What is Stockholm syndrome in simple terms?
Stockholm syndrome is an emotional response. It happens to some abuse and hostage victims when they have positive feelings toward an abuser or captor.
What is an example of Stockholm syndrome?
One of the most famous examples of a victim with Stockholm syndrome is Patty Hearst, a famous media heiress kidnapped in 1974. Hearst eventually helped her captors rob a bank and expressed support for their militant cause. Another high-profile example is Elizabeth Smart, a Utah teen who was kidnapped in 2002.
What is Stockholm syndrome symptoms?
A person who develops Stockholm syndrome often experiences symptoms of posttraumatic stress: nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, a tendency to startle easily, confusion, and difficulty trusting others.
What is another name for Stockholm syndrome?
Rather than the hostages forming a positive bond with their captors, as happens in Stockholm syndrome, it appears that the reverse occurred —many of the captors began to feel sympathetic to their captives. This response was termed Lima syndrome.
How does Stockholm syndrome work?
It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse. With this syndrome, hostages or abuse victims may come to sympathize with their captors.
What was the first case of Stockholm syndrome?
The Norrmalmstorg robbery was a bank robbery and hostage crisis best known as the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome. It occurred at the Norrmalmstorg Square in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1973 and was the first criminal event in Sweden to be covered by live television.
How do you give Stockholm syndrome?
A person can develop Stockholm syndrome when they experience significant threats to their physical or psychological well-being. A kidnapped person may develop positive associations with their captors if they have face-to-face contact with them.
Why does Stockholm syndrome occur?
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse.
Is Stockholm syndrome normal?
Stockholm syndrome is a rare psychological reaction to captivity and, in some instances, abuse. Feelings of fear, terror, and anger towards a captor or abuser may seem more realistic to most people.
What is the psychoanalytic explanation for Stockholm syndrome?
Is Stockholm syndrome in DSM?
Mental health experts do not recognize Stockholm syndrome as an official mental health disorder. As a result, it is not listed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
Stockholm syndrome describes the psychological condition of a victim who identifies with and empathizes with their captor or abuser and their goals. Stockholm syndrome is rare; according to one FBI study, the condition occurs in about 8 percent of hostage victims. How did Stockholm syndrome get its name?
Is Stockholm syndrome in the DSM-5?
The American Psychiatric Association does not include Stockholm syndrome in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
What is Stockholm syndrome and how does it affect hostages?
Stockholm syndrome does not affect all hostages (or persons in comparable situations); in fact, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) study of over 1200 hostage-taking incidents found that 92% of the hostages did not develop Stockholm syndrome. The crisis situation lasts for several days or longer.
How can I get help for Stockholm syndrome?
If you believe you or someone you know has developed Stockholm syndrome, you can find help. In the short term, counseling or psychological treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder can help alleviate the immediate issues associated with recovery, such as anxiety and depression.