How does a person develop Stockholm syndrome?
Discovery Health Answered: Generally speaking, the Stockholm syndrome process as seen in a kidnapping or hostage situation looks like this narrative involving a male captor and a female hostage: A person finds herself held captive by a man who is threatening to kill her if she disobeys him. She may be abused and having trouble thinking straight. Escape, the captor says, is not an option – she, and perhaps her family, will end up dead. Her only chance to survive is obedience. As time passes, obedience alone may become less of a sure thing – the captor is under increasing stress, and a change in his mood could mean harm to his prisoner. Figuring out the triggers of her captor’s violence so she can avoid them becomes another survival strategy. In this way, she gets to know her captor. A minor act of kindness by the captor, which can include simply not yet killing the prisoner, positions the captor as the prisoner’s savior. In these traumatic, life-threatening circumstances, the prisoner v
