Who has not heard of the Stockholm Syndromein which the victim becomes attached or develops feelings for their kidnapper? Less well known, although closely related, is the Lima Syndromewhich we are going to talk about today.
What is Lima Syndrome?
He Lima Syndrome It is a disorder that leads a kidnapper to develop certain feelings of affection and sympathy towards the person he has kidnapped.
That is to say, The kidnapper is concerned about the condition of the victim he has kidnapped.. A rather ironic situation, given that kidnapping often involves quite pronounced psychological damage.
Even if a kidnapper does not want to physically harm the victim or even if he thinks that kidnapping him will not harm him, the reality is that he will. The kidnapping itself will become the victim's a traumatic event that will be difficult to overcome or that he will not be able to forget, although the process of recomposition is faster, depends on the type of kidnapping. That is, it exerts a psychological damage.
This syndrome is little known and very little is known about it. It is not considered a disorder but it is a psychological response that the kidnapper has.
Try a free session
Overcome some past trauma with the help of a psychologist.
Make an appointment
What causes Lima Syndrome?
Lima syndrome can be caused by several factors that stimulate it, such as:
- The kidnapper's safetyThat is, the kidnapper may not agree or be unsure of the kidnapping. This depends on what pushes you to commit such an act, it may be peer pressure, so as not to be seen as weak or excluded. Your mind knows that what you are doing is not right, it goes against your ideas, so you may tend to treat and empathize more with the victims.
- The empathic capacity of the kidnapper. This is also related to the conscience of the kidnapper himself; if he does not agree with the kidnapper and is a very empathetic person, these cases may occur and he may tend to treat the victim better.
- The victim's empathic and social ability. The victim can also play a very important role here, as he or she can also win the affection of the kidnapper.
- The kidnapper may be in love with the victim.
How can a professional psychologist help?
There is no exact treatment for Lima syndromein fact it is not considered a disorder. However, the help of a psychologist This will be very beneficial for the patient. A professional psychologist will be able to work with the patient, analyzing the incident from the beginning, that is, from the causes that led him to commit the kidnapping and the entire process.
It is important to be aware that the psychologist will not give a direct solution for Lima syndrome, but will work with the patient little by little. It is a slow process that requires adapting to the pace that the patient needs. In this case, some factors will be important to work on in therapy.
- Feeling of guilt.
- Empathetic capacity of the patient.
- If there were previous feelings of the kidnapper towards the victimthis may help explain the abduction and therefore will be helpful in addressing the issue during therapies.
During the sessions Both will work on and address issues such as the patient's emotions, which are crucial in this case. Therapy will help the patient learn to recognize these feelings, accept them and learn to manage them. As well as find answers to explain the incident. It is very important to work on the patient's personality, to analyze well the causes and the behavior that he has or has had that led him to commit a kidnapping and to develop these feelings. This whole process can lead the patient to reflect on what he has done and accept responsibility for his actions.
In Psychia We have a great team of psychologists who can help you, more than 10 years of experience support us. Call and make an appointment with one of our psychologists, more than 1600 people have already contacted us, First briefing is free.