails to match an idealised image formed by films, advertising and literature. Symptoms described include anxiety, delusions, dizziness and sweating. The condition was described in a paper by the Japanese psychiatrist Hiroaki Ota, who worked in Paris, and it later attracted wide media coverage. Psychiatrists regard it as a form of culture shock rather than a distinct disease, and it is not recognised as a separate diagnosis in the main classification systems.

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