This syndrome has been named after the Norrmalmstorg bank robbery that occurred in Stockholm Sweden 1973. A little background on the events, several bank workers were held hostage for some time while the criminals negotiated with the police. When the police came to the employee's rescue, they were shocked to find that the hostages accumulated emotional attachment towards the robbers. The workers were defending their captors and did not wish to be freed.
So, what exactly is this syndrome? The Stockholm syndrome is a complicated psychological case, where a victim of some sort possesses emotional empathy or connection towards their abuser. This case is quite common in hostages; hostages might eventually have some positive feelings towards their captors, they might think of their lack of physical abuse as kindness. This emotional connection is very strong; it could lead the victim to actually defend the criminal. The emotional attachment is called "traumatic bonding".
Does this syndrome occur in every traumatic case?
Not at all. 73% percent of kidnap, hostage victims and others feel absolutely no attachment towards their criminals.The slim percentage that does however, still manages to blow off the minds of common people, but it has become a normal maybe even an expected case for psychologists and police. So, what exactly triggers this syndrome? And how does it happen?
Well, after dealing with these cases for a while, psychologists have been able to notice a pattern; some particular events or aspects that happened to each of the victims. And those aspects are the following:
- The victim's abuser must have shown some sort of kindness at one time or the other.
- The captor would feed the hostage and care for their wellbeing.
- The captor would not hurt them physically.
- The captor might share his past or emotions etc…
- A relatively long period of time must have passed.
- The victim must have acknowledged their inability of escape.
Of course we can always be more specific, but we are speaking in general here.
With those aspects, its very well expected of the victim to gather some sort of connection with the captor.
Other victims also prone to this syndrome would be:
- Abused Children
- Battered/Abused Women
- Prisoners of War
- Cult Members
- Incest Victims
- Concentration Camp Prisoners
- Controlling/Intimidating Relationships
Why do victims feel this way though? Why would any person in their right mind sympathize with a criminal?
The answer for those questions doesn't quite exist sadly. Psychologists could guess, policemen could guess but sometimes no one can know for certain why our minds function in the way they do.
I on the other hand, have allowed myself a guess and it is as follows.
It is easier to live not hating the people around you.
If a victim truly needs to acknowledge their inability of escape in order to develop this syndrome, doesn't it mean that they are kind of working with what they have?
Maybe the victims are trying to increase their survival chances by accepting their situation and trying to live with it. Resulting in not hating the criminals then maybe understanding them, then loving them?
That’s my guess, I mean if I were to live in a certain situation forever… I might as well make the best of it, right?
What is really interesting though, is the switch which flips in those victims. I would like to have the power to bring the victim's former syndrome self to talk to its post syndrome self and see what happens. I would want to know if the former syndrome victim would feel as if they turned into a brainwashed mess or something. This makes me wonder… If people with the Stockholm syndrome don't really know they are experiencing inappropriate feelings… if they don’t know they have the syndrome… what makes me so certain I am not one of those people? Or...what makes you certain you aren't either?
