What is Stockholm Syndrome?

Have you ever heard the expression “falling in love with your executioner”? Some people just can’t let go of the people who ruined their lives no matter what. Like chains, they become prisoners of emotions. As this bondage progresses, they become close to the people who put them in a bad situation. They gradually try to understand them, show loyalty, and try to help them… This can happen in individuals as well as in society in general. This state of “falling in love with your executioner” is called Stockholm Syndrome. It was first described by Psychiatrist Nils Bejerot. His studies have revealed the most common psychological state today.

Stockholm Syndrome takes its name from an event that took place in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, in 1973. On August 23, 1973, two robbers, led by Jan Erik Olsson, who escaped from prison, take four bank employees hostage in Kreditbanken for 131 hours. Olsson treats the hostages so well that he begins to develop an emotional bond with the hostages. In fact, the hostages learn that the police will launch an operation on the bank and inform Olsson. Afterwards, they do not want to testify against Olsson in court and even collect money for the defense fee. Things don’t end there. Olsson may not have stolen the money from the bank, but he did steal the hostages’ hearts. An officer named Kristin Enmark, who was taken hostage, waited for Olsson to get out of prison and married him when he got out.

The syndrome, which first appeared with this bank robbery, continued to appear in various cases. In 1974, a millionaire woman named Patty Hearst was caught performing a bank robbery with them two months after she was kidnapped by a terrorist group. Although his lawyers used the excuse of “Stockholm Syndrome”, the court did not accept this defense and sentenced Hearst to prison. In 2001, British journalist Yvonne Ridley was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He fights with them for the first 11 days and does not even eat. After he was released on the condition that he study Islam, he became interested in Islam and became a conservative Muslim in 2003.

Who gets Stockholm Syndrome and how does it develop?

Although it is a syndrome known for the hostage situation in Stockholm, Stockholm Syndrome is not only seen in hostage situations. The syndrome, which we encounter in many areas of daily life, can be seen in many people such as abused children, women exposed to violence, prisoners of war, members of cults, and those who have relationships under pressure. The basic elements in the development of Stockholm Syndrome are the victim’s instinct for survival, isolation from the outside world and the knowledge that he cannot escape.

At first, the aggressor uses the victim as a slave and makes them do whatever they want. It is never enough for the victim to fulfill every wish. Because he also wants to be approved and meets all his psychological needs above his victim. In this process, a traumatic bond begins to form between the victim and the aggressor. In this process, even the smallest favors of the attacker become very important in the eyes of the victim. Four basic factors are mentioned in the development of the syndrome.

• The presence of a perceived threat to life and the belief that the abuser will implement the threat
• A small presence of courtesy from the abuser
• Disconnection from the outside world
• The perception that one cannot escape from the environment

What Are the Symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome?

When we look at the classic symptoms of the syndrome, we can see behaviors such as the victim’s starting to have positive feelings towards the abuser, negative feelings towards family members, friends and officials who are trying to help, helping the abuser from time to time with supportive behaviors, and the abuser’s positive feelings towards the victim.

Another famous syndrome that is often associated with Stockholm Syndrome and confused with Stockholm Syndrome is “Lima Syndrome”. Lima Syndrome is the opposite of Stockholm Syndrome. In Stockholm Syndrome, the hostages sympathize with the hostages, whereas in Lima Syndrome, the hostage-takers sympathize with the hostages. Lima Syndrome emerged as a result of 14 guerrillas raiding a reception at the Japanese Embassy in the Peruvian capital, Lima, in December 1996, and taking many diplomats, soldiers and businessmen hostage for four months.