Cities with their own psychological disorders

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cities-with-psychological-syndromes-stockholm

by l3x • 3 years ago

150 118 3 years ago

atlasobscura.com

tter3• 3 years ago

They missed Havana syndrome.

mnw21cam• 3 years ago

Is that a psychological disorder? (I think the jury might still be out on that.)

swarnie• 3 years ago

Isn't that just a civil service grift? As in, is actually a recognisable condition?

digdugdirk• 3 years ago

Not sure what you're implying here, but just because there isn't a scientific consensus on a condition does not immediately make it a "grift".

tutuca• 3 years ago

Ah, yes, the misterious technology from a country on a 50+ years blockade. Totally not made out.

meigwilym3• 3 years ago

I'm no expert, but wasn't Stockholm Syndrome debunked?

My understanding is that the response to the hostage taking was so incompetent that the hostages trusted the kidnappers more than the police. One of them was expected to "die at her post" by a bank executive. She refused to testify against them for these reasons rather than any sympathy to their cause.

cstejerean• 3 years ago

One of the hostages even became engaged to one of her captors

Was that also because of distrusting the police?

makeitdouble• 3 years ago

She had criticized the police for pointing guns at the convicts while the hostages were in the line of fire and she had told news outlets that one of the captors tried to protect the hostages from being caught in the crossfire

So yes, she became engaged to someone who tried to save her life from the police.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome#Stockholm_b...

meigwilym3• 3 years ago

As I said, I'm no expert. I read somewhere that it was a sexist response to this woman's criticisms.

Wikipedia states:

"He later got engaged to a woman who was not, despite what some state, one of the former hostages."

I think the whole article can be viewed with a healthy scepticism.

cwmma• 3 years ago

According to Wikipedia:

He (Olsson) later got engaged to a woman who was not, despite what some state, one of the former hostages

that being said the other hostage taker, Olofsson:

He went on to meet the hostage Kristin Enmark several times, and their families became friends.

aredox2• 3 years ago

Yes, Stockholm syndrome is a toxic lie, a mix of mysoginy, covering up police incompetence and Swedish "holier-than-thou" attitude.

https://www.stadafa.com/2020/12/stockholm-syndrome-discredit...

3cats-in-a-coat2• 3 years ago

Stockholm syndrome is an example of a phenomenon that is pervasive in society and nature in general and a basic consequence of trying to adapt to your environment. We can nitpick forever the specific Stockholm events, but they're just a noisy example of a pattern, not an ideal MODEL of the pattern.

zgluck• 3 years ago

One of them was expected to "die at her post" by a bank executive.

I wasn't a bank executive, it was the the social democratic prime minister Olof Palme.

During a phone call he asked one of the hostages: "wouldn′t it be nice to die at your post?"

https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/591659

(https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2021/03/the-murder-of-swedish-prim...)

meigwilym3• 3 years ago

Thanks for the correction. I don't think I would have believed my memory even if I had remembered that fact correctly!

joncrane• 3 years ago

Wow, this adds some context to his assassination, which is still one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of our time.

praptak2• 3 years ago

Well this article seems to classify it as pure bullshit: https://www.stadafa.com/2020/12/stockholm-syndrome-discredit...

"The psychiatrist who invented it, Nils Bejerot, never spoke to the woman he based it on, never bothered to ask her why she trusted her captors more than the authorities. More to the point, during the Swedish bank heist that inspired the syndrome, Bejerot was the psychiatrist leading the police response. He was the authority that Kristin Enmark – the first woman diagnosed with Stockholm syndrome – distrusted."

"On the radio, Enmark criticized the police, and singled out Bejerot. In response, and without once speaking to her, Bejerot dismissed her comments as the product of a syndrome he made up: ‘Norrmalmstorg syndrome’ (later renamed Stockholm syndrome). The fear Enmark felt towards the police was irrational, Bejerot explained, caused by the emotional or sexual attachment she had with her captors. Bejerot’s snap diagnosis suited the Swedish media; they were suspicious of Enmark, who ‘did not appear as traumatized as she ought to be.’ "

At best,this syndrome was described based on one situation, not scientific research.

jbandela1• 3 years ago

Maybe we should have a Bejerot Syndrome.

This is where an “expert” impugns the intellect or morality of the people who disagree with them instead of trying to understand the very real reasons why.

marginalia_nu• 3 years ago

Most of these supposed syndromes seem fairly questionable.

tokai• 3 years ago

Almost all of them just seems like first psycotic episode brought about by a novel stressful environment.

isleyaardvark• 3 years ago

The wiki entry for Paris syndrome debunks the entry in the article. The article seems low quality.

johanneskanybal• 3 years ago

Watch ”Clark” on Netflix for a fun take on events. But basically imagine a charming sociopath bankrobber back in innocent 70’s in Sweden.

With the twist that the bank robbing that gave name to the phrase was made by someone psychotic and the friendly bank robber got called in by the prime minister to negotiate.

simonbarker872• 3 years ago

They also missed the Glasgow effect - residents have a significantly lower life expectancy that the rest of the UK and, from memory so could be wrong, it affects people who's first line ancestry is from Glasgow but who themselves have never lived there.

darkclouds2• 3 years ago

residents have a significantly lower life expectancy that the rest of the UK

Diet - Seems like Glaswegians have forgotten Fee-fi-fo-fum In certain parts of the country, the NHS will prescribe some things to elderly people which increases life span, that would normally be found in high levels elsewhere in the country. I doubt Evian or San Pelligrino is high on the shopping list up there either.

London Syndrome is when hostages become argumentative toward their captors—often with deadly results.

I think I must be suffering from London syndrome, in much the same way the population of voters feel at general election time, or a congregation feels towards a vicar.

smcl2• 3 years ago

Diet - Seems like Glaswegians have forgotten Fee-fi-fo-fum In certain parts of the country

No idea what "fee-fi-fo-fum" is supposed to refer to, but it seems you're suggesting that Glaswegians simply choose to have a poor diet and therefore suffer poor life expectancies as a result. In reality there are myriad social and health problems that come from having a shitload of deprived areas - can be seen in the link Arethuza posted - and all of these contribute in some way to a lower life expectancy.

If you're going for cheap "Scottish people like alcohol and deep fried food" laughs then, ok fair have your fun. But know that there isn't that much difference north and south of the border on that, so if you're searching for a serious answer you would need to dig deeper.

arethuza• 3 years ago

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is fascinating and rather grim:

https://simd.scot/

e.g. Select the most deprived 5% from the key - they are mostly in Glasgow :-(

nickybuzz• 3 years ago

Sounds like... genetics?

simonbarker872• 3 years ago

What’s so fascinating is that Edinburgh and Glasgow are only 50 miles apart. Just 50 miles in where someone’s parents or even grandparents were born and moved then away from has a legitimate impact on their life expectancy.

TheRealSteel• 3 years ago

That's not psychological so it doesn't belong on this list.

iamdamian• 3 years ago

Something's off about this list. I can't find Brooklyn Syndrome on Wikipedia and think the description is confusing.

The main source I found on Brooklyn Syndrome is from the Names journal [0], which has a nearly identical description.

I wonder if this article is a direct copy of that journal article with lazy paraphrasing from the Atlas Obscura writers to avoid plagiarism. If so, this makes me wonder how much of Atlas Obscura was created this way.

[0]: (PDF) https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/2019/2018/40...

ctrlp• 3 years ago

Could easily have been named Borough Syndrome

pahbloo• 3 years ago

Maybe this entry is fake, just thrown in there to catch any future copycats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry

dghughes2• 3 years ago

I can't find Brooklyn Syndrome on Wikipedia

Maybe nobody added it.

dimal• 3 years ago

A quick google found this [0], a citation from 1943. Seems to check out, but the source says it's kind of a joke term.

https://www.sciencenews.org/archive/brooklyn-syndrome

bowsamic• 3 years ago

I know someone who experienced Florence syndrome. Quite interesting. Seems almost alien to me.

w-m• 3 years ago

I think they have forgotten a few. It's already Friday afternoon here, so I hope you'll be able to excuse my ChatGPT indulgence:

Silicon Valley Disruption Delusion - This peculiar state of mind is characterized by an individual's inclination to perceive every life aspect as a sector ripe for modernization. Symptoms include an increased use of entrepreneurial vernacular, spontaneous pitching to unsuspecting venture capitalists, and a tendency to self-identify as a "founder." In extreme cases, one might even start praising the virtues of blockchain for everyday activities.

Amsterdam Cycle Confusion - In this unusual psychological state, the individual develops a belief that they should travel exclusively by bicycle. This can lead to fervent cycling even in non-bike-friendly areas and a distinct reluctance to use pedestrian pathways or motorized transport.

Munich Brewmaster Belief - Individuals affected by this syndrome are consumed by the idea that they are master brewers. The condition manifests in an incessant discussion about hops and yeast, an urge to experiment with brewing in unconventional locations, and the staging of impromptu beer tasting competitions.

Palo Alto Unicorn Unreality - Those affected by this syndrome exhibit an uncanny tendency to transform every idea into a potential billion-dollar startup or 'unicorn.' They might display irregular sleep patterns, subsist mainly on energy drinks and quick meals, and their conversations are often peppered with phrases like "the next big thing," and "exit strategy."

Seattle Server Overload Syndrome - This cognitive anomaly leads a person to believe they're akin to a server, required to handle multiple requests concurrently. They may develop an unhealthy penchant for multitasking and often describe their mental state using terms such as "processing," "bandwidth," and "buffering."

analog31• 3 years ago

Madison syndrome. The delusion that January is the time to play and ride bicycles outdoors instead of properly hibernating.

dghughes2• 3 years ago

I would have figured London Syndrome as being people who visit London and then when back start speaking with with a pretentious posh accent.

bratgpttamer2• 3 years ago

Cambridgehaven Syndrome is marked by an inability to start an anecdote without "When I was at Harvard/Yale..."

jjkaczor2• 3 years ago

Heh, in my family that is "Down-under Syndrome".

As in, "oh - that's not how they do it in Australia, did you know I lived in (or visited) Australia for 'x' amount of time?"

ethbr08• 3 years ago

(on Paris Syndrome uniquely afflicting Japanese tourists) Or it could be the jarring confrontation of the a priori ideal of Paris as exotic and friendly with the rather more abrasive nature of the city’s inhabitants.

Having visited Tokyo (which I assume is the most Paris-like Japan gets?) and Paris (just got back from most recent trip), this rings true.

Average "mild annoyance" from a Parisian would equal "severe disrespect" from a Tokyo resident.

Plus add in the French propensity not to apologize for normal, everyday oops-type things, and I imagine it'd be very jarring.

That said, on my most recent trip to Paris, I actually found Parisians a lot nicer than the last time I was there (~1995ish?).

There's a lot of Gallic-isms, but even as an American with extremely bad and limited French, most people were very nice.

PS: Not sure why tacos are the new craze in Paris, but y'all should really import some Tejanos to get the full experience. Feta never belongs on a taco that's not shrimp.

dopidopHN2• 3 years ago

The tacos you saw are a riff on kebab. They are tacos in name only. ( TINO if you like )

ethbr08• 3 years ago

I noticed there were French tacos (TINOs), but it seemed like the "taco" popularity was leading to a few closer-to-Tex-Mex taco places as well.

This was around the Bastille, so maybe hipster culture?

Overall, a decent attempt, but the salsa was a miss (no cilantro? and not sure what they did to the tomatoes) and the seasonings were still very French.

The irony is afaict, France has all of the ingredients needed. In typically amazingly-fresh-and-delicious French fashion.

But hey, it was still a better take than the Italian Tex-Mex I had in New England -- cinnamon on tortilla chips?!

Doches• 3 years ago

It's hard to pick up on as an American, but "French Tacos" actually don't have any genealogy in common with Tex-Mex tacos. They're essentially north African shwarma (lamb kebab, fries, cheese sauce, lettuce shoved in a wrap) re-marketed in a way that doesn't invoke knee-jerk racism from the French mainstream. Calling them "tacos" lets them get away with being exotic, and since the average Français doesn't really have any preconceived notions about Mexico or Mexican food either way it doesn't conjure up any negative associations. Calling them "Le French Tacos" is even more re-assuring -- they're tacos, but 'frenchified', so they must be OK.

But that same light-skinned frenchman would turn up his gallic nose an authentic arabic shwarma, even stumbling from from le bar at 2am. That the only difference between a good shwarma and a good French taco is /maybe/ the choice of cheese makes no difference...

(Source: live in Toulouse, have snarky Lebanese friends)

boudin• 3 years ago

It's just a variant of kebab and shwarma that gained popularity. Nothing to do with the need to rebrand it because of racism. Shwarma (or kebabs as most people call those) shops fed generations of french studients and party-goers and have been everywhere for decades.

It's kind of funny though, french tacos really took over France in the last decade, I guess because of fast food chain like o'taco. When I left France in 2015 it was unheard of where I was living, now it's everywhere.

cguess5• 3 years ago

Norway is this too. I tried to make actual Tex-mex ground beef tacos for some friends and they were abhorred by it.

panda888888• 3 years ago

French tacos are the weirdest food I've ever eaten. Imagine chicken cordon bleu wrapped inside a big burrito-sized tortilla.

csdvrx• 3 years ago

That's so fascinating! What do you Lebanese friends think about it? Is it like how Italian American dishes are perceived by italians?

BTW I've tried French Tacos and I LOVE IT! I think it could be a huge success in the US, if tweaked for our meat and cheese tastes, like with brisket and cheddar.

dragonwriter• 3 years ago

, but "French Tacos" actually don't have any genealogy in common with Tex-Mex tacos.

They have a kind of connection beyond the name, even though neither is a linear descendant of the other. Tex-Mex tacos are a descendant of traditional central Mexican tacos, as also are tacos al pastor; but tacos al pastor are also descendants of schwarma, which French tacos derive from. So they're like cousins by marriage.

addcommitpush• 3 years ago

I am not sure how your theory can both explain French people both turning their nose at "authentic arabic shwarma" but cheap kebabs being wildly popular at the same time. They're racist only against the authentic versions of foreign foods?

piuantiderp3• 3 years ago

Bro, no one with a clue goes to Texas for tacos. Maybe Cali, but I don't bother for the most part in the US. Am Mexican

eastof• 3 years ago

Just curious, have you had tacos in El Paso? As a non-expert, strikes me as a place that would have good tacos since half the city is in Mexico.

pc862• 3 years ago

Thanks for the input bro.

brookside• 3 years ago

This mysticism about food only being good or authentic in one place doesn't match up with modern internationalism and global supply chains.

There are cooks/chefs from one culture/place in the world living in other spots.

Swizec• 3 years ago

but even as an American with extremely bad and limited French, most people were very nice

The trick to Paris, I’ve found, is to start with broken French and then suddenly everyone speaks fluent English. But if you start with English you’re screwed.

Even saying “Bonjour” with a decent accent (you can learn it like a song almost) will make them significantly nicer to you.

But yeah don’t expect a big city person to actually verbalize anything if they bump into you in a crowded place. That’s just expected and normal. Not worth aknowledging.

ethbr08• 3 years ago

100% agreed. Starting with bad French + a self-deprecating expression = much more helpful Parisians

The kids and I joked about how pleasantly lyrical all French greetings are. You have to try to make "Bonjour" not sound nice.

inconceivable• 3 years ago

everyone was really nice to me in paris.

P_I_Staker• 3 years ago

I think many foreigners don't try to fit into the aloof European culture where you act like a mildly sociopathic hipster.

I'm not saying that "all of Europe" is like that, but definitely the major cities of many Western European countries.

That said, we have SV / Seattle, so I guess we have our own hipster sociopaths in the USA.

twmiller• 3 years ago

That said, on my most recent trip to Paris, I actually found Parisians a lot nicer than the last time I was there (~1995ish?).

My wife and I had the exact same experience. We had been to Paris in the late 90s and when we were there a couple of years ago, we found people to be much nicer than they had been previously. Our theory is that it is / was a generational thing.

ethbr08• 3 years ago

I chalked it up to increasing globalization. My memory of France in the 90s was that it was way more French.

Now, it seems like American, Japanese, et al. cultures have penetrated a bit, and there's more awareness that there are other-than-French ways of doing things.

Which they'll still do it the French way, because god bless them they defend the hell out their culture, but at least they're more aware of alternatives.

TechBro8615• 3 years ago

The culture shock of the Paris experience has less to do with vague aspersions against Parisian personality, and more to do with the sudden confrontation of the sight of thousands of unhoused immigrants under a bridge, or dozens of pickpockets at every tourist attraction. You know, the stuff they don't include in the tourist brochures and the movies about Paris.

Personally I found Paris extremely underwhelming - it felt just like New York but slightly more French. I had a much better experience visiting small towns in the south of France. But to be fair to France, I don't think this is an issue unique to their country - it's an issue with tourism to cities. As a tourist I've come to realize that most cities are largely the same across every meaningful dimension. The best travel experiences come from smaller towns and generally anywhere "off the beaten path." As they would say in Thailand, every city is "same same but different."

mytailorisrich• 3 years ago

Paris is definitely much worse than, say, London when it comes to pickpockets, street hawkers, and other nastiness because they actually do very little about those problems...

Gud• 3 years ago

I disagree. You cannot compare Dubai with Paris - or any othe 1 million+ population city.

They all have their unique story to them. Even cities as close as say Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Antwerp are totally different.

ethbr08• 3 years ago

Paris felt extremely different than New York to me.

Firstly, much cleaner. Just in terms of trash/litter on your average street.

Secondly, the integration of metro into the regional train network. Amtrak tries, but it's a sad cousin to European rail systems.

Thirdly, weekend markets and general ingredient quality. Paris feels like it cares about ingredients a lot more than the US. Even canned meals from Franprix were pretty good. And don't get me started on the ridiculousness that is Picard.

Small French towns will always have a dear place in my heart though. If I had my choice, I'd still pick them every time over Paris.

slater-• 3 years ago

i'm from california. the funniest thing about paris was people repeatedly getting way too fucking close to me on the street. my hackles were constantly going up because some french person minding their own business was breaching my bubble. i wonder how this compares to personal space norms in japan.

ethbr08• 3 years ago

I've spent more time in Paris than Tokyo, but my memory of Tokyo is that people had no problem being extremely close when necessary.

But they were also exceedingly polite, especially when in close physical proximity and with verbal volume.

I can absolutely see standard French expectations rubbing them wrong.

Which I guess is the point of the article -- no story you read about the wonders of Paris talks about the little nuances of being there. So people are informed about history/art, but little of the day-to-day.

executesorder66• 3 years ago

2 days late: but what a lot of the responses did not mention regarding specifically Japanese tourists:

Most people in Japan get very little Paid time off compared to the rest of the world. And the work culture is so toxic that people get shamed for actually taking their time off. Now, taking that into account, can you imagine that a Japanese person, actually fighting against that, and doing that big trip to a foreign city on the other side of the world, at great expense. They chose Paris for it's reputation. Now imagine their disappointment when Paris is significantly worse than Tokyo.[0] After all the money, time, and precious time off spent to get there, I too would have a mental breakdown under those conditions.

[0] Can confirm. I have been to both. Paris is nice as long as you don't look at the floor. (It is the only major city I've been to that had human shit on the side-walk in the middle of a major tourist area) Tokyo is better in all regards. It's cheaper, cleaner, has more things to do, is better run, etc.

unstatusthequo• 3 years ago

I guess the Seattle Freeze [1] didn't make the cut?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze

neilv• 3 years ago

Detroit Syndrome is a form of age discrimination in which workers of a certain age are replaced by those who are younger, faster, and stronger, not to mention endowed with new skills better suited for the modern workplace.

Does a certain 20yo junior writer for a Web site resent the senior writers?

pc862• 3 years ago

I think this is more a statement about the Detroit auto scene being objectively behind other areas. Yeah age discrimination plays a part but in this case it's actually justified as opposed to just being cheaper.

dredmorbius• 3 years ago

From TFA:

The syndrome, reported in 2011, gets its name from Detroit, and more specifically from its reputation as a manufacturing hub for automobiles, in which newer models would replace the older ones on a regular basis.

I.e., "replaced by a newer/younger model".

retrocryptid• 3 years ago

I would add "Palo Alto Syndrome" -- It's where you show up on Sand Hill Rd. with a business plan only to discover VC's don't want to look at "reasonable" plans to build a 20M company in 3 years for a 500k investment, but want to invest in "outlandish" plans to build a 200B company in 6 months with a 100M investment.

mikrl• 3 years ago

Do Toronto next!

It should involve an otherwise emotional, feeling, social and empathic creature dissociating into a cold, atomized, post-social entity with the uncanny ability to tune out the world and everything in it as it buzzes towards its goal.

romesc• 3 years ago

Can't forget "The Danbury Shakes" [1] (clinically known as Erethism).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danbury_shakes&re...

Animats• 3 years ago

Slow day at the clickbait farm?

dclowd9901• 3 years ago

Guess it doesn’t make the cut because it’s not called “Phoenix Fever”, but Valley Fever is a local affliction, stemmed from dust and spores being kicked into the air. It’s quite nasty, not that anyone here needed less of a reason to visit Phoenix, Arizona.

NoZebra120vClip• 3 years ago

I contracted Valley Fever, but I went to see a therapist, and it cleared up after 3 years of weekly CBT.

pvaldes• 3 years ago

Always heard about Florence syndrome as Stendhal's, but never did click before.

My bet is that in the future somebody will eventually find a direct relationship between the symptoms and the chemicals used to clean the museums or preserve antique valuable pieces from the attack of insects and molds.

As long as the ventilation systems (and insurance?) improve should be more and more rare.

jaclaz• 3 years ago

I can confirm, being from Florence, that noone calls it that, it is Stendhal's Syndrome alright.

The name was given with reference to a passage in Stendhal's writing about a visit to Santa Croce in 1817, by the psychiatrist that "invented" it and wrote a book about it (Dr. Graziella Magherini).

Personally I always found it improper, as the original experience as described by Stendhal was a temporary and very "light" mental confusion, that could have well been due to heat or low pressure or a similar physical reason coincidentally happening at the same time he was in awe for the art before his eyes, while the stories in the book are about patients that had severe symptoms and that took days, weeks or even months to recover.

There is an interview to the doctor, mentioned on the Wikipedia page, archived here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110714081259/http://www.metrop...

that is worth reading.

The "chemicals" theory is improbable because at the time the book was published it considered around 100 cases she attributed to the syndrome over a 10 years period, so 10 cases per year to be compared with the millions of tourists per year in Florence (even in the '70's), and it is not like in Florence museums different substances are used than in the rest of Italy.

Whether this syndrome actually exists or not, is up to debate, but surely the doctor found a very catchy name for it.

glonq• 3 years ago

Vancouver Canada has a reputation as no-fun city and also a place where it's tough to make friends. Which is weird when you consider that it's a gem of a city with abundant natural and man-made attractions.

Can I suggest that feeling bored and lonely despite idyllic surroundings defines "Vancouver Syndrome" ?

/s but kinda not

floren• 3 years ago

Hacker News Syndrome involves saying "externalities" to a pathological extent.

user6723• 3 years ago

San Francisco

b33j0r• 3 years ago

Kinda funny that instead of “Seattle Syndrome,” we just called it “S.A.D.”

Cities with their own psychological disorders

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