What Is Stockholm Syndrome? Psychology Explained »

A situation where the victim feels an emotional connection with the abuser and always defends that abuser in front of a higher authority without any hesitation. Treatments are necessary for those victims, whether medication or psychotherapy, which is also known as talk therapy.

Is there any chance that you or your loved one has to face any kind of trauma or abuse in certain ways, and that reactions confused you or you might not understand that at all? One of the main reactions is Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is a copying mechanism, which is a situation where the victim develops an emotional connection with the person who is abusing them. These positive feelings will develop in you when you deal with any kind of trauma. People might be confused whether it is a mental health issue or not. Well, for your knowledge, Stockholm Syndrome is not a mental health problem; in simple words it is a reaction of a person to being abused. This syndrome is being faced by many high-profile kidnapping victims. There are almost 10% hostages suffer Stockholm Syndrome. Let’s learn more details about it.

Information about Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome is also known as Trauma Bonding, where the victims develop an emotional bond with the criminals who hurt them and start sympathizing with them without any hesitation. There is a history (1973 bank robbery) behind the name of Stockholm Syndrome, which happened in Stockholm, which is a city in Sweden. At that time, all the employees were kidnapped by the robbers, and when they were all released, they all developed emotional feelings for the robbers, and they didn’t stand against them in court and even raised money for them. This is the situation where you are not in a position to judge what is right or wrong for you. There are four stages of Stockholm Syndrome, which simply help you and your loved ones to understand to emotions and reactions properly during and even after the traumatic situation, and they are fear, dependence, humanization and bonding. These stages make you face different feelings during every stage, and it’s not your fault, as it is common for everyone to feel the same during that time period.

What are the Symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome?

Many symptoms show you that you are dealing with Stockholm Syndrome, and they are discussed below:-

Defending Criminal:- The people who are dealing with Stockholm Syndrome will defend their captors in front of others and always say that their captors start believing in humanity and will never threaten them anymore.
Positive feelings toward Captors:- You will notice that the victims will develop emotional feelings for the captors, which simply confuses the victims and ot¬her people to understand the situation. The victims will develop this bond due to the time they spend with their captors when they threaten them to kill, but do not kill them.
Unable to Escape:- All the sex workers have to face a situation that they are not able to escape after going through violence and isolation. They always saw that other sex workers tried to escape, but even after trying various ways, they couldn’t escape from that place.
Hesitation while Co-operation with Authorities:- Victims start feeling hesitation while cooperating with the authorities as they start believing that the criminals have done something right for them, and they think the criminals are good people while the authorities are against them.

Causes of Stockholm Syndrome

The problem of Stockholm Syndrome is not only observed in the hostages, but there are other situations where it may lead to this situation. The main reasons are:-

Child Abuse:- The situation w¬¬here the adult victims develop feelings for the child they sexually abused, and this bond will last for many years like till the child grows and becomes an adult.
Sex Worker:- It is seen that these feelings can be seen in sex workers, where they have to depend upon the abusers for fulfilling their daily needs, like food and money.
Domestic Abuse:- At the place, the victims develop feelings for the captors, which increases the chances of their life.
Abuse during Sports Coaching:- The young athletes also go through Stockholm Syndrome, as there are many cases related to it where the athlete supports the abuser by sympathizing and defending the abuser.

How to Diagnose Stockholm Syndrome?

There are chances that the healthcare professionals do not recognize the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, as they are not included in the American Psychiatric Association, but they can recognize it through the behaviour of the victim who has gone through any traumatic situation.

Treatments of Stockholm Syndrome

The problem of Stockholm Syndrome is not recognized properly, as it is not included in the American Psychiatric Association, and that is why there is no standard treatment for it. However, the treatment of Stockholm Syndrome involves psychological and psychiatric counselling, which is talk therapy, and you can try meditation. If anyone you love or even you is dealing with Stockholm Syndrome, you need to healthy way of dealing with this trauma.

Talk Therapy helps you in:-

Understanding how your behaviour towards criminals was a survival skill
Understanding your experience related to it
Helps you learn how to get over it in your life

Your healthcare professional may prescribe you medicines for sleep properly and reduce depression or anxiety.

Final Verdict

Stockholm Syndrome is a copy mechanism against criminals, and it is seen in hostage and kidnapping situations. It can display the victim of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. Many therapies help the victims to beat the trauma and lead a better life. The therapist reconstructs Cognitive thinking, thoughts that help in improving your attitudes towards things.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you think Stockholm Syndrome is a mental disorder?

Ans. No.

Is Stockholm Syndrome a permanent health problem?

Ans. No, it is not a permanent problem.

Name the four stages of Stockholm Syndrome.

Ans. Fear, Dependence, Humanization and Bonding.

How to beat Stockholm Syndrome?

Ans. The main step is to maintain distance from the abuser.

Is it easy and possible to get over Stockholm Syndrome?

Ans. Yes.

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