Stockholm syndrome is a psychological condition in which hostages form an emotional connection with their captors under captivity. These relations form over the period of many days, weeks, or even months. Now, let us dive deeper into this term.
This term was first used In 1973, when a bank robbery was attempted in Stockholm, Sweden. Robbers took four employees (three women and one man) hostage during a failed bank robbery. These four people were held hostage for six days in the treasury of the bank. When these hostages were released, all of them refused to testify against the robbers in court; rather, they defended their captors.
After this event, a Swedish psychiatrist coined the term after the police asked for his assistance in this matter. He analyzed the victims that were held hostage by the captors and after observing their behavior, he coined this term as Stockholm syndrome. He told the police that these reactions of the victims suggest that they had been brainwashed by their captors and that is the reason why they are showing sympathy for their captors in spite of the fact that they are criminals. This term became so famous in the entire world that it was also used in a famous Spanish TV series “La Casa De Papel” also known as “Money heist”.
A character name Monica falls in love with one of the robbers and they gave her the name Stockholm indicating the Stockholm syndrome in that character. The captive woman marries that robber and becomes part of their team.
Stockholm syndrome is rare and the research has shown that only about five percent of the captives show Stockholm syndrome for their robbers. This syndrome is not considered a psychological issue and the psychiatrists believe that it is only brainwashing of the captives by their robbers and not a medical problem.
