The childs unmet dependency needs from chronic emotional deprivation, as well as the complete lack of other human alternatives in their environment, leaves the child stuck at an earlier emotional age, as they have not been able to continue their developmental progress in the absence of parental help and support. Thus the child may be 12, but emotionally and developmentally they may experience the world like a six-year-old, as their increasingly developmental needs force them to focus on the abuser, waiting for any hint of developmental support. The child becomes concerned for the abusers welfare because their developmental progress hinges upon on the whims, moods and emotional state of the abusive parent. In addition to the pressure from unmet developmental needs, the child is also aware of the potential danger that can emerge from the volatile and aggressive parent, and anything that they can do to placate, please or draw praise from the abuser increases their chance of survival. The neglected or abused childs utter helplessness and absolute dependency upon the goodwill of their parents prevents them from "seeing" or remembering those interpersonal events in which they have faced indifference or physical abuse, as this awareness would overwhelm them and submerge them in a torrent of dread. This feeling of dread is most often experienced as a massive abandonment panic during those moments when the child realizes that they are living in constant danger with no one to help them to survive.
It originates in the substitution of one Nordic capital (Stockholm, Sweden) for another (Helsinki, Finland). It entered popular culture when used in the Bruce Willis film Die Hard, by a doctor appearing on a television show and describing the phenomenon. The bumbling host says this refers to "Helsinki, Sweden", and the doctor corrects him, saying "Finland". History
Stockholm bank robbery
In 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson, a convict on parole, took four employees (three women and one man) of Kreditbanken, one of the largest banks in Stockholm, Sweden, hostage during a failed bank robbery. He negotiated the release from prison of his friend Clark Olofsson to assist him. They held the hostages captive for six days (23–28 August) in one of the banks vaults. When the hostages were released, none of them would testify against either captor in court; instead, they began raising money for their defense.Nils Bejerot, a Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist coined the term after the Stockholm police asked him for assistance with analyzing the victims reactions to the 1973 bank robbery and their status as hostages. As the idea of brainwashing was not a new concept, Bejerot, speaking on "a news cast after the captives release" described the hostages reactions as a result of being brainwashed by their captors. He called it Norrmalmstorgssyndromet (after Norrmalmstorg Square where the attempted robbery took place), meaning "the Norrmalmstorg syndrome"; it later became known outside Sweden as Stockholm syndrome.