This strange emotional bond was dubbed the Stockholm syndrome in 1973 by Nils Bejerot, a psychiatrist and criminologist. After Olsson was arrested, the survivors were supportive of him, some even visiting him in prison. Though they were prisoners held in captivity, under constant threat from their abductor, the hostages perceived their kidnapper as someone who was basically a decent person, bonding with him over small favors he would grant them during the ordeal. The plan went awry, and Olsson ended up in a standoff with the police, holding hostages in order to negotiate his escape. The phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome was first identified in 1973 when Jan-Erik Olsson drew a machine gun and attempted a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. Locked in a closet and starved, beaten and raped, the great traumatic stress and deep psychological pressures caused her to form an attachment to her abusers. This happened to heiress Patty Hearst, when she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. People who are held captive often have a shift in their cognitive perception, and become brainwashed. A victim will look upon any kindness that the criminal chooses to bestow as a sign of his empathy, and the victim and predator become bonded in an irrational relationship. In all situations in which a perpetrator exerts power and control over victims, whether they are kept captive physically or mentally, the unpredictable setting and constant danger of this traumatic situation causes the victims to look for ways to bond with their perpetrator. Those suffering physical abuse or sexual abuse in abusive relationships such as domestic abuse situations involving women who are battered may also suffer from Stockholm syndrome, as well as members of a cult. Stockholm syndrome is a mental condition in which a kidnapped victim or hostage develops empathy or trust for his captor.

Syndrome where you like your captor