Stockholm Syndrome - was No sympathy for Kreacher

[Jocelyn Grunow]

No: HPFGUIDX 124563

Further to my post of yesterday where I suggested Kreacher might have 
something like Stockholm Syndrome, here are two excerpts from info I 
found at:
http://web2.iadfw.net/ktrig246/out_of_cave/sss.html and
http://www.geocities.com/kidhistory/trauma/stockhol.htm

********* beginning of excerpt #1 **********

The term, Stockholm Syndrome, was coined in the early 70's to describe 
the puzzling reactions of four bank employees to their captor.  On 
August 23, 1973, three women and one man were taken hostage in one of 
the largest banks in Stockholm.  They were held for six days by two 
ex-convicts who threatened their lives but also showed them kindness.  
To the world's surprise, all of the hostages strongly resisted the 
government's efforts to rescue them and were quite eager to defend 
their captors.  Indeed, several months after the hostages  were saved 
by the police, they still had warm feelings for the men who threatened 
their lives. Two  of the women eventually got engaged to the captors.

The Stockholm incident compelled journalists and social scientists to 
research whether the emotional bonding between captors and captives was 
a "freak" incident or a common occurrence in oppressive situations. 
They discovered that it's such a common phenomenon that it deserves a 
name.  Thus the label, Stockholm Syndrome, was born.  It has happened 
to concentration camp prisoners, cult members, civilians in Chinese 
Communist prisons, pimp-procured prostitutes, incest victims, 
physically and/or emotionally abused children, battered women, 
prisoners of war, victims of hijackings, and of course, hostages. 
Virtually anyone can get Stockholm Syndrome if the following conditions 
are met:

- Perceived threat to survival and the belief that one's captor is 
willing to act on that threat
- The captive's perception of small kindnesses from the  captor within 
a context of terror
- Isolation from perspectives other than those of the captor
- Perceived inability to escape.

Stockholm Syndrome is a survival mechanism.  The men and women who get 
it are not lunatics. They are fighting for their lives.  They deserve 
compassion, not ridicule.

********* end of excerpt #1 **********
********* beginning of excerpt #2 **********

    Psychodynamics' Underlying Stockholm Syndrome

An abuser traumatizes a victim (who does not believe they can escape, 
or truly can not) with a threat to the victim's survival. The 
traumatized victim, who perceives isolation from outsiders; who could 
provide nurturance and protection, must look to the abuser to meet 
those needs.

If the abuser shows the victim some small kindness, the victim then 
must bond to the perceived positive side of the abuser, denying (or 
dissociating) the side of the abuser that produced the terror. The 
victim begins to work to see the world from the abuser's perspective so 
that they may know what keeps the abuser happy, thus helping to insure 
the victim's survival.

As a result the victim becomes hypervigilant to the abuser's needs and 
unaware of their own. The victim comes to see the world from the 
perspective of the abuser, losing touch with their own perspective, 
which is unimportant or even counter-productive to their survival. With 
the denial of the violent side of the abuser, comes denial of the 
danger. It becomes progressively harder to separate from the abuser due 
to the fear of losing the only positive relationship identity that 
remains -- her/ himself as seen through the abuser's eyes (which in the 
case of the adult victim has replaced any previous sense of self, for a 
child this may be, and often is, the only sense of self known).

********* end of excerpt #2  **********

I hope you find this as interesting and relevant to Kreacher's 
enslavement as I did!

Jocelyn