What Is Stockholm Syndrome?
Stockholm Syndrome is a condition in which people develop positive emotions and associations with someone who is keeping them captive.
This has been suggested to mostly happen in situations where there is a hostage and a captor and commonly linked to kidnappings.
In some instances, the victims form bonds with their captors and may even become sympathetic towards them, the opposite of feeling fear, terror, and disdain, which one may expect in these situations.
The origin of the term Stockholm Syndrome arose in the aftermath of a well-documented robbery which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1973.
Four hostages were kept captive in the bank whilst their captors had a six-day stand-off with the police. After their release, the authorities found that the hostages had developed strong emotional bonds towards their captors, and even refused to separate from them.
The hostages reported that their captors treated them kindly and did not harm them. They defended the captors and refused to testify against them in court.
After this, criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot who investigated the event named this phenomena Stockholm Syndrome.
Subsequently, this term has been used to label the condition that occurs when hostages develop an emotional or psychological connection to the people who held them in captivity.
The development of Stockholm Syndrome is thought to be a coping mechanism to survive in life-threatening situations.
It is believed to be a psychological response which can develop of the course of days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse. This condition does not seem to happen in every captive situation, and it is unclear why this does occur at all.
Stockholm Syndrome is believed to be rare, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimating that fewer than 8% of kidnapping victims show evidence of Stockholm Syndrome.
Despite becoming well-known, Stockholm Syndrome is not considered a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) with many researchers denying that the condition exists at all.
Many may attribute the feelings of Stockholm Syndrome to other conditions or believe this phenomenon is merely an aspect of emotional abuse or trauma bonding.
Why do you get Stockholm Syndrome?
It is not entirely clear why some people may develop Stockholm Syndrome.
It is thought to be a survival mechanism in the way that a person may create bonds with their captor as a method of coping with the extreme and scary situation they are in.
There are believed to be some key factors which may be necessary to increase the likelihood that someone will develop Stockholm Syndrome:
Being in an emotionally charged situation for an extended period of time.
Being in a shared space with the captor, with the space having poor conditions e.g., a lack of food or being physically uncomfortable.
The hostage is dependent on the captor for their basic needs such as accessing food and water.
The hostage has not been dehumanized by the captor.
The situation lasts for several days or longer.
The captor and the hostage have meaningful interactions which provide opportunities to bond with one another.
The captor shows some kindness towards the hostage or refrains from harming them.
A reliance on the captor to survive the emotionally charged situation.
Individuals in these kinds of situations may begin to have confusing feelings towards their captor as a result of the above factors.
A kidnapped person often feelings threatened by their captor, but they are also highly reliant on them for survival. They may have feelings of sympathy, empathy, or even love towards their captor, as well as a desire to protect them.
There is evidence that people who are in traumatic situations together are likely to form strong bonds with each other.
This may be a possible cause for why this happens in hostage-captor relationships, meaning the strong bond in the traumatic situation may be misplaced onto captor.
If the captor shows kindness in any way, this may be misinterpreted as the person being a generally kind person, with the hostage clinging onto this hope as a coping mechanism.
Even if the captor is unkind most of the time but they show kindness once, or if there is a lack of abuse in a situation where they would usually show abuse, this can be misinterpreted as kindness or affection.
This shows ties with trauma bonds, which are emotional attachments that develop in a relationship characterized by abuse.
The victims in both the relationship and hostage situation may be ‘waiting out’ the bad behaviors for the ‘crumbs’ of good behaviors.
Intermittent good/bad behavior from the hostage or abuser may create trauma bonds. Some believe that Stockholm Syndrome is indistinguishable from trauma bonds in this way.
Impact of Stockholm Syndrome on mental health
Although Stockholm Syndrome is not listed as a formal mental health diagnosis, people who experience this syndrome seem to have some common symptoms, including:
Positive feelings towards the captor.
Support of the captor’s behaviour and the reasoning behind it.
The victim begins to perceive their captor’s humanity and believe they share the same goals and values.
They make little to no effort to escape.
A belief in the goodness of the captors.
As the victims get rewarded, perhaps with less abuse, or with life itself, the captor’s appeasing behaviors are reinforced.
Feelings of pity towards the captors, even believing that the captors are the victims themselves.
They may have feelings of wanting to ‘save’ their abuser.
Aside from having an attachment or bond with their captor, the victims may also develop different feelings towards outsiders of the situation. For instance, they may:
Be unwilling to engage in any behaviors that could assist in their release.
Have negative feelings towards their friends or family who may try to rescue them.
Develop negative feelings towards the police, authority figures, or anyone who might be trying to help them get away from their captor.
Refuse to cooperate against their captor, such as during the subsequent investigation or during legal trials.
Refuse to leave their captors even when given opportunity to escape.
Believe that the police and other authorities do not have their best interests at heart.
Even after being released from captivity, the person with Stockholm Syndrome may continue to have positive feelings towards their captor and may report some of the following symptoms:
Confusion
Guilt
Denial
Social withdrawal
Chronic feelings of tension
Anxiety
Depression
Feeling empty or hopeless
Excessive dependence
Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
Embarrassment about their emotions towards the captor
Being unwilling to learn to detach from their captor and heal
Being less loyal to themselves than to their captor
People with Stockholm Syndrome may often report symptoms which are similar to those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as:
Being easily startled
Feelings of distrust
Feelings of unreality
Flashbacks
Irritability
Nightmares
Trouble concentrating
Insomnia
Whilst not everyone who experiences feelings of Stockholm Syndrome will have all the symptoms, or even most of them, they may experience some to varying degrees.
Since the existence of Stockholm Syndrome itself is questionable, many may interpret this phenomenon in different ways and have their own ideas about what it is.
Examples
There have been a few famous, historical cases in which researchers have believed were examples of someone having Stockholm Syndrome.
These examples appear to show that these individuals may have had some level of positive feelings towards their captors. Whether these are actually examples of Stockholm Syndrome or not is up for debate.
