There is the story of a middle-aged American who decided he was Samson, and that the Western Wall needed to be moved. He spent time in the gym and then came to Israel to move it. The Israeli authorities had him admitted in a psychiatric hospital. One ill-advised hospital personnel told him that he wasn't in fact Samson. "Samson" smashed through a window and escaped the hospital. However, a nurse found him at the bus stop and praised his superhuman strength. Then he stared to cooperate.
One man got into trouble with a hotel because he had received instructions to prepare the last supper. A woman sobbed at the altar of Golgotha hours everyday, for the death of her son Jesus. Another invited everyone for her son- Jesus's birthday. Israeli police come across several John the Baptists running around in animal skins trying to baptize people!
Well, if you decide to visit the Holy City, be well apprised of a certain condition that affects about 100 tourists per annum. It is called the Jerusalem Syndrome and was first described in the 1930s by an Israeli psychiatrist by the name Heinz Hermon. Sufferers tend to believe they are some old time biblical character sent to do something in Jerusalem. Jesus, Moses, King David, Elijah, the Virgin Mary, and at least one Mary Magdalene, among others have been recorded.
The followers of major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and from different backgrounds are affected, the majority being North Americans of protestant Christian orientation in their 20s or 30s. Men have a slightly higher percentage. Unmarried folks are more affected. Many tourists and pilgrims have ideas and funny thoughts that neither cause disturbance nor rise to the level of the so-called syndrome, for which there are recognized stages:
STAGE 1-The afflicted tourist becomes agitated, nervous and tense.
STAGE 2-The person declares a desire to split away from his or her group and tour Jerusalem alone.
STAGE 3-The individual has the need to be clean and pure and will obsess about bathing and cutting fingernails and toenails.
STAGE 4-The person prepares a long, white, ankle-length, toga-like gown, often using a hotel bed sheet.
STAGE 5-The person feels the need to shout or sing psalms, verses from the Bible or religious hymns.
STAGE 6-The person marches to one of Jerusalem's holiest places, often along the Via Dolorosa or near the Western Wall.
STAGE 7-The psychotic traveler delivers a sermon at the holy place- usually a plea to others to adopt a more simple and morally chaste way of life.
It has been debated as to whether it is a distinct form of psychosis or a re-expression of previously existing mental illness. Most of the people who have experienced the Jerusalem Syndrome like "Samson" above, had a pre-existing mental condition, made worse by the peculiar historic and religious ambiance of the city. A small group, and by far the more interesting, comprises those known to be previously mentally balanced, with no psychiatric history.
A typical episode is said to last for five to seven days. Cases run from people who start preaching in the streets of the city to more bizarre behaviour. Doctors don't tell "King David" that he isn't King David -- it doesn't help to invalidate the patient's notion of himself and his mission. Most do not require any form of treatment. They just need to be taken out of the city and back to their families. Once the people are out of Jerusalem and around their families and people who know them, they return to normal. They walk right back into their lives, and not a trace of mental illness seems to follow them.
There are no adequate studies to prove the syndrome proper (that is in those who have no pre-existing condition). They are reluctant to fill out surveys and would generally prefer to go on living their lives as if the incident never happened.Some have to be observed closely for dangerous tendencies in trying to fulfill some end-time prophecy or the other. About about 40 percent are deemed in need of admission, tranquilizers, and mild anti-psychotic medications.
Therefore, on your first or next visit to that great city- a friend or family member who starts withdrawing from the group might probably be jet-lagged or down with the flu. However, keep a high index of suspicion and observe for de novo agitation or tension. It has been said that once they get to the bed sheet stage, there's no stopping them.
That having been said; it is possible to have a real spiritual epiphany, when one stands in the earthly Jerusalem and especially in those places where the Lord is said fulfilled the salvation of God for all of mankind. If your mind and heart happen to be overrun beyond this innocuous emotional experience- simply call to mind what is written in the scriptures in Galatians 4:22-25 and Hebrews 12:18-24 or read Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and gain spiritual knowledge, so that no matter how high the shadow towers, you will not slip from the grasp of the Substance.
P.S. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association is like a dictionary that provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. It is used or relied upon by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, the legal system, and policy makers in America and around the world. The current version, published on May 18, 2013, is the DSM-5 (fifth edition). Jerusalem Syndrome is not listed in the DSM IV or the DSM 5.
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