Process in which hostages sympathize with captors

These feelings typically happen because of the emotional and highly charged situation that occurs during a hostage situation or abuse cycle. For example, people who are kidnapped or taken hostage often feel threatened by their captor, but they are also highly reliant on them for survival. Over time, that perception begins to reshape and skew how they view the person keeping them hostage or abusing them.

Several famous kidnappings have resulted in high profile episodes of Stockholm syndrome including those listed below. While Stockholm syndrome is commonly associated with a hostage or kidnapping situation, it can actually apply to several other circumstances and relationships.

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. Psychologists and psychotherapists can teach you healthy coping mechanisms and response tools to help you understand what happened, why it happened, and how you can move forward.

Fear or terror might be most common in these situations, but some individuals begin to develop positive feelings toward their captor or abuser. They may not want to work with or contact the police. They may even be hesitant to turn on their abuser or kidnapper. Stockholm syndrome is not an official mental health diagnosis.

Instead, it is thought to be a coping mechanism. Individuals who are abused or trafficked or who are the victims of incest or terror may develop it. Proper treatment can go a long way to helping with recovery. Read this article in Spanish. I thought it was a diagnosis for war survivors. In a study , researchers found evidence suggesting that victims of domestic violence may also experience Stockholm syndrome.

While Stockholm syndrome took its name from the infamous bank robbery in Sweden, similar events have occurred before and since.

Four decades before the Normalmstorg bank robbery, four men kidnapped Mary McElroy. Although Mary McElroy agreed that her captors should receive punishment, she sympathized with them and even visited them in prison.

Twelve days after the kidnapping, Hearst was involved in a bank robbery alongside members of the SLA. According to Hearst, the SLA had brainwashed her and forced her to join them.

Hearst received a 7-year prison sentence. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in , and she eventually received a pardon. In , Wolfgang Priklopil kidnapped year-old Natascha Kampush and isolated her in a cellar for more than 8 years. Priklopil beat her and threatened her life; he also bought her gifts and fed and bathed her. Kampush cried after hearing that Prikolpil had died by suicide. Kampush tried to explain her relationship with Priklopil to interviewers, but they wrote her off, claiming she had Stockholm syndrome.

Stockholm syndrome is an unrecognized psychological disorder and does not have a standardized definition. As a result, there are no official treatment recommendations for it. However, psychotherapy and medication can help relieve issues associated with trauma recovery, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

People can work with licensed psychologists and psychiatrists. A psychiatrist can prescribe medications that may help alleviate mood disorder symptoms. Psychologists and licensed mental health counselors can help people develop strategies and tools to use when trying to understand and work through their experiences. Learn more about different types of therapy here.

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.

However, in extreme situations, such as kidnapping, a person may develop positive feelings towards the captor as a coping mechanism when they feel that their physical and mental well-being is at stake. While experts do not officially recognize Stockholm syndrome as a mental health disorder, people who have been abused, trafficked, or kidnapped may experience it.

Post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD symptoms can create or exacerbate relationship challenges. Although some experts disagree, most consider these cases to be clear examples of Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is a psychological concept used to explain certain reactions, but it's not a formal diagnosis, said Steven Norton, a forensic psychologist in Rochester, Minnesota.

Stockholm syndrome isn't listed in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 , a reference tool psychologists use to diagnose mental health and behavioral conditions. However, law enforcement and mental health professionals recognize that Stockholm syndrome can occur, so there's a general acceptance and awareness of the condition, Norton said.

A person with Stockholm syndrome may start to identify with or form a close connection to the people who have taken him or her hostage, Norton told Live Science. The captive may begin to sympathize with the hostage takers and may also become emotionally dependent on them, he said. That's because a victim with Stockholm syndrome may become increasingly fearful and depressed and will show a decreased ability to care for themselves.

This, in turn, will make them more dependent on their captors for care, Norton said. Victims with Stockholm syndrome exhibit two key characteristics: Positive feelings toward their captors and negative feelings, such as anger and distrust, toward law enforcement, according to a FBI law enforcement bulletin. The victim may fear that police action might threaten their safety. According to Norton, there is no clear set of criteria used to identify whether someone has Stockholm syndrome.