Debunking the Brain Sex Myth
Debunking the Brain Sex Myth
Debunking the Brain Sex Myth
Stockholm Syndrome:
The Mystery of Loving an Abuser
What does it feels like to love the one who hurts you? What is going on in their mind? Why do they behave like this?
If you want to know more about Stockholm Syndrome, then you should not miss this prime opportunity to scroll down and read it for yourself!
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Introduction
Stockholm Syndrome
- Also known as Survival Identification Syndrome or Common-Sense Syndrome.
- It is a positive bond formed between captives and their captors.
- Term is not medically recognised but is speculated to be a survival mechanism for victims.
- Stockholm syndrome is related to the fundamental nature of humans (survival) and how we adapt and survive in unfavourable situations.
Aim of the Project
1. To understand Stockholm syndrome better (causes, effects, symptoms, treatments).
2. To readjust the public's view on Stockholm syndrome.
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Literature Review
Brief History
Coined by?
Nils Bejerot, criminologist and psychologist
When?
August 23, 1973, during a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden
How did it come about?
2 criminals locked themselves and four other victims in the vault. They treated the hostages with kindness and compassion. The four victims soon came to fear the police more than the criminals. After their rescue, the four victims refused to testify against their captors.
Misconception
- Term is often misused by the media. They use Stockholm syndrome to describe every unexpected positive bond formed between perpetrators and victims.
- Stockholm syndrome is actually rarer (only about 7% of hostage cases in the United States experience Stockholm syndrome.)
- Stockholm syndrome is found not only in captives but also in abuse victims and athletes.
- Stockholm syndrome is often confused with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Criteria
1. A real threat to survival must exist.
2. Victims must be held hostage for a significant length of time
3. Victims have to experience isolation (but it is argued that most victims were given access to contact loved ones).
4. Perpetrator needs to maintain close contact with victims and be kind to them - no verbal or physical abuse
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Victims need to fit more than one criteria for Stockholm syndrome to develop
“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is shaped by the actions and beliefs of the perpetrator.”
― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror
Explanation
Methodology
QUALITATIVE METHODS
Case Studies
Articles
News Reports
etc
QUANTITATIVE METHODS
Graphs
Tables
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**search engines used: Google Scholar, Z-Library, ERIC etc
**used resources within the last 6 years, also use resources older than that (due to lack of relevant resources)
Causes
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Being in an emotionally charged situation for a long time
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When hostage are dependent on a hostage-taker for basic needs
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When threats to life are not carried out (e.g. mock executions)
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Being in a shared place with the hostage-taker with poor condition (e.g. not enough food, physically uncomfortable space)
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When hostage has not been dehumanized
Famous Cases Examples
Effects
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Defend captors from police
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Some even physically shield captor from law enforcement
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Feel a bond with abuser/ captor even after being freed from them.
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Develop a hostile attitude towards police/ judicial system/ anyone who tries to separate them from captors
Famous Cases
Patricia Campbell Hearst
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Her kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, she rose to popularity.
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​She was found and caught 19 months after she was kidnapped, at which point she was a wanted fugitive for committing horrible crimes alongside other members of the group.
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During her trial, the prosecution argued that Hearst joined the Symbionese Liberation Army of her own free will.
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She claimed, however, that while imprisoned, she was raped and threatened with death.
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She was convicted of bank robbery in 1976 and sentenced to 35 years in prison, although her sentence was eventually reduced to seven years.
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Her sentence was mitigated by President Jimmy Carter, and she was subsequently pardoned by President Bill Clinton.
Natascha Kampusch
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Natascha Kampusch, 10, left her family's home in Vienna's Donaustadt neighbourhood on March 2, 1998, however she did not show up for school or return home.
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Kampusch did not disclose the existence of a second man, a 12-year-old witness observed her being dragged inside a white van by two males.
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A massive police operation occurred, with 776 minivans searched, including her kidnapper Piklopil, who lived in the Lower Austrian town of Strasshof a der Nordbahn near Gänserndorf, roughly a half-hour drive from Vienna.
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He claimed to have been alone at home on the morning of the kidnapping, and the police were satisfied with his explanation that he was hauling rubble from his home's structure.
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The police broadened their search to include the rest of the world because Kampusch had brought her passport with her when she left and had just returned from a family trip to Hungary a few days prior.
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She was trapped in an underground room. Her abductor was occasionally friendly, but he also abused her and attempted to hurt her.
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​ Natascha "wept inconsolably" when she learned of his death, prompting others to conclude she had Stockholm syndrome.
Mary McElroy
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McElroy, 25, was abducted while taking a bubble bath at her father's residence.
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George and Walter McGee, Clarence Click, and Clarence Stevens were her kidnappers.
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McGee and Stevens donned masks and broke into the house with a sawed-off shotgun, allowing McElroy to dry and dress. She didn't seem to take them seriously.
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McElroy was taken to Click's farmhouse in Shawnee, Kansas, where she was chained to a basement wall.
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Mary McElroy was released unharmed after twenty-nine hours in captivity at the Millburn Golf Course.
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Mary McElroy was traumatised by the kidnapping and its aftermath, and she suffered numerous 'nervous collapses' in the years after the tragedy.
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Her maid discovered McElroy's body in her bedroom and she had committed herself by shooting herself in the head with a little revolver.
Treatments
Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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Aims to change the automatic negative thinking that can lead to depression, anxiety, and emotional problems.
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Create a secure environment for patients so that they can share their story without fear of being judged.
Talk Therapy
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Assist patients in determining the source of their problems.
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Doctor should not impose any pressure on the patient and should speak politely with the patient in order to make them feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe.
Medication
Serotonergic Antidepressants (SSRIs)
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Same medications with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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The most commonly prescribed antidepressants for patients, including fluoxetine, sertraline, and paroxetine.
Antipsychotics
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Used for stable patient's mood. For example, olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole, and asenapine.
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Most effective medications in treating people PTSD.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Stockholm syndrome can be developed in different situations. All individuals have different effect on it. It will affect the normal society, causing more abusers did not receive punishments. Thus, we should put effort on how to stop Stockholm syndrome.
