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Health Lessons From London: Leave the lilies alone

Sam Wertheimer | Tuesday 25th August 2009

A desire to touch fine art almost overwhelmed my frontal lobe yesterday. While staring at Monet's Water Lilies, Setting Sun during a visit to the National Gallery in London, I caught myself wondering how the dabs of magenta-colored water might feel under a fingertip. Thankfully rationality kicked in. Realizing that I hoped to avoid the consequences of even a light caress, I backed away from the priceless artifact. Despite escaping the gallery without incident I could not help feeling a little ashamed. I felt like a weirdo for wanting to grab a painting.

Turns out I'm not so strange after all. Others experience similarly irrational thoughts when facing beautiful artwork or large amounts of art. There's even a name for the affliction - Stendhal Syndrome. Symptoms include increased heart rate, dizziness, and confusion. Severity also varies. Some sufferers face psychotic periods, while others simply undergo the compulsion to hurl a coffee mug, or a punch . A relaxing visit to London might have taken a different tone if my case hadn't been milder than these.

So if you also struggle to restrain yourself when facing a Monet, here's some advice: Place your hands in your pockets and walk backwards. And don't worry about bumping into nearby patrons - you might just knock some sense into them too.

Photo credit: http://www.nationalgalleryimages.co.uk

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